A couple weekends ago a couple friends and I decided to go to Castle Hill. It’s very close to Cave Stream, but when we went there before, we just drove by because we didn’t have time to stop. I had been wanting to go back and check it out, so we took a few hours on Saturday to drive there and explore the area.
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Castle Hill is a large area with huge rock formations that you can hike up and around and even climb on. There were some people there with rock climbing gear, but we just explored the areas we could safely get to. It was a nice, sunny day so even with the wind and cooler temperature, we still enjoyed being outside and even spent some time sitting up at the top of one of the rocks.
After walking around for a couple hours, we decided to drive back to UC. It was a nice outing on a Saturday morning, and I was glad to enjoy one of the last nice days before it gets colder.
A couple of weekends ago, a few friends and I decided to drive up to Kaikoura for the weekend. Kaikoura is an area known for its sea life and amazing coastal views. Our plan was to drive there on Saturday, hike nearby Mount Fyffe and stay in the hut about halfway up the mountain, and then hike to the summit the next morning to watch the sunrise.
It took about three hours to drive to Kaikoura and a lot of the drive was along the coast, so the views were really nice. We stopped in town to get lunch at a little fish and chips shop. Bryn and I also couldn’t resist getting some ice cream at the homemade ice cream shop across the street. After lunch we went onto the beach and even though it was cloudy and a little foggy, the beach and surrounding mountains were still beautiful and very peaceful.
Then, we drove to the start of the Mt. Fyffe track and started up the mountain. At this point the sun was starting to set, but from what we could see in the remaining daylight, the views of the town, ocean, and mountains were incredible. We got up to a lookout about an hour into the hike and a couple was heading down the mountain. They told us that the hut that we were planning on staying at was really full and that there were already people setting up tents outside. We were disappointed to hear this, but glad that they told us so that we could make other plans.
After thinking about our options, we ultimately decided to head back down the mountain and just drive back to Christchurch. Even though we had wanted to stay overnight and watch the sunrise the next morning, some of us had to be back by the early afternoon the next day, so we wouldn’t be able to do the full hike the next day. Even so, we had a great day trip up to Kaikoura and I look forward to going back with my family at the end of the semester.
After coming back from Australia, I had a couple days to get settled back in Christchurch, do my laundry, and catch up on some homework. But, the last weekend of break I went on a trip organized by Physsoc, the physics and astronomy club, to Lake Tekapo. We left early on Thursday morning and returned on Saturday afternoon. We drove to a campsite right next to the lake and set up tents. My friend Thomas had a huge eight person tent, so a bunch of my friends and I could all fit.
After setting up our sleeping tents and the main kitchen tent, we hiked up Mt. John to an observatory that is used for research and student projects. It was quite windy up there, so I was glad I wore layers. We got a tour of the observatory from the people who work there and got to see the telescopes and other instruments they use, and then headed back down the mountain. One group helped make dinner and everyone else hung out and got to know each other.
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After dinner, we all got into bathing suits and went to the Lake Tekapo hot pools. Some people went in the lake and then ran up to the hot pools, but I passed on that since I was cold enough already. The hot pools were basically just really large hot tubs, and it was so nice to warm up and enjoy the cold air combined with the hot water.
After coming back from the hot springs and changing back into warm clothes, we had a scavenger hunt to play in the dark. We got into teams of three or four and then had a list of categories like “something old,” “longest pine needle,” and “weirdest shaped rock” that we had to go and find in 45 minutes. We could be as creative as we wanted, so it was funny to see what people came up with after we all reconvened and shared. In the end, the judges deliberated and my group won!
That night we had planned to go back up to the observatory to be able to use the telescopes, but we got a call from the people working there that it was dangerously windy, so it wouldn’t be a good idea for us to go up there. It was disappointing, but we still were able to sit out by the lake and take in the stars, since we were able to see so many.
