Heading Back to the US?

For Trenton's fall break we're headed back to the United States. well, at least a US territory, that is.  The beautiful and little known island of Saipan.  Saipan is one of the islands in the group called the Marianas, which includes Guam.  I'm sure you haven't heard too many travel websites luring you to visit Saipan, so you're probably wondering why.

Well, 75 years ago, June 14, 1944, Private First Class Paul R Thompson, Brian's father was part of the Battle of Saipan.  Papa, as we so lovingly call him, earned his Purple Heart storming the beach in Saipan.  This weekend, we're bringing his Purple Heart there.  We're returning to the island to experience the rich WWII history, explore the culture and dive the numerous wrecks.

This is the letter that was sent to his mother. We really take for granted how quickly news travels now.

Shotover Jetboat Adventure

It was still Day 2 of our New Zealand holiday.  After a morning of Canyoning, we refueled at the famous Queenstown restaurant, Fergburger.  There is always a long line here any time of day.  We went around 3:30 PM, after the lunch rush and before the dinner crowd, so our wait was just 10 minutes.

After lunch, we were ready for another dose of adrenaline.  It was time to try the Shotover Jetboat.  If you go to any tourist destination with a large body of water, odds are you will find a jetboat attraction.  They are the super fast boats that hold about 20 or so raincoat-clad people.  You see them zip around in circles, flying over waves and are a huge splash, literally.  I see the Sydney Jetboat all the time in the harbor but have never done it.  So, why do the one in Queenstown?

BT's POV for the ride

The Shotover Jetboat runs on the Shotover river.  The fact that it's not on an open body of water and instead along a river and inside a canyon adds even more excitement to the ride.  We get so close to the canyon walls, it was insane.  I sat on the left side, directly behind the driver and thought for sure we were going to hit the rocks several times.

My face for most of the ride

It was a blast.  Our driver, Niam skillfully maneuvered our boat through the canyon.  We did 180's, 360's and, yes, we all got wet.  Shotover, might not have the waves to jump like a boat on an open body of water (This was fine because I wasn't ready to taste more Fergburger.).  However, the thrill of going through the canyon is something those other jetboat attractions don't have.

But nevermind my description of it.  See for yourself in the video below.  Brian sat up front and center next to the driver to get the footage below.

Sailing on Duende

duende

/duːˈɛndeɪ/

(n.) the mysterious power of art to deeply move a person

Today, I experienced Duende.

Berthed at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia 

Captain Damien Parkes invited me to join his crew as they raced in Sydney Harbor this week and what I experienced was art, and yes, I was moved.  Sailing is a performance art with the yacht as the instrument, wind and water as the music, the captain as the choreographer and the crew as the dancers.  It was beautiful to watch and be a part of.


Duende is the name of Parkes yacht.  She is competing in the Club Marine Wednesday Summer Series that runs for several weeks.  There are just a few races left andthe Duende team sits in second place.

I have no sailing experience whatsoever.  I've been on a sailboat just twice in San Francisco.  I've seen races in San Francisco and most recently watched the start of the Sydney Hobart race on New Year's day from North Head as they all sailed out of Sydney Harbor.  The harbor was jam-packed with yachts and I had no idea how they didn't all just smash into each other.

Now here I was in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, home to the Sydney Hobart Race hopping onto the 50 ft yacht, Duende.  As soon as we motor out of the marina I see Ichiban, the winner of the 2019 Sydney Hobart.  Don't worry, we are not racing her! She's in a different class, but Duende is no stranger to the Sydney Hobart either.  She's been in that race for the last 6 years.

Ichiban, winner of Sydney Hobart 2019

We sailed around as the crew completed the setup. I'm sure there's some seafaring jargon I'm supposed to use here.  In Wedding Crashers, Christopher Walken's character said to Owen Wilson "We're tacking back around.  Do me a favor...ease the sheets and swing the jib starboard."  That, I can understand.  But honestly, they spoke a different language on the ship.  All I know is, they understood each other and they knew what they were doing.

