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Day 56: I got on the bus in the morning heading to Westport by way the Nelson Lakes National Park. The lake we saw was beautiful. There is a traditional lake plunge for those who don’t mind the cold water, which was around 55º F (12º C) and the air temperature was around 66º F (19º C). It didn’t feel too bad when I hit the water initially, but once I was in the lake for a few seconds the cold water seemed to penetrate any heat left in my body (check the photos for a nice action shot). After, we continued to Westport where I enjoyed a spaghetti dinner with a few people from the bus and went out for a couple beers.

Day 57: After leaving Westport we stopped at a couple spots with great view and walks, one being Punakaiki which is famous for the Pancake Rocks. Although that day is mainly preparation for the evening’s events, which is a dinner and dress up party put on by the bus tour. The theme was tight and bright and I ended up going as Santa Claus.

Day 58: Today has been fairly low key, mostly recovery from last night. I’m now in Franz Josef, famous for the fastest moving glacier in the world. I’ll be going on an all day glacier hike tomorrow so that should be a good time.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

So I’m still stuck here in Nelson, New Zealand but I did get a spot on the bus tomorrow morning, I’m feeling better and the weather cleared up. I got out today and did some hiking around Nelson and went to the geographical center of New Zealand. I posted some new pictures so you check those out. Other than that I spent the morning doing some web work and did some supply shopping, sunscreen, soap, cereal, milk, etc. Apparently there is no ozone layer over New Zealand so you get burnt in something like 15 minutes.

So now I’m in Nelson, New Zealand. I left Christchurch Friday morning via a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. We spent Friday night in Kaikoura and then headed to Nelson through Picton. Apparently these hop-on-hop-off tour buses have become rather busy recently so it may be a while before I can get a spot on the bus heading to the next town, Westport.

All the scenery since leaving Christchurch, heading through Kaikoura and Picton, has been beautiful. We stopped at a winery on the way to Nelson from Picton and they had some good wine (as if I can actually tell good wine) for cheap (which was the real persuader) so I picked up a couple bottles.

The bus heading to Westport will pass Nelson Lakes National Park and that is supposed to be one-of-a-kind. And I’ll start getting out more now since I’m starting to kick this cold and that I’ve finished the last Harry Potter book in the series.

I’m in Christchurch, New Zealand. I just booked a hop-on-hop-off bus service that will cover a majority of the entire country and will be setting off in two days. The exchange rate is great at the moment so that helped take the edge off. The weather is that of chilly spring, a bit cooler than Melbourne. To no surprise there are a lot of church-like buildings around here. It’s a very peaceful atmosphere.

I only had purchased a flight entering the country, not departing and apparently that was a problem for customs and immigration (I guess they take that stuff seriously, who would have thought). So I was interrogated by both customs and immigration, then forced to purchase a departing flight sometime within the 30 day window of my arrival date. I settled on a departure 28 days in the future from Auckland, New Zealand heading back to Sydney, with the intent of spending Christmas and New Years in Sydney. The idea to spend the holidays there was sparked by a couple new found friends I met during my overnight at the Melbourne airport, Kate and Kirsty. They had just spent quite sometime traveling through South Africa and were now starting to travel Australia. We swapped stories and pictures, turning what otherwise would have been a long and boring night into time well spent in good company.

Besides that not much to report. I haven’t been out much due to my new found obsession with reading the next Harry Potter book, picking up where I left off with the movies, and that I still haven’t completely shook this sore throat and cold. If nothing else the miracle that I am actually reading a book may be worth having embarked on these travels.

After a business-length week in rainy Singapore, I jumped on a flight back to Darwin, Australia around 10:30 PM. Upon arrival in Australia, not particularly wanting to linger in Darwin and noticing that my flight was continuing on to Melbourne, I swung by the ticket counter to see what I could stir up. I ended up getting on the flight to Melbourne. It wasn’t going to depart until 8:30 AM so in the meantime I booked another flight from Melbourne to Christchurch, New Zealand, which departs this coming Tuesday morning.

I finally arrived in Melbourne around 2 PM, took a shuttle bus to the city and walked the streets for a couple hours. From what I’ve seen, Melbourne is an awesome place. Although that could be heavily influence by the weather, which is cool spring-like with blue skies, a nice change from the insane humidity, heat and rain I’ve experienced for the last few weeks. I haven’t had much of a chance to explore as I’ve been sleeping for the last two days, making up for the previous three days of virtually no sleep, but did get out a bit today and am now at the Victoria State Library. Not that Melbourne is overwhelmingly unique, but I get the impression it would be a great place to live. I’ll be catching the shuttle back to the airport tomorrow at midnight, as shuttle service doesn’t start early enough in the morning to make my 6 AM flight, and having another airport sleepover. See you in New Zealand!

