G'day (by Rone)

G'day

I've never been to Sydney or anywhere on the east side of Australia. But having stayed in Perth for 3.5 months in 2010, I had some high expectations. Mostly, I was just so excited to catch up with our very close friends Erin and Rach!

Rach and Erin picked us up at Sydney airport and took us to Rachel's sister's house in Randwick, which is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney and about 6km from the city center.  Their house was the perfect spot for our base while exploring the city and with a bonus of being 10 min walk from Coogee bay.

Rach and Erin - our super duper friends

Karen and I had 0 hours sleep on the plane from Hong Kong, but due to all the excitement and awesome sunshine we managed to buzz with energy. We walked from Coogee bay to Bondi beach and had lunch at the lifeguard beach restaurant. Brilliant steak sandwiches and a corona beer went down very well after a 6 km walk along some of the most beautiful beaches I've seen. 

Coogee Bay 

We even managed to stop once for a short dip in the sea. Randwick was buzzing with cool restaurants and we had some brilliant Thai with Pinot Noir to properly catch up with the girls on our first evening in Australia.

Coffees at Manly beach

We headed over to the pier in the morning to grab a ferry to Manly beach where we had a picnic and enjoyed swimming in the sea. The ferry ride was spectacular since we went straight past the opera house and Sydney harbour bridge. Once we got back to the city we walked across the bridge to go visit some friends Anita and Luke, where we experienced an Auzzie braai (BBQ).

Playing :)

Day 3 started with a 13km run along the beach front, while Karen also did her exercises and upper body workout on the beach, and then a quick dip in the sea afterwards. I really enjoyed the run- the path was laid out along the sea and free of any traffic. There were water fountains everywhere and I have to admit it was so much better than I've experienced in the UK when I had to run with 5 layers due to the cold or even in South Africa where you always need to be a bit more alert of things.  

Rest of the day was filled with a closer look at the Sydney harbour house, a picnic in the Botanical gardens with the most amazing trees, and then topped with Erin taking us to this very posh hotel, called the Shangri-la, for drink at the top floor. There we had amazing views of the city while sipping on our Pinot Noirs and cocktails. 

Quick wizz back to the base before we left for a groovy dinner at a pizza place and some action photos on the famous pedestrian crossing in the city. This crossing was painted in rainbow colours in February in preparations for the Mardi Gras in Sydney this year, but cost the City council up to $110,000 and this will have to be removed again by the end of March.  So I was pretty pleased we got our photo!

Yummy dinner and awesome friends - best combo :)

Day 4 we left this amazing city with both Karen and I thinking that this could be the place to settle eventually. Amazing beaches, rock climbing opportunities and open spaces, very clean, friendly people, safe environment with good economy!! With these thoughts in our heads we started our road trip up to the Blue Mountains.   The Sydney Olympics in 2000 was at Homebush Bay area which was on our way so we managed to have a quick look at a few sites while Rach explained all the ins and outs of her experience during the Sydney Games. The Blue Mountains are a mountainous region in New South Wales, which borders on Sydney's metropolitan area, its foothills starting approximately 50 kms west of the state capital, and consists mainly of sandstone plateau. About an hour's driving after our pit-spot at the Olympic site, we arrived at this mansion in the Blue Mountains with the most amazing view. I couldn't believe the house Erin and Rach got us and I probably could have stayed there a month very happily. The landscape reminds me of God's Window in South Africa and certain parts of the Eastern Transvaal. It is stunning and the sight of waterfalls, green mountains full of trees and colourful birds everywhere is definitely a must when you are visiting Sydney. A very good evening filled with some more Pinot Noir :) while Karen cooked a lovely meal. We mostly just hung out, but as the evening progressed we even managed to end up in a dance- off competition. This will forever stay in my memory-LOL.

Canberra parliment house

After an eventful evening and day in the Blue Mountains, the 4 of us headed down south again to Canberra. Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of 367,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, 280 km south-west of Sydney, and 660 km north-east of Melbourne. A resident of Canberra is known as a "Canberran" which is exactly what Erin and Rach are at the moment. The city also just celebrated it's 100th birthday a few days earlier so everyone was still in a festive mood. The city has loads of outside art sculptures everywhere, a beautiful man-made lake, and is home to over 90 diplomatic missions from countries all over the world. We arrived Saturday evening in Canberra, and after a quick pit stop at the girl's flat we went to visit some mutual friends of ours: Dip and Lynda. They just finished building their house and we were treated with great food, wine/beer and company. I even managed to go feed the horses with Lynda and we managed to be surrounded by about 15 kangaroos. It was very surreal. 