When the race started, I couldn't believe how close all the boats were to each other.  I was still amazed that no one crashed.  Then we were off and it was fantastic!  I loved the wind in my hair and no sounds of an engine, just the water and the wind.  I switch sides along with the crew as we tacked.  I even sat on the upside gunwale, or the side edge of the boat with my legs dangling off, just like I've seen others do in the races.  It was so much fun.
When we came to the finish, we were up close and personal with the ship that had been tailing us for the entire race "Wild Thing."  It was close and we won't know results yet because I'm sure there are complicated things to consider like handicaps and such - much too involved for a first timer like me to understand.  

All I know is, I had an amazing time on the harbor today.  It was fun to see the camaraderie among the crew and listen to their stories.  Thank you to the crew for letting me tag along and a big thank you to Captain DP for the amazing experience!

Here's a highlight video from my point of view.  You'll notice it's taken from the stern.  I didn't want to get in anyone's way and mess up the race.

Canyoning Queenstown

A few years ago, I gave my husband a Canyoneering experience in Arizona for his birthday.  It was such a great time we wanted to try it in Queenstown.  On the morning of day two of our New Zealand holiday, we found ourselves in the lobby of Canyoning Queenstown for registration and a safety briefing for the Queenstown Adventurer half day outing with our guides, Alex and Derek.  Then our group of 12 hopped into the van to drive to their base camp closer to the canyon where we got geared up.

✓  Neoprene socks
✓  Wetsuit
✓  Hiking boots
✓  Harness
✓  Life vest
✓  Helmet

Then we were off! From base camp, there was another short drive to our starting point of Queenstown Canyon.  After a short hike uphill, we did two zip lines across the canyon before we repelled (abseilled) down into the canyon where we got to finally touch the water for the first time.  The water was cold, but it was a welcome treat after we had been sweating in our gear for the last 20 minutes.

For our first little waterfall our guide Derek told us to sit down with our back to the waterfall, cross our arms over our chest and fall back to slide down the waterfall head first and backwards.  Is that crazy enough for you? Basically, this was just a precursor of things to come.  For the next hour and a half, we abseiled, jumped, slid, swam, crawled and climbed through refreshingly cold water surrounded by the beautiful canyon and lush green forest.

It was exactly what we expected.  Our guides were great and catered to all levels of ability.  I do wish they took more pictures.  They didn't let us take cameras so our hands would be free.  They did allow the helmet GoPro, so we only have that footage.  Some quality group shots would've been nice to have.  It was a big group of 10, with varying degrees of swimming abilities, so it was slow at times.  The waiting could get chilly if you were in the water.  If we did it again, I'd want a smaller group, or at least a group that I knew, so that we could kill the wait time chatting or messing around in the water.

Other than that, I'd definitely recommend Canyoning Queenstown if you're in the South Island of New Zealand.  I'm looking forward to doing some more canyoning when we get back to Arizona.  Here's the video of our time in the canyon.

New Zealand, South Island

I didn't know what to expect from New Zealand.  Basically, since we're in the middle of "The Year Down Under", we might as well hop over to New Zealand and check it out.  Seriously, sorry Kiwis, but NZ was never on my radar.  I heard it's also left out of a lot of maps, too.

Now that I've been there, I've finally seen the error in my ways.  There has never been a more perfect place for me to visit! Adventure, nature, beauty, amazing people and did I say adventure?  This was my husband's birthday trip so we made sure all the good stuff was on the itinerary.  This blog post is basically our itinerary for the week.  Following blogs will have more detail on the activities.

Day one was a travel day, so our first stop on Day two was Canyoning with Canyoning Queenstown.  I usually call it Canyoneering, but I think they like to shorten words here in NZ (pronounced en zed) like their Aussie mates.  This amazing day was topped off by a meal at the iconic and always busy Fergburger.  This was followed by a ride on the Shotover Jet boat to help us digest.

Day three was a bike through the Gibbston Valley wine country using the self guided option with Fork and Pedal.

Day four was rainy, so it was the perfect travel day.  We drove to Te Anau, the city on the way to Milford Sound.  We walked around the quaint little town and, enjoyed the ziplining in the park and a delicious pasta and pizza dinner.  We opted out of doing the Glow Worm cave.  I'm sure it's cool and all, but they don't allow cameras and I've seen the videos.  So, I'm good with that.

