Alice springs.......or ayers rock

My main reason for traveling to Australia, despite the fact that I love it here, was to see some of the geological wonders that Ayers rock has to offer. My hopes had risen up and down at the many different options presented to get to Ayers rock. There was the train, the bus, and of course the joys of renting a car. I was disappointed to learn that I would not be able to fly in to Ayers rock directly, but was happy to find that I could take a three-day tour from Alice Springs. I booked my flight there and then booked a week at a hostel for the low price of 100 NZ dollars. My departure was an event itself. I was persuaded by someone from Wales to come out with the group after I dismantled him in table tennis and proved once and for all that the UK was a shade worse than the US at best. I had a 7 am shuttle to catch and irresponsibly took on these plans. I got lost on my way home and spent at least an hour wandering in the wrong direction, if you know Dad ask him about his LSU football game and compare to that. I was quite surprised and still a little out of it when I woke up at 6:15 am. I packed as quickly as possible and jetted downstairs to catch the shuttle in time. I went to check in at the self-check kiosk and was denied when I chose my destination, this should have been my first clue something was wrong. I proceeded to check in with a human and when I told him my destination, Alice Springs, he looked at the ticket funny and just handed it to me and told me what gate to get to. I, in my haste to pack, forgot that I had my cutlery in my carry on bag and was held at security and questioned about the nature of the knife. After we cleared up the fact that I was an idiot I opted to throw the knife away. I got on the plane and to my joy realized that I had the whole isle to myself! Thank you hangover gods. I sprawled out and fell back asleep only to be woken up for tea. I looked out the window and took in the amazing sites that belong to the nothingness of the Australian outback. I then saw the familiar shape of Uluru in the distance and then realized we were headed down for a landing. Now I need to set this up. Alice Springs is at least 300 km away from Ayers Rock, home to Uluru, and even though I’m not an aeronautical genius, I knew something was wrong. We landed at the Ayers Rock airport and I thought, shit, I have done something wrong. I went inside and checked on my itinerary and sure enough I had booked into what was previously known as a non-existent airport. This of course makes my hostel booking in Alice Springs worthless and the travel agency claims no responsibility for the mishap of booking me into a hostel 150 miles from where I was flying. I caught the free shuttle into town and booked into the Ayers rock resort, at 36 AD a night, and toured around the resort. This town is in the middle of now where and during peak season is the fifth largest city in the Northern Territory with 7500 people. 90 percent being tourists and the other 10 percent resort workers. The first thing you notice in Ayers rock is that it is entirely flat and that there are an infinite amount of flies bombarding you. So bad the flies are that you must wear a facemask, continuously slap yourself, or suck it up and eat the flies, my face is sore and red. I booked my tour and then hopped on the couch for a quick nap. Around 6 pm I set out to see the rock from 20km out and catch it at sunset. The clouds were minimal and the colors of the rock would amaze anyone who wasn’t blind. I went to bed early and woke up at 4 am to catch my sunrise tour and guided walks. The sunrise was phenomenal and we arrived just in time, hundreds of people showed up moments after us to crowd the viewing area. After the sun rose we went on a guided 2 ½ hour walk, us being my tour group. Uluru is a sacred aboriginal spot where many rituals take place. So sacred is the spot that there are actually places that you cannot photograph as per the requests of the Aborigines. We started the walk at one of the sacred spots and heard the stories that were associated with them. It is amazing to hear the stories then look at the features of the rock, they mesh perfectly to almost a spooky degree. The walk took us around the outside of Uluru and along the way we learned more about the Aboriginal stories surrounding it. I was excited to start taking pictures and after my first one my camera died. I told someone around me in hopes that they may offer to let me upload their pictures after the tour and was met by a, “that blows”. Thank you American assholedness and thank you San Francisco for breeding them, that’s where he was from no shots at the family. I managed to take 40 pictures by turning my camera on, pushing the button, and then shutting it off instantly. I wish I could have taken 1000 pictures because the rock was so awesome. There is something truly amazing about this rock that is unexplainable but so easy to feel while you are there. Tomorrow I am taking a tour of the Olgas, a more broken up rock formation that is equally as fascinating, and then Friday I am doing a sunset tour to see Uluru from another angle as the sun drops behind it. Although I had a few mishaps on the way here and essentially pissed away 100 bucks I cannot think of another place I would want to be than here. Well, Ok I can think of thousands but I would like to feel culturally sound right now. The day was long, the heat was unreal, and the flies are God awful but the culture around here makes this trek all worth it. I will be uploading pictures, the ones I managed to take, in the upcoming days and hope this update finds you doing well. Until next time!