Being signed up for AFL team

The evening got even more exciting when we decided to go listen to Dip's friend's Bec playing with her band in the community centre to raise money for women in Kenya. We were all in great spirits and dancing away, when all of a sudden Karen and I found ourselves being recruited to join an AFL team after being there for only 30 minutes. Lynda came to our rescue shouting that we're already signed up for a team. The girls in Canberra definitely take their Australian football serious :)

Inside the Speigel tent

Sunday started with a relaxing run with Erin before we went to a Speigel tent concert.  A Speigel tent is a large travelling tent, constructed of wood and canvas and decorated with mirrors and stained glass, intended as an entertainment venue. Originally built in Belgium during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, only a handful of these Speigel tents remain in existence today, and these survivors continue to travel around Europe and beyond, often as a feature attraction at various international arts festivals. The girls got us all some tickets and we listened to some VERY GROOVY JAZZ. It was amazing and really made me wish you were there Moeks. 

The team outside the Speigel tent!

And since it was Paddy's day, we finished the day at the flat with a Guinness beer :)

Monday morning we all woke up at 6 am to go for a run around the lake with Rachel's dad. This is something she does 3x a week with her Dad-such an awesome thing!! It was great to start running in the dark and see the sun rising along the lake. This was followed by some coffee and veggie-mite sandwiches at a cafe. 

The dreaded last day together was spent with a quick visit to the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) with Erin. For me this was good to get a snapshot of the AIS after being involved with the EIS/UKA for 11 years. We finished our day with having the famous Australian fish and chips - crumbed instead of battered - and I have to admit: this beats the English version by far!! (Sorry Jules!) Erin took us to Canberra airport to fly back to Sydney where she booked us in a fancy hotel before we flew to NZ early the next morning. It's always sad saying good bye to friends, and so much worse when you have such a strong connection. These guys are so close to our hearts that I think we both felt pretty depressed getting back to Sydney Monday evening.

Unfortunately we somehow managed to delete a whole load of our awesome Sydney and Blue Mountains photos off the memory stick :(  Such a bummer.  But luckily some were taken using our iPhones, and the rest we will just have to keep as fond memories. 

It's written in the stars (by Karen)

Fate? Luck? Small world? What is it called when you've got only one night booked in one of the many little towns in the Blue Mountains, and you're shopping in Coles Supermarket and just happen to bump into an old best friend whom you last saw in Cape Town 8 years ago!

Well, whatever it's called it happened to me, and as I strode down the aisles looking for my shopping buddies someone called out my name. I turned and there was Richard, my close friend who had left SA 8 years ago to go work in Spain, and then 4 years later headed down to Oz.  We unfortunately were heading on over to Canberra pretty early the next day but managed to catch up for 2 hours over a coffee.

It was so special to reconnect with this friend from my past, a person who been a key part of my life and has always stayed in my thoughts and close to my heart.

I have a handful of friends who I would call "best friends" and many of them now live far away from me - America, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia. I find it really hard to cope with the distance between us. Luckily we have things like email and Skype, but for me it can't substitute for the physical times shared with a friend chatting and climbing and hanging out.

When I part with a friend like this it feels as though a part of my heart breaks, but then when I reconnect with them, like today with Richard, it feels like it heals again.  But then of course we have to say goodbye again :(

You want that in some soup? (by Karen)

Hong Kong Island by night

My first experience of Hong Kong was the Airport Express - a SUPER clean train with plush seats, informative intercom and even a progress indicator so you knew how far you were from the next stop. It scooped us straight from within the airport direct to Hong Kong station on Hong Kong Island.  I was smitten from the start :)

The trams

But it wasn't just the efficiency of Hong Kong transport that was so impressive, it was the cost too.  Having experienced the cost of England's public transport, and now that of Australia, I can firmly say that Hong Kong's transport is super cheap and wonderfully affordable for a 7-month traveler on a tight budget.

As we cruised along silently one can't not notice the multitude of high rise buildings that dominated the landscape and stretched as far as the eye could see.  Lots of business buildings of course, but it was the mass of residential buildings that really stood out.  Certainly none were less than 20 stories tall, and all crammed tight with thousands of tiny apartments.  With a population of 7 million and in such a small area such a thing as a bungalow or detached house is greek to a Honky.