The next day, we got up and had breakfast before driving an hour and a half to the Hermitage Hotel, which also has a museum and planetarium. When we got there it was raining pretty heavily, and our group was given the option to do the planned short hike to Lake Mueller or stay behind until the planetarium show. I decided to give the hike a shot since most people were going and I didn’t want to regret not going all out. The hike was only about 45 minutes, but within half an hour I could feel the water in my shoes squishing and my leggings were soaked through. Once we got to the lookout point, we could see Mueller Glacier and Lake, but it was so foggy we couldn’t see much else, including Mt. Cook. It was definitely memorable, but we were all cold and wet and happy to huddle around the fireplace once we got back to the hotel.
After the hike, we went into the planetarium and watched two shows. I’ve always loved planetariums and found astronomy interesting, so I was excited we got to stay and watch a couple shows. After the planetarium shows, we got back on the bus and drove back to our campsite. Of course, as we were leaving the rain had stopped and the sun had started to come out. We even saw a beautiful rainbow on the way back! We got back to the campsite, where I promptly got into dry clothes and spent some time drying out my shoes with the hair dryer in the bathroom.
After the rain comes a rainbow!
That night, we had a campfire down on the beach by the lake and roasted marshmallows. The marshmallows here are really small and not the right texture, so they didn’t really melt as well as ones back home do, and they didn’t have graham crackers or chocolate, so for our s’mores we had to improvise using Oreos instead.
The next morning, we mainly packed up the campsite and got ready to head back to Christchurch. We took some group photos down by the lake including this one where we were told to point at our favorite stars (notice Diana in the front center pointing at herself).
On my last day in Sydney, I took a ferry to Manly Beach. I walked to Circular Quay and then took a half hour long ferry to Manly. It was a beautiful ride and I got great views of the city.
Once at Manly, I walked down the couple blocks of cute shops and restaurants to the beach. There, I spent some time just enjoying watching the waves and and then walked around the beach area some more. It was really pretty and if I hadn’t had to leave for my flight that afternoon, I would have loved to actually lay on the beach and get in the water.
I took the ferry back to Circular Quay and then walked back to my hotel to get my luggage before heading to the airport for my flight back to Christchurch. This was my third time in the Sydney airport in about a week!
Overall, I had such an amazing time in Australia and I will remember this trip forever. I got to see and experience so many cool and unique things and I am so grateful I was able to take this trip over my break.
On my third day in Sydney, I decided I would check out the beaches since it was such nice weather. The beaches in Sydney, Bondi Beach being the most well-known, are famous for being great for surfing. I took the bus to Bondi and spent the morning relaxing at the beach. In the afternoon I decided I would do one of the coastal walks which goes between Bondi and Coogee beaches.
Bondi Beach
The walk is mostly on well paved sidewalks, but follows the coast and goes by a couple other beaches along the way. It was a really beautiful walk along the water, although part was closed off due to construction so there was a detour through a cemetery. It took a little less than two hours to reach Coogee Beach, so then I walked along the beach and then decided to catch the bus back to my hotel so I could shower and change.
That evening I walked back down to the Opera House so I could see it and the Harbour Bridge lit up at night. Around sunset they have a short light show that projects on the side of the opera house, so I was able to see that which was pretty cool.
On my second day in Sydney I decided to take a day trip to the Blue Mountains. It was only a 2 hour train ride away, so I packed a lunch and some snacks and took the train to Katoomba, a little town in the Blue Mountains. From there, I didn’t have an exact plan of where I wanted to go, but I had looked up some hikes and knew that there was a place called Echo Point that has a beautiful view so I headed there first. From Echo Point, you can see the three sisters, a famous rock formation on the side of the mountains.
View of the Three Sisters from Echo Point
After taking in the view for a few minutes I started down one of the trails. Along the way, there were signs showing where you were and how long it would take to get to various places, so it was easy for me to know where I was going and gauge how much further I should go before heading back. On the trail you go down quite a few stairs since you start at a higher elevation and then head down the side of the rocks into the forest. There were several waterfalls that I went by, which were really beautiful, and I stopped at a few lookout points along the way. Since I was on well marked trails with steps, the walk was not difficult at all. Then, once I got to a fork where one way was a loop back to Echo Point, I decided to head back.