The last few days have been filled mostly with relaxation at the Fairmont Singapore. I’m doing my best to enjoy a nice place to rest and making the most of the hotel amenities as, unfortunately, its been raining the whole time. Although we did a break in the weather yesterday and I made it out for a bit. I took a riverboat ride through the major quays in Singapore, including Boat Quay and Clarke Quay. After which I got a tour though a few Singapore attractions via rickshaw. We went though Little India, down Arab Street and through Chinatown. The rickshaw driver was kind enough to give me the low down on where to find any and all kinds of prostitutes for a bargin price. We saw a couple ladies and lets just say you get what you pay for, perhaps 5 dollars a tooth (joking exaggeration).

Jeremy, his colleges and myself have had a chance to get out and try a few places to eat. Most things are expensive in the area were are staying and the service is shit, but the food has been good. One place was like a meat buffet, where they would come out with the different meats on a skewer and give you fresh cuts until you waved the white flag. I had my first go at chicken heart which was tasty but chewy.

Besides that I’ve spent the rest of my time in the hotel spa, dominating the steam room and sauna, and catching up on my HBO movie watching. Bottom-line: Singapore is very Westernized and not much of a unique experience, but they make one hell of a donut. The call-girls aren’t bad either, thanks for that Jeremy…I kid I kid, he can’t expense those.

I was glad to get out of Darwin. The city has a nice laid back vibe but the hostel wasn’t the best and the heat and humidity was intense. Not that Singapore is much better climate-wise, but my accommodation here is a bit more comfortable. I arrived last night a bit after 9 PM. I took the train which brought me to a station right below the hotel where Jeremy is staying. Without any hitches, like the Chicago Coffee Fest calamity (for those involved you know what I’m talking about), we met up and I got a damn good nights sleep. Jeremy, Art (Jeremy’s work college) and myself grabbed some breakfast this morning and setup a micro workstation at a coffee shop in the mall attached to the hotel. I’ll be heading out of here in a bit to roam Singapore and hopefully get a haircut (the mop has got to go).

The flight into Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia arrived just after 1 AM. Since the reception was closed at the hostel I planned to stay at, I slept at the airport until 7 AM or so. I was one of dozens of people calling Darwin International their temporary home. The weather here is hot and humid, but yet again I found sanctuary at the Northern Territory State Library (honestly, probably the most exciting thing in Darwin). Although not to knock it too much, it is a very laid back place which is a nice change of pace from a city atmosphere. I would just go relax at the beach but there are none close by and if you get in the water you run the risk of getting eaten by a crocodile or stung by a jellyfish. Instead I’ve spent my time eating cereal, cheap chocolate, playing chess and relaxing in the cool air of the library. And I moved my flight to Singapore to tomorrow so I’ll be flying out of here around 6 PM.

I’m back at the Queensland State Library using the free WiFi to follow the US election results. I was hoping to get out and do a few things around Brisbane before catching my flight to Darwin tonight, but the weather is cold and rainy. Not only are Australians overwhelmingly for Obama, but everyone I’ve met from other countries, which makes up about half of the people I’ve come across since my time down under, are also for Obama. Everyone also seems rather concerned that I’m not back in the States to vote, but luckily it appears that my missed vote won’t cause a calamity.

After spending most of day 32 at the hostel in Surfers Paradise (catching up on emails, blogging, etc. since the weather was shit), I caught the bus and train to Brisbane. I roamed down the streets for a bit finally locating a strip of hostels. It was early enough in the night that I had time to head out into the city for a bit. I walked to the Brisbane City Hall which is illuminated with rotating colors at night, then down Queen Street which is full of shops and restaurant. I’ve been craving French Toast for a while now so I went by the grocery store and picked up the ingredients plus some other stuff. As I was checking out they announced $1 frozen pizzas so I grabbed a couple of those thinking they would be great for dinner the next couple nights. When I got back to the hostel I found out they didn’t have an oven, so I enjoyed my first microwaved frozen pizza (it actually wasn’t that bad).

I got up this morning and, as planned, whipped up a batch of French Toast. The hostel I’m staying at has some pretty good views from it’s terrace so I went up there to enjoy my culinary masterpiece. I am now in the midst of strolling through Brisbane. I came across the Queensland State Library which is part of a greater campus, home to the science center, multiple museums and galleries. The library had just been redone in 2006 and is well designed, but the best part is FREE INTERNET!!! No wonder people were piled in here like cattle, laptop in lap. I’ll milk this for a while before continuing through the city.