The Magical Island

22. Feb 201522. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ 2 Comments

Friday, 20 February. This is my third day on Moorea, the cute heart-like shaped island next door to Tahiti, French Polynesia. The first two days I felt virtually brain dead because of the heat. I still suffer a bit, especially now, at 3pm, when the sun is unbearable and there is no wind to cool me down, let alone water (it is bathtub warm). Don’t get me wrong, this place is beautiful! The volcanic mountains that soar behind me, covered by deep green rainforest. The turquoise blue water that I’m looking at right now, the waves breaking on the reef at the horizon. The tranquillity. The smell of trees and fresh fruits. However, all I can think of right now is an ice bucket and how much I’d like to empty it over my head… Look at the “Feel” section:

One hour later: I think I’ll have a cold beer now…

Three hours later: It is cooling down, sort of…

So what have I been doing so far? I’ve done some serious hanging out. I don’t mean reading a book or anything. I mean SERIOUS hanging out, doing nothing, thinking of nothing, waiting for the day to pass by. I flew in from Auckland – I stayed there just for the night (thinking how much I’d loved to stay in NZ). I probably was a bit wistful. I left Auckland on Wednesday morning, 18 February. Now here’s the weird thing: I landed 4h later at Papeete airport, Tahiti, on Tuesday, 17 February. Crossing the date line really is bizarre. I still can’t get the days straight. It was pouring with rain when we left the plane over the gangway. After all, it’s still rainy season. But the rain vanished as soon as it came and it hasn’t been raining ever since the first day. Europeans get their own line through the passport control and no stamp in their passport. Feels strange to sort of entering the EU so far from home (technically, French Polynesia does not belong to the EU, but its citizens are French, so it is EUish).

I caught the 5pm ferry to Moorea, Tahiti’s “little sister” and am now staying at a Family B&B, meaning that the guesthouse is on the same ground and next door to the owners family and his brothers family. Even though M. , a Canadian guy staying here, and me crave for spending some time in an airconditioned room at one of the beautiful (but very pricy) resorts once in a while, I am glad to stay where the real people are and to get a glimpse of how they live (surfing at the reef is a very important part – apparently there are some of the worlds best waves breaking along the reefs surrounding the islands).

Yesterday afternoon I took a bike ride along the road. The newer parts even have a bikeline, but the crappy parts have no tarmac and countless potnoles. The people are incredibly friendly. They remind me of the Malawians in that they waved at me, shouting a happy “Bonjour” along my way.

This morning we did a 4×4 tour with the owner around the island:

The water is not as turquoise where I am staying, because there is no sand, but at least we can see the sunset from here.

Tonight, we’ve had fresh Mahi Mahi from the local fish market (actually its just a small shop) for dinner. Luckily M. rented a Vespa – it is quite far and there is virtually no public transport.

DELICIOUS!

Brisbane – the joy and pleasure of being with friends

20. Feb 201520. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I had the pleasure of meeting up with friends in Brisbane. Esther and Cass are actually friends of my childhood friend Henny and I met them at her wedding in Germany in June last year. I was lucky enough to be placed at the same table. It was a marvellous eve that involved lots of laughter! Half-jokingly, half serious I said I might becoming to Brisbane this year. Back then my Sabbatical was not fixed, yet a route already formed in my mind.

I do meet a lot of people on the road and I enjoy that a lot. But to meet these two, their families and neighbours was special to me. It’s so good to be taken care of, sometimes! Thanks to Esther I spent six days at the beautiful, cozy and airy granny flat of her neighbour Linda (and family) in Paddington… furnished with a huge bed, ensuite bath (with a rain shower!) and a kitchen – in short : PRIVACY! Those of you who’ve travelled like I do probably know how good that feels once in a while! But to top that I was welcome at Esther’s all the time, getting to know her family and indulge in great food, especially at the sunday BBQ 🙂

While I explored the Brisbane CBD by myself (partly accompanied by P. :-)), Cass took me to the New Farm neighbourhood for a beer at the local bowling club (as it turns out bowling on the green is a popular sport…) and an iced coffee at the powerhouse, both with pretty views of the river. Later that day we enjoyed the view from Mt. Coot-tha and a spicy japanese noodle soup in St. Lucia – hot, but yummi! I really appreciate the BYO culture, but the poor young japanese thought we wanted to drink all the alcohol we had just bought at the next door bottle shop (two bottles of sparkling wine, one bottle of red wine and six beers). Hilarious.

We spent a lovely morning at Lone Pine, watching the cutest coalas and kangaroos, dingos, wombats, birds….

Thanks so much, gals, hope to be back!

Travelling and Toilets

19. Feb 201519. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

You surely agree that toilets are a huge issue when travelling! You can never be sure if you find one when you need one, what it looks and smells like and if it is well-equipped or not.