Happy Birthday TO ME!!

I walked around the Darling Harbor today for about an hour while I went to get some breakfast. The sights are absolutely amazing and the weather is gorgeous, it could however clear up and get a little sunnier. I met some British kids, Gavin and Jake, and a Canadian, in my room and we all decided to go out. We got along pretty well and so the next day Jake, Gavin, and myself went to Bondi Beach to do some surfing. The weather was absolutely spectacular and after we figured out the Australian bus system we were on our way to Bondi. We walked around for about an hour trying to find the proper bus stop and another 20 minutes trying to find how to pre-pay for our tickets, we were told this was required. So we found the stop and were held up on the bus by someone buying a ticket….needless to say I was just a little pissed. We got to Bondi and rented surfboard from a questionable shop that preferred us to pay with cash instead of card, even though there was a card machine right beside him. We walked down to the beach and picked out a pretty good spot then scouted the waves. From far back they looked pretty harmless, then we got in the water. The water was super blue and it was a little crowded, but we managed to only get hit by 5 boards on our way out to wait on the waves. I was trying to teach Jake how to surf, I’m not the best teacher, and I felt a little proud when he caught his first wave. I got up only once all day and after I did I regretted it due to the difference in height from lying down to standing up. That fall hurt a little more than the rest. We met back up with Gavin, who was on the beach, and he told us that Coke was giving out free drinks and that we should check it out. They were in fact, and they also had a huge jump jump. The line was just a little too long for our liking and we took our free cokes then headed back to our spot on the beach. We chilled the rest of the day and took in the scenery. After we left we realized just how bad our burns were, and I realized that if you put sunscreen in one spot you will get burned everywhere else. I’m not saying I didn’t know this already but I was in a rush to put it on. We went back to the hostel to nurse our wounds and watch the semis of the Australian open. The next day we played ping-pong for a few hours while I waited on my hotel to be ready. We went out for my birthday and had a relatively good time, it’s hard when you only know 2 people but better than none. I went to be pretty early, considering it was a celebration and woke up only to decide to sleep in. After rousting myself from bed I set off to check out the harbor, Circular Quay. The harbor allows for really good views of the Sydney Bridge and houses the Sydney Opera House. Although I had already seen it once, I took a tour of the opera house and it again stunned me. I only wish we would have seen a little more. The Opera House is one of the things I really find amazing. The tour had videos about it, the house, being built and to hear the trials and tribulations that took place is something everyone should do. I bought some presents for people in the gift shop then contemplated going to see a comedy show at the Opera House tonight then I remembered the finals were on and decided for the tennis. I only have one more day left in Sydney and I am very sad to leave it. I am hoping tomorrow that I can check out the Olympic facilities as well as the Sydney wildlife exhibition. With only 30 days left I am starting to realize just how quick this trip has gone by and I hope that I utilized my time to the fullest and I hope to continue to do that for the next 30 days.

Until Next Time!!

Sydney, I've missed you!