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The thing that I did not account for was what is called the Giant Stairway. I had read about this online and had planned to go down it and then loop around and go up the Furber Steps, which are much less steep. But, I hadn’t seen that path so I went the opposite way from Echo Point and went down the Furber Steps. That meant that at the end of the hike I needed to go head back up via the Giant Stairway. I quickly found out why it has this name. After climbing about 900 steps and taking a couple breaks, I finally got back up to Echo Point. From there, my legs were pretty tired and it was getting later in the afternoon, so I decided to get the train back to Sydney.
After our three days in Uluru, Diana and I flew to Sydney. From there, she was flying straight back to Christchurch but I was staying in the city for a few more days. I wanted to experience and see as much as possible while I was in Australia, since I might not be able to go back for a very long time. In Sydney, I was lucky to stay in the CBD (City Business District), so I was very close to a lot of the historical areas and sites that I wanted to visit.
On my first day in Sydney I had read online about a company called I’m Free tours which gives free walking tours around Sydney and Melbourne. The owners believe that getting to see the city should be accessible for everyone with any budget and that it is better if you get to try the tour and then pay what you think it’s worth at the end. Basically, you show up at the designated location and time and there are tour guides wearing bright green shirts, they give you a ticket and map, and then you are able to follow along and learn about the area and see a lot of the city.
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I joined the Sydney Sights tour in the morning and it turned out to be a fantastic way for me to get the lay of the land, learn about the history of Sydney and different buildings and areas, and figure out what else I wanted to do while I was there. The tour guide was very friendly and she gave lots of tips about places to visit. The tour started by the Town Hall and went by Hyde Park, the Queen Victoria Building, Parliament House, St. Andrew’s Cathedral, and many other important places in the central Sydney area and ended in the Rocks right by the Harbour Bridge so we could see across the water to the Sydney Opera House.
After the tour, I decided that I wanted to go across the Harbour Bridge since I was so close. There is a walking path that I took all the way across and back, and the entire way there were beautiful views of the Sydney Harbour, Opera House, and the city itself. I even took a time lapse of the Opera House and Harbour! I also found a plaque from the American Society of Civil Engineers saying that the bridge is an “International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark,” which was cool to see.
After coming back across the bridge my next stop was the Sydney Opera House. I walked back through Circular Quay and a bit of the Royal Botanic Gardens until I got to the Opera House. I went inside, but you can’t really go anywhere unless you are on a tour or seeing a performance. But, I was still able to appreciate the architecture from the outside. It’s probably one of the most easily recognized buildings in the world, so it was amazing to be able to see it in person.
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After spending a little time by the Opera House, I decided to continue through the Botanic Gardens on the path by the water. It curves around until you get to Mrs. Macquarie’s Point, which I was told gives a great view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. At this point the sun was starting to set, so the view was really beautiful. I also enjoyed walking through the Botanic Gardens. It was a lot bigger than I had expected, and there were so many beautiful areas with fountains, flowers, and trees.
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At this point I was thinking about going on the other tour that I’m Free Tours offers in the evenings, so I headed back to my hotel to change into warmer clothes. On the way to the tour, I of course had to stop for bubble tea since there is a chain in Sydney that I wanted to try. It was a nice snack to bring along for the tour.
The evening tour is of the area of Sydney called the Rocks. This is where the European settlers (who were mostly convicts) began a new settlement when they first came to Australia. Throughout the tour, we were taken down little alleys and shown different historic buildings as the tour guide told us stories about the people who settled in the area. Because most of the people living there were convicts, there were lots of murders, muggings, and other crimes that occurred in the area during the first years of European settlement. It was interesting to hear these stories and it gave the area more context in how it is important to Australia’s history.
The Sydney Opera House at night
By taking these two tours and walking around the famous sights on my own, I felt like I was able to get a good feel for Sydney on my first day, and was excited to be able to keep exploring during the next couple days. I would definitely recommend the I’m Free Tours to anyone visiting Melbourne or Sydney, as they were both extremely fascinating and entertaining, and were a great introduction to the city.
On our third day of the Rock Tour, we were again woken up very early so that we could see the sunrise at King’s Canyon and do our hiking while it wasn’t so hot out. The hike through the canyon was not too bad, with the only difficult part being the very steep stairs at the beginning. The canyon was absolutely beautiful, and we made sure to stay far from the edge.
