A Glimpse of New Zealand

Hopefully in the coming days I'll have an opportunity to construct a couple of Kiwi blogs. Until then, enjoy a couple of pictures to "wet your whistle". Cheers!!

The Other Half (of Australia)

Bizarrely forgoing memories in Cairns, I failed to mention in my previous post a profound conflagration of condensed ear wax and sinus disorder wreaking havoc in my apparently fragile ear canals. As the three-day dive extravaganza progressed, my “hearing holes” became increasingly clogged. By the time we procured land again, I felt as if I was speaking in a small tin can, hardly aware of my volume and detached from reality. Since, I've incessantly had fingers and wax-removal substances in my ears. It's only a matter of time until a chance encounter with a beautiful woman is decimated by a giant ball of wax hanging from my fingertips.

Thus, “the waxy wall” separating me from the tangible world existed still as Mr. Johnson and myself migrated to the less populated state of Western Australia. I've most certainly left ear wax on almost everything I've touched from Eastern to Western Australia. And probably mucus. Along with massive quantities of “ear gold”, I apparently have some over-excited mucus production device operating somewhere between my eyes and my nose, as my sinuses release a seemingly unending supply of the sticky, gelatinous substance.

As I've now forgotten why I've mentioned my clogged ears, whether for pretext or as an aside, I'll progress to Western Australia.

The primary impetus for traveling to Australia, other than wallabies and platypus, involved visiting Travis' cousin Enich, and Enich's wife Jayme. We planned our arrival in Perth to coincide with Enich's and Jayme's return to Australia after they spent some time on holiday overseas. Converging at the airport, we traveled to a hostel just south of Perth and spent a friendly amount of time consuming “Bundi's”, Australian rum and Coke, and sharing yarns of recent adventures.

Our agenda was to travel along the southwestern swath of Australian coast, visiting breweries, tasting wine, lodging with a pair of Jayme's relatives, climbing the “Gloucester Tree” in the Tall-Tree Forest, swimming in cold ocean water at a dipping-hole called Green's pool, checking-out a lighthouse, and arriving at the beach-heavy town of Esperance. All of this was accomplished in four days of pleasant, lugubrious travel. Still with fingers in my ears, but certainly on the road to congestion-free canals. “Baby steps” to a wax and mucus free melon!

I didn't know quite what to expect from Esperance. Having accomplished very little research prior to our arrival, my mind had yet to form any type of meaningful visual construct. Strangely, and quite irrationally, I envisioned some sort of “Wild West” town from “Quigley Down-under”, with Tom Selick and Yahoo Serious playing cards in a rustic saloon. Certainly this must be some sort of ear wax poisoning, or perhaps an Australian spider laid eggs in my brain. Regardless, I certainly didn't expect miles worth of white-sand beaches, partitioned and framed by scenic rock formations. Nor did I anticipate the avid surf culture that existed in the coastal town. Mere hours after settling into our temporary accommodations, we drove to the beach with surfboards and spent the afternoon riding forgiving waves in a long, sand-laden bay.

The following days brought more surfing, diving, a chance to follow Enich, a partial owner in a veterinary clinic, into the field, driving on a beach at eighty kilometers-per-hour, exploring a national park filled with rock-islands, and nights filled with good microbrews and great food.

After five exhausting days in Esperance, Mr. Johnson and myself thanked our cordial hosts and departed for New Zealand. Hopefully time will allow for a couple of Kiwi posts!