Canterbury, New Zealand
11:37am
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Universe, Tequila, and Public Transport
So at this point in our travels, we have gotten a few things pretty much mastered. One of these things is the careful orchestration that must take place in getting to an airport. And things must be particularly meticulous when the flight you are to board is international. Stender and I had agreed in advance to let as much of this trip as possible pan out on the fly, but when it comes to arriving to an airport on time for a flight out of the country, everything must be carefully planned and prepared well in advance. Sometimes, as was the case today, the flights can be scheduled at an unreasonable hour such as 9 AM, with equally as unreasonable events, such as tequila, taking place on the immediately proceeding night.
So there are times when you plan to the best of your abilities, but you are still relying on something larger than yourself to get you to the airport in a timely fashion.
We woke up at 6 AM today, with just a few hours of a couch sleep sustaining us, in an attempt to catch a city bus, then a train, and then ultimately a plane to get us into New Zealand. Because of the sequence of public transportation that we were to take, we could not be late for one thing without severely hampering our plans. If we missed our first bus, that would mean we would miss the first train, having to wait for a second to the airport, which would put us too close for comfort for the check in of our flight.
So we ran across the West End of Brisbane, each with close to 50lbs on our backs, in the persistent rain as the sun rose above us for the last time in the land down under. When we finally reached the street where our bus stop was located, the bus was less than 60 yards to our right. We made the bus, ergo our train, ergo our flight, by literally a few meters. We leave Australia with our usual style and finesse, and with just seconds to spare.
But we made it. The universe has accommodated us once again.
Now onto New Zealand. Hopefully we can ride this same wave of luck the next three weeks.
So there are times when you plan to the best of your abilities, but you are still relying on something larger than yourself to get you to the airport in a timely fashion.
We woke up at 6 AM today, with just a few hours of a couch sleep sustaining us, in an attempt to catch a city bus, then a train, and then ultimately a plane to get us into New Zealand. Because of the sequence of public transportation that we were to take, we could not be late for one thing without severely hampering our plans. If we missed our first bus, that would mean we would miss the first train, having to wait for a second to the airport, which would put us too close for comfort for the check in of our flight.
So we ran across the West End of Brisbane, each with close to 50lbs on our backs, in the persistent rain as the sun rose above us for the last time in the land down under. When we finally reached the street where our bus stop was located, the bus was less than 60 yards to our right. We made the bus, ergo our train, ergo our flight, by literally a few meters. We leave Australia with our usual style and finesse, and with just seconds to spare.
But we made it. The universe has accommodated us once again.
Now onto New Zealand. Hopefully we can ride this same wave of luck the next three weeks.
Leaving Aussie to face the chill of NZ
So as our time in Australia comes to a close, we spent our final night in the country embracing a local tradition known as "Taco Tuesdays." It was a bittersweet and surreal experience for two boys from Texas, some 11,000 statue miles from the Lone Star State in the heart of Brisbane, Australia, to be invited to a such an event. The tacos, as expected, left much to be desired, but the $4 frozen margaritas and equally priced watered down shots of tequila were a respectable consolation. Taco Tuesdays is a regular gathering for local and traveling Couch Surfers, so we spent the night with expats from France, Ireland, Argentina, Belgium, Germany, as well as the obligatory cute blond Dutch girl with suspiciously perfect English. 
Today will be the most temperate and forgiving weather we will experience for some weeks, as we head into the South Island of New Zealand in the late fall, and plan on getting as far south in that island as we can. In checking the weather for Christchurch, which is reportedly unseasonably cold right now, the highs are five degrees Celsius (38 Fahrenheit), with lows of -3 Celsius (28 degrees Fahrenheit). Stender and I have zero winter clothes, as they take up valuable real-estate in backpacks, so our first order of business upon arrival in Christchurch is to hit up an op-shop (thrift store), and stock up on the winter essentials.
On to the land of the long white cloud, and to the home of the Flight of the Conchords. Sweet as.
Today will be the most temperate and forgiving weather we will experience for some weeks, as we head into the South Island of New Zealand in the late fall, and plan on getting as far south in that island as we can. In checking the weather for Christchurch, which is reportedly unseasonably cold right now, the highs are five degrees Celsius (38 Fahrenheit), with lows of -3 Celsius (28 degrees Fahrenheit). Stender and I have zero winter clothes, as they take up valuable real-estate in backpacks, so our first order of business upon arrival in Christchurch is to hit up an op-shop (thrift store), and stock up on the winter essentials. On to the land of the long white cloud, and to the home of the Flight of the Conchords. Sweet as.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
A view from our Picnic: The Picnic and the Powerhouse
In continuing with our ongoing picnic theme (aka being too broke to have a proper meals), we had planned a picnic on the Brisbane River with a few friends in a community park in the suburb of New Farm. The majority of Brisbane follows the river's path, which makes a particularly photogenic appearance through the city's Central Business District. On this beautiful Sunday, the park was filled with all the usual cohorts; the university group of picnickers with cases of beer, the earnest family picnickers with an entire feast, and us with the bare essentials: Sausages, bread, American mustard, and a few bottles of white wine. 
After dinner, we took a quick walk across the park to a place called The Powerhouse. The Powerhouse is, as the name implies, a former power station that has been retrofitted as a theater, concert venue, and art space. Every Sunday The Powerhouse throws free a comedy show, which happened to be the exact amount of money we had hoped to spend that night. Not only was it within our budget, but the show was actually pretty damn funny. There were suspended walkways that have been left intact which provided a phenomenal amount vantage points to see the stage from. But one of the most interesting things about The Powerhouse is that it is owned and supported by the Brisbane City Council. Another successful day.
'A' party in Brisbane
In keeping with the sold tradition of the Matts, for our first night in Brisbane, we went straight from the airport to a party. This was an "A" party, as such we were required to dress as something that began with the letter A. After several discussions on how lose we could interpret this concept with our shoestring budget, Stender purchased a set of water colours [local spelling] at a dollar store in Sydney to attend as an Artist, and I decided to really shake things up an attend as an American. A solid first night in Brisbane.
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