Well, let me tell you this much : NZ is a toilet haven! Every tiny village (and I also mean the ones where you don’t have to slow down to 80 km/h, let alone 50km/h, when driving through) has a public toilet that’s well-signposted, open 24/7, clean, equipped with toilet paper, water and soap and most of them also provide disposable towels!!! What’s more, they even provide public toilets at the starting/ending point and often also along the walking tracks. Some of them might be a little less luxurious, but even most long drops are OK, because of their ventilation systems.

Australia seems to be quite the same. At the Sydney International Airport I even found this: It’s a mother and child cabin that contains a normal size toilet for the mother and a smaller size toilet for the child. Wonder if they provide the same at the men’s toilet?!

I seriously wish we had a similar approach to public toilets and they’d be valued just as much in Germany … Instead, the few free public toilets out there are best avoided and many others are strictly guarded by some unhappy cleaning person that rubs its dirty cloth over the toilet seat and expects me to pay for the service. Admittedly, the job sucks and I would not want to do it myself. But it seems to work well in NZ and I’d happily pay more taxes to contribute to better public toilets at home.

Rounding up and down – the missing coins in NZD and AUD

19. Feb 201519. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I still can’t get used to the fact that rounding up or down is not only common in NZ and in Australia, but a necessity. While Australia lacks 1 and 2 cent coins, NZ further lacks a 5 cent coin. Meaning that all cash transactions have to be rounded up or down. If you pay in cash in an Australian supermarket for a bill of 10,02 AUD it will be rounded down to 10 AUD. If you have to pay 10,03 AUD you’d have to really pay 10,05 AUD. This is due to the withdrawal of the 1 and 2 cent coins in the 1980/90s (and later withdrawal of the NZD 5 cent coin). However, if payment is made by credit card, no rounding is necessary.

I’ve now learned that this practice is called swedish rounding, as it was first introduced in Sweden following the removal of 1 and 2 öre coins from circulation in 1972. Surprisingly, coins at the denomination of 0,01, 0,02 and 0,05 have been removed in many countries and although I’ve definitely visited some of these I cannot recall it. The Swiss Reserve Bank, for example, removed the 2 Rappen coin in 1978 and the 1 Rappen coin in 2007 (because it cost 11 Rappen to produce it).

I find it strange, though, that shops in NZ and Australia do not simply avoid the need to round up or down by having all prices divisible by 0,05 or 0,10. However,it seems that it works well and that its balanced out.

EurOZvision

12. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

mx newspaper titled yesterday. I just read this free paper on my way from Brisbane to Australia Zoo… Seriously??? Australia is going to participate in this year’s Eurovision song contest?!? I wonder who’s idea that was? Well, to me it seems a bit odd to invite a country that far away to participate in a European contest. I know Israel is participating too, even though they geographically wouldn’t fit in either. But that’s another story really and I’ll always welcome them to join in. But Australia? That takes it a bit too far, really. What do you think of this? !

Chilling out in Byron Bay

11. Feb 201511. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

Byron Bay is said to have a special vibe. It was originally called “meeting place” (Cavvanbah) in aboriginal language, indicating that it was a place to gather. It is a sacred place to Aboriginals and the spirits are said to proceed from Mt. Wollumbin, an ancient volcano, which erupted 23 million years ago and which can be seen from many points in Byron Bay. It was not an aboriginal settlement, because they believe that the area’s spirit is too strong and therefore people would go crazy if they lived here. That seems to be true, as there are loads of crazy people to be found in Byron Bay! It has been a hippie haven ever since the 70s and I imagine it could be quite similar to Goa… Apart from that there are plenty of surfers (pro’s and wannabes) around. Even though locals keep telling me that I must learn surfing I have yet to try it. But 1) I don’t have enough time and 2) one surfer has been killed and one severely injured as a result of two shark attacs in the past week. I was brave enough to join a sea kayak tour by the local “Go Sea Kayak” company, though. As opposed to NZ the sea was calm and warm. We went along the shoreline to the more secluded bays and saw sea turtles popping up their heads as well as a small group of the resident bottlenose dolphins (including a baby!). THIS truly is a sacred place.

Yum Cha

11. Feb 201511. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

Sydney has the biggest chinatown of Australia, which boasts of Chinese restaurants, especially “yum cha’s”. Yum cha is a southern Chinese style morning or afternoon tea, which involves drinking chinese tea and eating dim sums (steamed, fried or baked sweets), which are wheeled around in heated trolleys to pick from. The main street through chinatown felt like a tourist trap, with “schleppers” trying to decoy passers-by into their restaurants. I remembered having read an article on M. Winnemuths Blog about a yum cha restaurant in Sydney. Funnily enough the said restaurant was in the building complex around the corner where I had just purchased my birthday dress. “The Eight” on the third floor of the market city complex was just what I wanted: chinese customers only (besides me), friendly staff and loads of dim sums to choose from. Of course I picked far too many (about 1/3 went into a doggybag), but it was just too tempting! Big thanks to my dad who taught me how to eat with chop sticks when I was a kid! With all the staff staring at me (will she make it?) it made me feel much more comfortable, besides being able to actually eat what I had been served 😉 …

Unfortunately chinese new year will only start in mid February and I’ll miss out on the big celebrations in sydney.