Ahhh the wonders of traveling Emirates airlines. Let me preface this entry by saying just how awesome Emirates Airline is. It is freaking awesome. Even though I was with the lesser passengers in economy class I got a hot towel service, lamb dinner, and a free drink, Jameson on the rocks. If only they could have had an ejection button for the child sitting in the row in front of me I feel as though I may have never left the aircraft. We arrived in Sydney and as is usual EVERYONE got to their feet as though they were going to let us off of the emergency exits. I patiently waited my turn for about 30 minutes and then decided to join the masses. As soon as I got on my feet there was an announcement, “Attention passengers due to an illness on this flight a medical officer is boarding to determine if this flight should be quarantined”. Crap! So I returned to my seat as did the other 400 passengers and as soon as we sat down it was as if it were a practical joke and they told us we were clear to leave. As I approached customs I could see the luggage carousel in front of me, calling my name. Apparently, it was the wrong name, I had to wait thirty minutes while they changed the spelling of my middle name on my visa. It was well past midnight as far as I was concerned and I sat in a little chair feeling as though I had just smuggled a large bag of crack in my bag, and no Mom I didn’t make the same mistake twice. Finally, I get to my bag which, its protective container had been shredded, picked it up and walked towards customs. At customs I was forced to again basically empty my bag to allow for a search. Previously on this leg of my journey I was swabbed, my bag not my body, and frisked by a Kiwi fellow while being asked what an American was doing going to Australia. I digress. After I got through customs I looked around and realized that I had no clue how I was going to get to my hostel. I talked to the lady at an information desk and she informed me that, “No worries, your bus is coming in 15 minutes”. I passed the 30 minutes, thank you ozzie bus schedule, by talking to a Canadian about her travels over the past year. A middle eastern man approached and asked if I had a ticket, I told him no, “is someone coming to pick you up?”, “I honestly couldn’t tell you”. After a few looks I asked him to drop me off and he obliged. It instantly felt as though my worst fears were going to come true, I may be kidnapped by a middle eastern man disguised as a taxi driver. The man threw our luggage into his van and instructed his friend where to drop us. Upon arrival, I realized again that I had no Australian money, I bartered with the guy and convinced him it was in his interest to pocket the 20nzd and just let me slide. I got away with another one! I checked into the hostel and decided it was time to hit the pub, my body however realized that it was about 2 am and decided to hit the sack. I woke up this morning after an Asian roommate’s cell phone alarm continuously went off, not ring ring or buzz buzz, but “GOOD MORNING SLEEPY HEAD” insert the most typical music being played in Japan here. I went and had breakfast in Darling Harbor and then proceeded to check out the aquarium. The Ozzies know how to do their aquariums. I saw the most deadly jelly fish, the most deadly fish, and, of course, a huge croc. I spent a few hours there and am about to head back to the wildlife exhibit to try and pet a koala and a kangaroo. Well I hope this wet your whistle and I hope all is well.

Until Next time!

New Zealand and the wrap up of it.

My time in New Zealand is coming to an end, at least for now, and tomorrow I will be setting off to Sydney. I will take away a lot from here and hope that it will reflect in my personality on my return home. I cannot say that over the past two months I haven’t experienced several WTF moments that shook me to my core, but I can say that I feel more prepared for life because of them. Although I may not have found the meaning to life, or found a trip without the help of my family easier, but I do feel as though I have matured in certain aspects of my life. Over the past two months I have experienced and seen things that unfortunately not everyone on the planet will have the privilege of doing. I have realized that although it is ok to overstep or over estimate your potential it can be quite dangerous, please site demoralized by doom for more details. At the same time I have realized that it is equally dangerous to under estimate your potential and to waste time hoping that something will get better as opposed to doing something about it. Certain things have happened over the course of two months that have made me realize where I have come from and where I hope to go and to appreciate the things in life that shape the person I am today. With my upcoming adventures to Australia and South East Asia, I hope that I can carry over some of these life lessons, as communication with the people I care about most will become increasingly difficult and financially troublesome. This scares me a lot but at the same time it forces me to accept reality and realize that I can’t always call my sister for advice in times of need, or Matthew for that matter, thanks for the skype today buddy! At the same time it excites me, I will have to become more reliant on myself, and the other people I am traveling with to overcome the obstacles that may arise over the next month. I am not expecting to come back home with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, nor am I expecting to come back home feeling like all I did was look at things and take pictures. I hope instead to come back home with a little more confidence in myself, and my abilities as a person. For instance, I know most of you are aware that 6am only sees my beautiful eyes if I am awake all night. However; down here I have been forcing myself to wake up earlier and earlier in hopes of NEVER missing another bus again. Although this is trivial in comparison to other things I’ve learned, it makes me feel like I have taken, if only, one step closer to becoming “A grown up”! I hope that you have all enjoyed my blog while I have been in New Zealand and what everyone to know just how much I appreciate all of the help they have given me, not only while I have been down here, but over all the years I have known any of you. Updates:

