Week one in the books

I've now completed my first week as a conservation volunteer. Woohoo! I'm working with a company called Conservation Volunteers New Zealand (very original), and they work all around both the north and south islands. At times people come to them for help and other times CoVoNZ is the one reaching out to the local communities and small farmers that need the help.

The week began with some local work in Christchurch on Monday at the local wildlife sanctuary just doing some weeding and such--which down here is referred to as release work. I guess the sound of release work doesn't seem as strenuous or dirty as weeding does, but it's the same thing. Anyway, after our first day we drove down the coast for a few hours to our accommodation for the first two nights: a Marae. A Marae is a shared house put up by the Maori people, the native people of New Zealand. When we arrived we were called into the house by the head female who chanted and sang for a few minutes. When we went inside--where the men were supposed to sit in the front and the women in the back--the lead male of the household took over and sang in the Maori language as well; he later explained that the process was about welcoming visitors to the Marae, blessing them upon entering, and thanking them for coming to share this cultural experience. We finished with a close handshake and a touching of the foreheads as the final welcome into the house. Quite an experience, very welcoming, and enjoyable.

For the next few days we did basically the same thing each day: lots of release work and planting all sorts of plants and shrubs. Some days we worked on local Maori farmland that had been flooded in recent months, and others we worked on helping out local community projects to improve the run-off situation into the local river. It's very much like gardening at hope, except it happens to be winter here so its about 35-45 degrees during the day and rainy. The kind of situation where no matter what you are wearing you are going to be cold. It kinda stinks, but once you get to moving around you warm up and things are good.

But the best part of this experience, as cliche as it may sound, is that I really know that I'm giving back a little bit and helping make a difference for these farmers and communities. After working on our last day the local volunteer coordinator showed us what our project would look like when it was done. We had been working in a marshy swamp area and the final result was a beautiful river covered on each side by grassy lawns and ferns and shrubs. It's nice to know that even if it's a small difference we are helping out in some ways towards the greater goal of the project. It helps you get through those freezing mornings when you'd rather be sitting in by a fire and drinking hot chocolate. Luckily for us that's what we do at the end of each day.

Lots to catch up on

It's been a while since I last wrote an update. I've been in a stage of major transition as I've finished one program, had a visit from Chris, traveled to a new country, and am about to being another program. Lots to update everyone on, and apologies in advance for this post being so long. Here we go...

Finishing up at Billabong was bittersweet. I had an absolute blast the rest of the time I was there, but was for sure sad to leave and say goodbye to all the rangers. I never realized how much I would miss the animals. Some of them I didn't even know existed before I got there, and now I wish I could have each of them as a pet back home. Sadly it's illegal and won't happen.

Traveling back to Sydney was like some Hollywood movie: the bus I had to take north to Cairns where I was catching a flight was late so I didn't get into town until 2am. It was cold and raining hard. I couldn't find a cab. I finally got to the hostel at 2:30, tried to be quiet as I go to my room but upon taking off my shoes stepped into a pile of water because the fridge had leaked. I had to make my bed in the dark, and eventually just said screw it and slept on a sheet sprawled over the bed. Can't make that stuff up, but I kind of enjoyed it in a twisted way because I felt like I had such a sense of adventure about me while it happened. Only while traveling on a rainy, late Greyhound bus and staying in some hostel can fun things like that happen.

Anyway, I made it down to Sydney the next day and met up with Chris. We stayed in Sydney for a few days and did lots of touristy things to fit in. We went to the top of the Sydney Tower, which is basically a cheaper and uglier version of the Seattle Space needle. There was the Sydney Aquarium with the Dugongs (the animals mermaids are based off of, which means sailors back then had to be pretty drunk), and the Sydney Bridge. Chris and I climbed the bridge. We got into the strange little outfits, hooked ourselves up to a cable, and walked to the top of the thing. It's the longest single-arch bridge in the world and is actually wider than the Golden Gate Bridge. They collect $1 million a day on tolls, and the views from up top are incredible. You can see the entire harbour and have a fantastic view of the Opera House. Even if it's pouring rain, which it was when we got to the top. A little wet and a little cold, but the adventure was completely worth it.