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My favorite thing that we saw that day, and possibly my favorite thing from the whole Rock Tour was the Garden of Eden. This is a place in the middle of the canyon that always has water, even though it rains so rarely. We climbed down the stairs and it was like being in a completely different climate. There were so many more tropical plants and it was so much cooler – much different from all the red rock, sand, and desert plants we had seen during the last two days. The water was so calm and quiet and it was nice being able to sit in the cool, peaceful garden surrounded by huge walls of red rock.
After heading back out of the Garden of Eden, we continued through the canyon and Damo pointed out different lizards and plants that we saw along the way. There was even a plant that was over 500 years old! Also, some of the rock that we saw in King’s Canyon had wave-like patterns because it was at one point the bottom of a river, so the sand had rippled and then put under pressure until it became solid rock.
After leaving the canyon, our destination for that night, Alice Springs, was a couple hours drive away. We stopped for lunch and then at a camel farm. Some people rode the camels and we got to see and pet them, which was a fun break from sitting on the bus. That evening we got to Alice Springs and were all dropped off at our different hostels. The first thing I did when I got there was take a nice long shower. It felt so good to not have red sand all over me.
It was another long day, but a great end to our tour. The next morning, Diana and I took the shuttle back to the Ayers Rock airport (about 5 hours away) and then flew to Sydney, where I would stay for a few more days. Diana was heading back to Christchurch, so I said goodbye to her there. She made an incredible video documenting the week and a half that we were travelling together, so I will post that in a separate post.
On our second day on the Rock Tour we were woken up at around 5 so that we could pack up, get ready for the day, and drive to watch the sunrise over Uluru and Kata Tjuta, another rock formation that is made up of 36 individual domes. The sunrise was pretty and we were able to get over to Kata Tjuta and do a hike up and through the domes before it got too hot out, which was very fortunate.
Sunrise at Uluru
Our tour group ready to hike Kata Tjuta
The hike was not difficult at all, but the thing that got annoying was that there were tons of flies. Every time we were out during the day in the Red Centre we basically had to keep waving our hands in front of our faces constantly or flies would land on your face or go into your mouth, even if you were wearing insect repellant. This was slightly annoying, but definitely manageable to see such an incredible area.
Kata Tjuta
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On this day, Damo taught us more about the geology and formation of these huge rocks in the middle of the outback. From what I can remember, basically, they formed hundreds of millions of years ago from sediment that was once a part of a quickly eroding mountain range. There were large, deep rivers through the area at that time and deposited and buried the sediment at the different locations. The sediment was put under so much pressure that it became solid rock, and then eventually was pushed up towards the surface of the Earth and eroded away until it became the rock formations we see today.
The interesting thing about Uluru is that the lines of the sedimentary rock are actually vertical. This is because what we see is actually just one side of the rock that is now tipped on its side. The way that it was pushed up was uneven and made it tilt over so that now we only see a small end poking up above the Earth’s surface.
After hiking through Kata Tjuta we drove a couple hours towards our next campsite, stopping along the way for lunch and to get firewood. When Damo told us we would be stopping to get firewood, I thought he meant he would buy it. But no, he pulled over on the side of the road and told us to go out and find pieces of dead trees that were thicker than our arms and bring them back to the bus. We had to break apart some branches and drag big pieces of wood over to the trailer, but eventually we got enough wood that was up to his standards – quite an adventure!
That night we watched the sun set while Damo made a fire and cooked our dinner. It was too bad that we didn’t have any marshmallows! Again, we slept out in our sleeping bags and swags under the stars, and again I was able to fall asleep quite quickly.
On our second day on the Rock Tour we were woken up at around 5 so that we could pack up, get ready for the day, and drive to watch the sunrise over Uluru and Kata Tjuta, another rock formation that is made up of 36 individual domes. The sunrise was pretty and we were able to get over to Kata Tjuta and do a hike up and through the domes before it got too hot out, which was very fortunate.
Hammond Adventures 