Day five was Milford Sound, which everyone told us is not really a sound, but a fjord.  It was beautiful and the waterfalls were plentiful thanks to the rain the day before.  We took a cruise and checked out the underwater observatory.  It was a very scenic ride back as well.  We drove back through Queenstown and headed up to the town of Wanaka.

Day six we wanted to hike.  There are many walking tracks around the area, but we narrowed it down to a choice of two,  the Roys Peak hike or the Rob Roy Glacier hike.  Roys Peak is a treeless hike up a mountain through pasture and a fire trail, but there is a spot where people queue to get the most instagrammed picture in NZ.  I didn't feel like being part of that crowd, so we opted for the Rob Roy Glacier hike.  We were so happy with that choice.

That evening Brian and I went out for a drink and played some pool.  On our last game we bet that if I won, I would get to go bungy jumping the following day.  Guess what! I won! I really need to be careful what I wish for.  So, the next day, day seven we drove back down to Queenstown and on our way there, we stopped at AJ Hackett's Bridge Bungy and I did it!!

After that, I needed to add to my dosage of adrenaline that day so took the Skyline Gondola up to Bob's Peak and raced a few times down the luge.  It was a perfect day.  The weather was warm and the sun was out, and of course the view was gorgeous.  We even stopped at the Stratosfare restaurant to drink in the brews and views.

Finally, that evening Brian wanted to get back to the pool table.  Luckily, our hotel was walking distance to Harry's Pool Bar.  We ended up sharing a table with a bunch of guys that taught us a new game that allowed all of us to play.  It was called Killer.  We had a blast playing the game and hanging out with the locals.

Day 8 was a travel day back home.  Thank you New Zealand for the most amazing time.  Time to head back to relax on the beach and give my adrenal glands a good rest.

Great Barrier Reef

I'm happy to report that the Great Barrier Reef is still there and Coral bleaching has decreased in the last two years according to our Dive Center.  When the ocean water temperature reaches above 30 degrees, the algae inside the coral dies which in turn kills the coral and turns them white.  I was happy to hear, the bleaching has slowed down.  So keep up the good work on decreasing global warming people!!

Just a small part of the reef  as seen from the plane

25 January 2019, I did two dives while the boys did three.  We used the Silver Series Dive Centre and have no complaints. Our Dive Master, Gordon was great.

Dive 1. Escape.

My max depth was 18.5 m with a total bottom time of 48 minutes. Highlights of this dive was a cute little cuttlefish hanging out at the anchor area.  Also, a white tip reef shark lurking in the shadows.  I did well equalizing my ears with just minimal discomfort.  I did take one sudafed tablet an hour prior to diving.  It was raining hard when we first jumped in. The 48 minutes went by so fast!  While we were down there, we could tell some of the clouds cleared because the colors were more vibrant.

Trenton on the right foreground checking out the cuttlefish on the block

Dive 2. Chapel. I normally don't do the 2nd dive.  Either my ears hurt or I'm too tired, but I think the excitement of being in the GBR really helped.  Maximum depth 17.2 m, dive time 39 minutes.

The highlight of this dive was a cute little clownfish swimming in an anemone. Unfortunately, I broke the rule by not telling anyone, so nobody else got to see it.
Another highlight is when we climbed through this skinny gorge surrounded by coral. When I was climbing, I swam along with a school of tiny purple fishes and a couple big fish, too. This really tested my buoyancy to avoid hitting any outcroppings above or break off the beautiful fan coral that jutted into the opening.

At the end of our dive, the underwater photographer met up with us and took pictures.  Later when we looked at all the different professional photographs,  I decided I looked like a freak in all of them.  Brian was happy that my underwater self is not very photogenic and I'm saving him lots of money by not buying the pictures.

Following the anchor line up to the boat

Dive 3.  Pavona.

I sat out this dive.  Brian and Trenton did it.