There is probably as many noodles in Hong Kong as there are tall buildings.  They love their noodles.  And even more so, noodles in soup.  In fact, put anything in a soup and they like it ... macaroni, cabbage, ham, egg, chicken, ducks tongues, it all tastes so much better if it's been souped.  Despite what seems to be a very carbohydrate-rich diet, the Honkys are a very trim nation.  I didn't see one obese person in the 3 days that we were there.  

Parade that we came across

However I did see a packed McDonalds at almost every turn, so I wonder if they are simply blessed with good ancestral genes, and if things might start changing for the future Hongkongese generations.

What we did constantly oogle at was how clean Hong Kong is.  There is ZILCH litter, and things actually shine ... cars, glass, floors. Even concrete floors are bleached so they shine!  Honky's take their cleanliness pretty seriously, there are even signs up saying that due to the dirtyness and mess that pigeons poop makes you can be fined $1500 if you feed them!  

On the ferry

We also discovered that Honky's take their image as a non-lazy nation quite frevently too ... while chilling in the park we were caught by the "sleep police" who was only happy once we had sat up from a lying position.  She then moved on to the next group of picnic-ers, prodding them until they sat up.  Lying on the grass or on a bench is a no no.

Rone soaking up the view from the ferry

Puneet and Zoe, and us of course :)

We were extremely lucky to have the hospitality of a friend of Rone's brother while we were in Hong Kong.  Puneet and his girlfriend, Zoe, gave us some excellent local tips and took us to some groovy Hong Kong bars and restarants.  They also gave us directions to a top-notch Dim Sum spot, where Rone declared that she had the best steamed bun of her life :)

Da best buns!

One recommendation from Puneet and Zoe was to go up to The Peak - a 550m high peak that rises right out of central Hong Kong Island.  Rone and I set off full of enthusiasm and vigour for our "stroll" up to the Peak, but what our friends failed to detail was exactly how steep the path is, and how long it goes on for!  After walking up hill for 10 minutes we were still at the base of many of the buildings that rose 20, 30, 40 stories high.  Maybe even more.  

After another 20 minutes we were finally coming level with the tops of the buildings, and after another 10 minutes we were well above them all.  At some points the path was so steep I was almost going backwards.  However once at the top it was definitely worth it, and the views were spectacular.

The last time I was in Hong Kong I was 16 years old, and with my dad and brother.  I remember us going up to the Peak in the funnicular, and walking the Peak Circuit, just as Rone and I did again now.  So it was a rather special walk down memory lane for me, taking the same path as I had 21 years ago.

My first visit to Hong Kong in 1992

Where's Rone??

To summarize in one last paragraph ... all in all we throughly enjoyed Hong Kong. Don't expect to go anywhere fast (the streets are so packed with people it's impossible to move at any kind of speed) but rest assured it will be a clean and, if you can show patience, pleasurable experience.

Just a few more of our favourite photos ...

Top of the Peak

Street food - backpacker style :)

Add caption

5 mins and the taxi will be here :)

No time for proper blogging, just wanted to share these 2 pics with you :)

Kazza's Lady Bug 

Rone's Mammoth

Say cheese! (by Karen)

As some of you may have guessed, Thomarga is the rather cheesy, rather cliched combination of Thompson and Varga.  But what you didn't know is that it's origins were not actually related to our exTRAVELganza.

One afternoon a rather pushy friend of ours wanted both Rone and I to declare on the spot whether we wanted children, and if so who would bear them and whose surname they would have.  So I rather creatively came up with our new marriage name of 'Thomarga', however when I told Rone she looked at me as though I was crazy, and so it's been demoted from a proposed marriage name to the name of our trip!

Thomarga has been in the planning since May 2010, when Rone and I had a long chat about my sanity levels being in the UK and how I needed to know that there was some plan to move toward a warmer climate at some point in the near future.  We set a deal that once the London 2012 Olympics was achieved, we would go off traveling for (at least) 6 months and during that time decide on what we wanted to do with our lives and where we wanted to be.  Wow, can't believe that time has finally arrived.

Last year we finally got round to pulling out a map and deciding on where we wanted to go.  Of course, most of that changes when you sit down with a travel agent and find out what is actually possible and within the budget.  It all went fairly smoothly and there wasn't too much bickering about who gets to do what, and eventually we managed to produce the monster itinerary as shown below.

exTRAVELganza itinerary

I know we've said this before, but I really want to make sure you guys don't forget ... we would LOVE to have you join us at any point along our travels.  So please please pull out the map and your calendars and the credit card and let's get traveling!