Here is what the chinese horoscope says for those born in the year of the dragon for the upcoming year of the sheep: “Might we suggest a pause for a refresh? Here’s some good news: In a Sheep year, it’s okay to pamper yourself. Take some time off. Do what you have to do.” Now that’s reassuring :-)!

Manly, beautiful Manly!

11. Feb 201511. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

I payed Manly another visit last Saturday, this time with my bike (which you can take onto the ferry for free). Arriving in Manly around noon I made my way up, up, up the steep hill to get to North Head. When I finally reached it, I was rewarded by this:

What a stunning view of the city and the sea! I also rewarded myself with an iced coffee at the cute café up there (probably the 20th during my travels, but as long as I keep active it hopefully won’t show)…!

Going downhill to secluded Shelly Beach was so much more fun. A quick change into my bikini and “ziiiisch …” I joined the saturday crowd for a swim to cool down on this hot day.

The Australian Open of surfing started off that day, too, and later that afternoon I watched the juniors (girls) riding the waves from Manly Beach. Another reason why Manly has become my favourite destination around Sydney is the fact that they have 6 beachvolleyball nets at the beach. Today they had a fun tounament going – just like every other saturday. Wish I could have joined them…

The 30 min. ferry ride back to Cicular Quay at 7.30 pm was spectacular, as the sun was setting behind the city:

Cycling through Sydney – the Rocks to Cogee return

7. Feb 20159. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ Leave a comment

My butt hurts! No wonder, I have been cycling through Sydney for about 5 hours and I haven’t been cycling in 3 months… it was great though! I rented a well maintained 21 gear bike at ” Bonza bikes ” in the heart of the Rocks, the oldest part of Sydney, which is located btw Opera and Harbour Bridge. The YHA Harbour is the only budget accommodation in this pretty area and offers superb views from the rooftop terrace. I took off rather late (12ish) and started the tour by driving along the coastline, passing the Opera House and the Botanical Garden, riding along Woolloomooloo Bay, Bushcutters Bay, Double Bay and Rose Bay (the latter three with countless yachts) and then cut through to Bondi Beach, which is large, but not all that appealing. It took me a while to accept that riding on the coastal path south wasn’t such a great idea. It wasn’t that crowded, but there are plenty of steps and although the bike was light it was annoying to carry it up and down. Making my way round on the streets, though, usually meant that I had to go further uphill… Hell, yeah, Syney is hilly!! Passing through Tamarama Beach, Bronte Beach, Waverly Cemetary, Clovelly Bowling Club (Bowling? It looked like boule with bigger boules! On the grass! Three fields! Crazy.) and Clovelly Beach I finally stopped at Cogee Beach, which is quite big, but not as bustling as Bondi. Instead of joining the sunbathers on the beach I decided to take a dip in Wylies Pool, a saltwater rockpool at the southern end of the bay. It was magical! I took five rounds surrounded by a few locals and couldn’t believe my luck. So refreshing in every sense! I must have spent over an hour there before I headed back to Bronte, cutting through to Queens Park, Centennial Park, down Oxford road and through Hyde Park, ending up at the Opera House. It’s weird, but as a cyclist I feel so much more like a local. It made me feel like I belong here and know my way (well, thankfully I’m able to read a map). What’s true, though, is that by cycling through a city you get to see a lot at the right pace and definitely a lot more than the ordinary tourist. I really wouldn’t mind staying here for a longer while. I LIKE this city!

What a wonderful day!

6. Feb 20157. Feb 2015 ~ Nina ~ 1 Comment

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes!! I had a wonderful day!

The day before I did something you shouldn’t do as a traveler: I bought myself a dress (I know, more luggage. Something else will have to be thrown out… and I will most probably get rid of it in Buenos Aires, because I won’t really wear it thereafter). It was my birthday present and it did it’s job: it made me feel special yesterday! And I even got a compliment for it from a random lady on the street.

Plus, two people individually took a guess at my age this week and came up with 31/32! Apparently travelling is doing me good…!

I am in Sydney for a week and I’m glad I was here for my birthday. It has a special vibe to it. Yesterday I took the ferry to manly and enjoyed beautiful views of the city. I took a stroll at the beach, watching the surfers (plenty) and even some beachvolleyball players and chilled at a café. It was wonderfully warm and I was grateful for the clouds as the sun can be really scorching. I headed back in the afternoon to get ready fo the night out: I took myself to the opera! Madame Butterfly! It was most enjoyable. Not only did I like the play and the opera house, which is truly a masterpiece, it was elevating to see the harbour dipped in light and the ships going by while sipping a glas of sparkling wine (or two, for the occasion). When it was finished I walked home through the pleasant evening air, the full moon rising behind the opera house.