This is a drift dive, so we dropped off the divers and the boat took off to meet them at the end.
The highlight for them were two grey reef sharks. clown fish with baby nemo. and Pavona the giant potato coral.  Picture a giant pile of potatoes that have just been dumped onto the bottom of the Pacific Ocean by a few 18 wheelers.

While the boys did their dive, Spencer and I snorkeled and practiced our free diving.

My overall experience diving the Great Barrier Reef was just ok.  A few reasons for this lukewarm reaction.

1.  Maybe I built it up too much in my head

2.  Apparently, it's rainy season, so we didn't get the colors popping as much as I expected

3.  The number of cool creatures we spotted was few and far between.  I expected more, but it might be the sites we visited didn't happen to have as many that day.  So, I'm going to chalk that up to a timing issue.

In conclusion, I will definitely have to dive GBR again when it's not rainy season so I can give it a second chance, and hopefully a better review.

Happy Halloween

Halloween is not the big deal over here as it is in the states.  I do miss getting dressed up and seeing the kids in their costumes. I also miss the way the neighborhood goes all out on Phantom Way.  So, I decided to keep some Halloween spirit and do something spooky.

I have never done this before and I've never really wanted to, but I know my son likes scary movies, so I thought he might enjoy this.  I decided to take a ghost tour of one of the most haunted places in Sydney, Quarantine Station, or Q Station here in Manly.

I was dreading this all day. My stomach was queasy.  I didn't even buy the tickets until the very last minute, just in case I wanted to chicken out and scrap the whole thing.  But I did it, and here I am at midnight writing about it, partly because I'm too scared to turn off the lights and go to sleep and also because the adrenaline from the night is still running through my veins.

They say you should do something every day that scares you. I think I've met my quota for the next few weeks!

Q Station is the place where they kept sick immigrants just getting off the ships before they were allowed in Sydney.  Of course not all of them survived, many died of their illnesses: small pox, flu, scarlet fever, plague.  So you can imagine that many unfortunate souls might still be "living" there.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I hate being scared.  Ah, the things I do for my son.  We were early for our 8:30 PM tour, so Trenton and I walked around the outside of the restaurant where it was dark and quiet with a great view of the harbor.  Trenton pointed out into the water and asked, "Is that a boat?"

I stared for a few seconds and turned around to say yes, but Trenton was gone and I was all by myself, in the dark in Q Station! Grrrr, Trenton! Already, he was freaking me out.  He jumped out from behind a table laughing.  Ugh, is this how this night is going to be?

But everything turned out just fine.  I actually enjoyed the tour.  Yes, it was scary, but I loved the history and the ghost stories! Our guide, Amy was great.

The tour was done by lantern light, but as we entered each building, she made us leave them outside.  Each room had no lights except for Amy's red flashlight, but she hardly kept that on either. In one room, she actually just left us in there in the pitch black to ask us if we "felt" anything.  Umm..how about cold, spine-tingling fear? Is that a feeling? Later, she gave us these EMF sensors that detect Electromagnetic frequencies and are supposed to light up when they detect paranormal activity.

Trenton was holding the EMF sensor while walking around the grave diggers quarters which houses some of the not-so-nice ghosts. He wanted me to go with him into one of the bedrooms and I told him "No Way." I did not like the feeling of that room. Just then he had the EMF pointed at me and it lit up! Ack! Was there a ghost right next to me?

As much as I couldn't stand being scared the whole time, I actually had fun.  Something super scary happened in the morgue, but our whole group ended up laughing so much about it.  She also had stories of friendly ghosts that made me feel a little better.

Anyway, I didn't take too many pictures because I didn't want to capture anything creepy on film, but here are a couple.

The First picture is of the shower stalls in the decontamination station.  Walking around here was super scary, so I held Trenton's arm the whole way.

The second is of the hospital.  There are three original hospital beds behind some stanchions.  Amy said that we could sit on any of the other beds except for those three.  After looking at the photo, it looks like some bodies were, or are already sitting there.

If you really must see more images of Quarantine Station, you'll find plenty on Google.

Happy Halloween, everyone!  Don't be afraid to do something different! You might actually enjoy it and create a new Halloween tradition!