We of course did the Opera House tour as well. We got the last tour, but the woman at the ticket counter explained that it was only given in English. We laughed and made our way to the tour given by the funniest tour guide I have ever had. The place is beautiful and we were lucky enough to get to go inside both of the main concert halls. They are spectacular venues, simply masterful architecture and use of space. I cannot wait to go back and see any type of event. You can get a close up look at the shells and see they are lined and not purely white. It's not even that old of a venue but it already the iconic symbol of the city of Sydney.

Then the two of us headed down to Melbourne for a few nights. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to make it there, but I realized I can't come this far and not make it. I'm so glad we went, I'm in love with that city. I think it's far superior to Sydney. It's not as touristy, it has much more of a laid back atmosphere and I love the café culture. We stayed at this really nice hostel called The Nunnery in the neighborhood of Fitzroy, which perfectly suited us because it had nothing but great and chilled out restaurants and cafés.

In the reception area of the hostel was a board with every restaurant they recommended for every type of food you could imagine. Hence, this board became our guidebook for the weekend. We ate at a fantastic Italian placed and stuffed our faces with pasta. We discovered a fattening burger place called Gutz that had one of the best burgers I've ever tasted (with a fried egg and bacon on it). We had a wonderful tapas dinner to toast to Spain after they won the world cup, fattened up on some ridiculous pancakes (mine had bananas, walnuts, cinnamon, whipped cream, butter, and syrup), and had plenty of snacks like fries along the way.

Melbourne has a free tram to get you around the city, but everything is easily walkable. We walked along the riverfront with all the cafés, and headed up to the Eureka 88 sky deck. It's the highest viewing platform in the southern hemisphere, absolutely insane. The craziest part is The Edge where you go into this small little cube space that then moves out from the building so you are looking directly at the ground through the glass. Gotta admit I got kinda nervous at that point. It's like nothing else you've ever experienced.

We also visited Melbourne Park where the Australia Open is held every year in January. It was pretty quiet but we were able to walk around and even into the seats on some of the courts. A very cool venue that I would love to visit again when the tennis is actually happening.

Finally we headed back to Sydney for one last night during Chris' visit, took a walk through their Wildlife Park, and enjoyed a quiet and simple dinner. Christ left the next day to head back to DC while I had a couple of days left to chill in Sydney where I met up with my volunteer friend Emily from Billabong.

And now I have made it to New Zealand. It was sad to say goodbye to Australia, but after ten weeks there and lots of unforgettable moments I was ready to move on. I'm currently in Christchurch where it is freezing cold. Literally 70 degrees colder here than it is back home. I've had a few days to just relax, read a lot, watch some movies, and gear up for my next program that involves conservation work all around the south island. It's gonna be cold, but if that's the worst thing I have to deal with I really can't complain.

Hokay, sorry once again to make everyone read through so much. There are a bunch of pictures up on facebook as well detailing my adventures for those who are interested. Hope everyone is doing well, and I will make sure to update everyone again soon to let you all know how things on this latest program are going. Until then stay cool in the summer heat. I'll try and send of my weather every one's way.

Why don't we have these?

So on the way to a BBQ the other night some people needed to stop and buy some beer. I figured we were going to stop at one of the liquor stores near the super market or something. However, we continued to drive down the highway for a bit until we came to a......wait for it.......drive-thru liquor store!!! We literally drove up, a guy came out and asked what we wanted, and then he handed us the drinks (which, by the way, were pre-mixed drinks they have here in Australia; I'm talking like Jack Daniels pre-mixed Jack and Coke drinks in a can, pretty clever). But it was that quick, in and out, took about one minute. Imagine you're on your way to a party and you can stop and by something without even getting out of your car. Maybe I should start a chain of these back home and make a business out of it.