Where in OZ Have I Been??

Hey Guys!

I wanted to start of this newsletter with the fact that I am currently in Auckland, New Zealand! ^^

It is about 18-20 C or mid-60s F here and quite comfortable because of the humidity. Although, I heard from some locals that because of the humidity one can actually make feel quite cold during the winter months as opposed to a drier climate e.g. the southern island of New Zealand.

If you want to know more about New Zealand, please request such in the comments below, otherwise I will get back to it in due time. . .

-So, on my last blog I mentioned that this blog would cover some of the locations I've been to and what I've seen and done whilst there.-

Well, I started my exploration within OZ from Sydney and spent about 1 week there. I explored all of the CBD-Central Business District aka Downtown-and experienced a bit of the night-life.
The CBD is fairly large with many shops and stores to visit if you are a heavy shopper. That suburb of CBD is a peninsula with the shore easily accessible from anywhere in CBD.

On the east-side of CBD is the Royal Botanical Gardens which are a huge collection of parks and gardens-well huge for me because my home of San Francisco Bay Area has few parks especially ones of this caliber.

I did enjoy the night-life and do recommend it. If you are familiar with clubs in Los Angeles where the main form of dancing is grinding . . . well, that isn't the main focus in OZ. People actually dance and physical contact isn't the modus operandi (the usual way of doing something).

Clubbing and drinking age is 18 in Australia so many people at or near my age from the US will find that factor attractive. Alcohol isn't my main focus, so I wasn't too excited about that but the fact that I could enter any club was spectacular.

From Sydney I took a trip to Burmagui (pronounced Ber-muh-gyoo-ee) and did some WWOOFing there. I really recommend WWOOFing to anybody who ever travels or plans to travel to most countries. Their site is here, WWOOF.org choose a region followed by the relevant country and you will be directed to the appropriate WWOOF site.

To get a good idea of what WWOOF offers, I highly recommend checking out their website. In a nutshell, WWOOF stands for (W)illing (W)orkers (O)n (O)rganic (F)arms. You work on one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of locations in the relevant country which have some form of organic work. In exchange for 4-6 hours of work, you will receive free room & board. The exact hours of work and schedule depend on the WWOOF host but you can work that out.

It is great fun and a perfect way of seeing the real culture of the country you are visiting. For those not too keen on farm and garden work, don't worry, you can find some WWOOF hosts who offer marketing work, animal care such as taking care of dolphins or perhaps koalas and more. Please just visit that website above for the real dope (info).

After Burmagui I traveled to Canberra which is nice but not a place I'd stay for very long. Fewer night-life options and fewer recreational activities.

2 nights and 2 days later I was on my way to Melbourne! Melbourne is fantastic with tons to do, see, and experience. For those who don't know, the city is pronounced (Mel-bin)-don't ask me why. :D

I could write paragraphs on the city but suffice it to say:

• The city has amazing food options-imagine hundreds of restaurants, cafes, etc.,
• Great nightlife-tons of pubs and clubs,
• People from all walks of life,
• Decent public transportation-though ensure you have some leeway for late arrivals, the Metlink system is often tardy,
• And if you are keen to gamble, you will find dozens of poker machines i.e. slot machines in many different pubs and even a couple of casinos are available.
  

I have also traveled to lots of small towns in the state of Victoria-the state where Melbourne is located-where I was able to experience lots of Aussie Bush and meet many different people.

I eventually made it back to Sydney via airplane for a few days and then caught my flight to Auckland.

In case you are wondering what I am presently up to in Auckland, I am visiting marinas and yacht clubs to contact "yachters" and boaters for the purpose of working on a boat so as to experience further adventure and gain experience.

It is very exciting so please wish me the best of luck for this option!

-Next post may be on Aussie slang and/or a few other subjects . . . I have to leave you on some sort of cliffhanger right? :P

Cheers,
Daniel A