The past few days I have spent in Christchurch and for some reason I have a disdain for this place. I have visited the museums, seen the botanical gardens, and even sampled the local brews. That being said, I spent the last two days planning out the rest of my trip, gaining some closure on matters, and watching the New Orleans Saints make Brett Favre cry!! To all that witnessed this monumental occasion I hope you realized just what you were watching. I had an English traveler yelling at me for getting in the way of the game after I explained to her the epic battle that was taking place. I leave here tomorrow around noon or so and should get into Sydney tomorrow night. I hope to have a Koala bear in my arms in the next 48 hours. Again thank you for reading and thank you for your comments. Un

Updates

Queenstown,

On the way to Queenstown we had awesome weather, this usually happens on the way to a destination not at it, and we stopped at a reflection lake. Not what you are thinking, we didn’t get out and reflect over our trip. The lake is simply the product of a glacier that wore down the terrain over time and created a bowl in the earth. There are no rivers or streams feeding it and therefore the lake is eerily still. In the reflection of the lake you can see the mountains in the background as if you were staring into a mirror. I started taking pictures and after two my camera’s battery died, epic fail. I returned to the bus a little frustrated but at the same time I had taken my mental pictures and the scenery was absolutely amazing. I did get some pictures so lets not see any looting in the streets. The weather over the past few days has varied from bouts of sunshine to the gradual onset of clouds and rain. The weather has been so unpredictable it is hard to even schedule tours or activities during the day. A few friends I have made along the trip and I went to have a picnic by the lake. Unbeknownst to us we were sitting in the middle of a Frisbee golf course and occasionally we were forced to duck and miss a flying disc. After the picnic we went about town checking out the local shops and seeing just how expensive a tourist town could be. We finally found something to suit everyone and went on a harbor cruise. The cruise was delightful enough, the captain a bit of a nonchalant ass. It took us around the coastline and near the mouth of the Shotover River. The guide decided, that instead of telling about the history of the town and the scenery we were taking in, that he would tell us how much house prices were and how much money had been wasted on certain development projects doomed to failure. A glorified Aspen condo sales pitch! The Majestics, the mountains surrounding Queenstown, have been dawning an almost constant covering of clouds. This makes for a pretty awesome picture but does not let you see the elevation of the mountains themselves. After the cruise we went to a free underwater observatory to watch small Asian kids put money in a machine to feed the trout. The rainbow and brown trout were astonishingly huge! They also had some ducks, Teal, that would dive from the surface to the bottom of the lake, around 15 feet, and then search the bottom for food for up to 45 seconds. It was pretty impressive and called for the occasional laugh. I returned to my hostile and fell asleep almost instantly. So fast in fact, that I fell asleep full clothed with my laptop and laundry on my bed. Around 4am I rolled around and worried…..”Oh no, where is my laptop I hope it hasn’t fallen off the bed!” Just at that time I heard a loud, “THUD”. My laptop, in my search, had fallen off of the bed on to an unconscious Korean named Eden. The noise was so loud that it woke everyone in the room, so loud that the two Israeli gentlemen were convinced that it was an earthquake. After checking my laptop for and problems, no Dad I didn’t break it, I gave the universal thumbs up and apologized only to get laughter in return. I woke up the next morning and remembered that I had not booked any tours for the day, it was raining, and that I was to be stuck in Queenstown by myself all day. This was probably one of the better days of the southern Island. I had time to catch up with EVERY member of my family as well as some people I haven’t spoken with in over a month. I was also delighted; as well as other people were I am sure, to do my laundry. My favorite part of the day however, was getting to see Bennett walk. It is crazy to think about how much he has grown since I have been gone. At the days end my friend, Jellienke, came over and downloaded an obscene amount of music on my computer, all in Dutch, and charged her ipod while telling me about her day. I got to bed relatively early and woke with a since of accomplishment after my day of nothing in Queenstown. I left for Dunedin today and so far the only thing anyone has recommended to do is check out the Cadbury factory as well as the Speights brewery. I am planning on doing both tomorrow as for some reason I booked two nights here when everyone suggested booking only one. After Dunedin I am headed to Lake Tekapo where there are supposed to be some stellar views of Mt. Cook. After my previous mountaineering experience I doubt I’ll feel the need to tackle this one. The New Zealand portion of my trip is almost over and I have this overwhelming feeling of not wanting it to end as well as the feeling that I can’t wait to get somewhere new. I am missing home but over the 7 weeks I have been here I have had enough support and encouragement from everyone to keep my spirits high. I hope all is well wherever you are and that you are finding this trip as enjoyable as I am. Until the next time!!

Someone from Ruston?!?!!

I just got off the glacier in Franz Josef and it was incredible! The ice, at some parts, was pristine and blue while other parts were a little dirtier with rocks. We didn’t have too many technical parts and only got to go through two crevaces but it was something I will not forget. While we were introducing ourselves one guy said his friend had lived in Louisiana for several years. I asked him where and his response was, “this little town outside of Shreveport, you have probably never heard of it…..Ruston”. I thought it was one of the neater parts of the day. His Father, Alan Smith, was a professor at Tech and his sister Alana Smith graduated around 1996. The guy gave me his business card, which was a little skeptical, and we talked throughout the hike about anything non-ruston related. The hike took us well up into the glacier, but due to overcrowding, there were a lot of bottle necks along the way. I opted to go with a slower group so that I could get some more pictures and so that the younger kids who desperately wanted to be up front could do it. I learned soon that this was a mistake. I hiked for around six hours up a glacier and I’m not even worn out. We constantly stopped to wait for a rather annoying man and his three kids. The guide kept her spirits high and a smile on her face so it made the trip a lot better. While on our way out I watched an older man fall on his face, although not certain of his injuries I could see the staff tending to him. We continued out and waited on our bus for about 30 minutes in the blistering sun. All in all the day was amazing I got some great pictures and some insight into the fascinating world of glaciers! Tomorrow we head off to Queenstown where I plan on spending two nights avoiding the hole that sucks money into it. i.e. bungee, skydiving, zorbing. After that it’s on to Dunedin and then Tekapo where I will get a chance to do a day climb on Mt. Cook, hopefully. I really wish I could post some pictures on here but it takes a long time to upload and it is way easier to put them on facebook. If anyone, barring Lindsey, would like me to add some or email them I would be more than happy to do it! Have a great time wherever you are and don’t forget my birthday is a day early this year for everyone else! HAHA

First and foremost, for this section, I would like to thank my mother who has put in countless hours on my behalf trying to get my airline tickets sorted out. For those of you who don’t know the story here it is: I ordered my airline tickets for Australia and South East Asia from a company known as cheaptickets.com. It was simple enough, point click and pay, and your tickets will be emailed to you. I quickly discovered this was not going to be the case. The company has decided that it would be better to actually mail me the physical tickets as opposed to simply giving me an e-ticket; Albeit from me to inform them of the ever popular, “go-green” motto sweeping the country. The ticket was then to be mailed to my home address in Louisiana and then expected to be fed-exd to me in New Zealand, simple enough. The powers that be have decided that the Andrew Lewis, the wonderful southern boy, from Louisiana was not deserving of these tickets and instead has awarded them to the Andrew Lewis, (allow Mom to insert her insults), in New York. I don’t know whom I have wronged at this company but apparently I did it big. The tickets were located, through much work and stress, by my Mother, NOT AN EMPLOY OF THE COMPANY. When confronted about this matter cheaptickets.com informed my Mother and myself that there was nothing to be done on their parts and tried to instill the notion that it was somehow our fault that the tickets were mailed to New York. Several times we have been contacted assuring us that there were no problems and that the matter had been resolved. This is not, was not, and will never be the case. My dear mum has been nothing short of a saint in dealing with these matters and even while her son is halfway around the world she is dealing on his behalf. Its not to say that I couldn’t have taken care of the matter, but come on guys I’m on vacation. It is only to say that my mom has nothing but love in her heart for her favorite child. (screw you Neil).

Now to the traveling.

I am currently in Greymouth, New Zealand in route down the western coast of the Southern Island. The first thing you discover/remember, is that the sun sets on the west…… it is absolutely gorgeous right now with the sun going down over the mountains. Rewind a little bit to me being in Nelson and Picton. Picton is just a short 30 minute drive to Blenheim, the wine capital of New Zealand. I rented a car, let me repeat I rented a car to make the drive to Blenheim to get my wonderful family a few souvenirs that I knew no Lewis could deny, WINE! After discovering early on that driving on the left side of the road meant everything else was in reverse, I can only guess how many times I turned the wipers on while turning, we made it to Blenheim safely. We walked around town, Donnie in search of work me in search of a 3^rd camera, for a few hours building up a good thirst. We realized that it was nearly five and that most of the vineyards tasting times would have been well passed. I made a b-line to Nautilus to get mom some of her loved wine and then headed over to cloudy bay to check out their Pinot Noir. After a tasting or two or three we ran into a couple from Ponchatoula! It was wonderful getting to talk to someone about the saints and the LSU tigers short comings against Penn State. After this we headed back to Picton to check out what remained. The following day we took a hike and snapped some amazing pictures overlooking the harbor. After two days of rain, and now of course no dive, I was off to Nelson. Nelson is not known for too many things other than having the geographical center of New Zealand. I took a tour via Micro-flight (imagine a hang glider with a propeller) over the Abel Tasman national park. The park was gorgeous and the weather was perfect and so I managed to record a long video as well as snap a few pictures from the air. I made it back to town and took the walk to the center of New Zealand. It was a little bit of a let down but the views made up for the lackluster walk. I then headed into town and met my friend Chris from the UK. We had a few pints and met a guy who had met Sir Edmund Hillary. For those of you who are unaware Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to EVER climb Mt. Everest! We talked a bit and then met a guy from Tibet, I am sad to say that he was not a Sherpa, spoke nearly perfect English, and had never climbed Everest himself. The next day we had hoped to kayak the Abel Tasman national park but were denied, of course, by weather. After a few hours the weather cleared and Chris and I went to the park to attempt to catch a water taxi around the park. We learned that we had just missed it and instead opted for a short walk. I am glad we took it because the beach was absolutely amazing. There were heaps of freestanding rock formations along with caves and some minor water falls. We drove back in to town after a few hours and said our good-byes, Chris was headed in the opposite direction as myself. I made it to the bus on time, not common, and was a little annoyed at the amount of stops and time we spent waiting. It is very uncommon for this bus to wait on anyone even for a matter of minutes. To top it all the weather was perfect and the air conditioner, broken. This meant that the first day we had hot sunny weather I had to spend it inside a bus for the next 10 hours with about 40 other people, I was a little bummed. The bus broke down several times but we still made it to the pancake rocks and blowholes by high tide. This may not sound that cool to everyone else but to see it in real life was awesome. The pancake rocks are just rocks that look like pancakes, however; the blowholes are essentially coves where the tide comes rushing in and shoots water in the air, it was pretty intense. We have finally made it to Greymouth where again I had to give up my bed to someone who couldn’t speak English, because it was easier and therefore got taken to another hostel where no one is. Tomorrow I head off for Franz Josef and to the glacier. I have booked an all day hike up the glacier and hope, pray, that the weather holds out and I won’t miss another potentially exciting spot of my trip. If these tickets come through like they should have 2 weeks ago I will be wishing you guys a happy Varentines day from Cambodia…. Sorry I couldn’t wait to use that joke. All is well and spirits are high! I will be updating again sooner than usual as per the amount of awesomeness the western coast of the South Island holds! Thanks guys for reading and if you see Janine give her a high five for the hard work she has put in on my behalf.

Andrew