Jim Travels The World

so, packing up the apartment, getting ready to hand in the keys, saying goodbyes at work. it's been (a little more than) a year in Australia, and it's been the most eventful year of my life, for sure. make sure to check out my Things To Do In Australia list if you ever need to visit the red continent. We've blown a ton of money traveling around the country (and New Zealand), but it was all worth it. We had a lot of fun, met with some challenges (there's a lot we didn't know about moving to a new country) but all in all, one of the best experiences of my life. The next stop on this crazy train is Singapore. Use those little label buttons up at the top to view different places I've been, or go to my website to get an overview of everything I'm working on.

Day 6 Today was a less active day. We went to Hartley's crocodile adventure park about 25k south of Port douglas. It's a small zoo-like place with crocodiles, koalas, red kangas, wallabies, snakes, and cassowary, which is lke an emu. We got to see the deadliest snake in the world, the taipan. Also, massive spiders and crazy plants. Plus crocodiles feeding. An interesting experience. We saw some guys from some American tv show "crusty demons" shooting in the park. Day 7 Another sunrise at the beach, and we explored the beach a bit (4 mile beach). Packed up, headed north up captain cook highway. We stopped first at massman gorge, then we hit the Daintree area. We went on a rainforest walk through the trees along a boardwalk.  Hiking trails here are all on boardwalks, to protect the forest floor. It's funny how every place we visit has some placard indicating it has won some Queensland tourism award. Im sure its not just a marketing ploy... Then a couple beaches, lei...

Day 5 Up early enough to catch the end of the sunrise on the beach 200m from our caravan park. Beautiful. Bus picked us up at 8, took us the the wharf for our snorkel tour.  Boat ride out the the reef was about 90 minutes, bumpy in the windy ocean. We first stop at a shallow section of the reef. Lycra wetsuits on, to protect from the jellies and the sun. Get in the water, right away I see a jelly.  He's easy to avoid though. Port Douglas is apparently the most dangerous place on earth. We swim around the reef for about an hour. The sights underwater are incredible: fishes, sea creatures on the reef.  found: nemo It's a bit hard for to enjoy it cuz I haven't snorkeled since I was 14, and i'm out of practice; I get a lot of ocean water in my nose and mouth. Throat hurts. back in the boat, a short ride to another section. This time it s a guided snorkel tour, with our marine biologist guide showing us various creatures from the reef. Then lunch, then one more boat ride ...

Day 3 (contd) Flight to cairns. The scenery is quite a but different, lush rainforest mountains next to ocean. Steamy, humid. Cairns is a surf town with no surfing, because the reef prevents waves. We check into our hostel (my first ever hostel stay), and explore the town's cheap souvenir shops.   Day 4 Breakfast in cairns, then pick up the caravan. Its the same kind as we had in the grampians. Drive south towards Milla Milla to do the waterfall circuit. We saw different 6 waterfalls over the next few hours.  Millaa Millaa falls, one of the most famous in Oz Raining a lot. One hike warns of a plant that has leaves with stinger barbs that attach if you come in contact with it. The stingers inject neurotoxins that cause intense pain for months. Yikes.  strangler ferns overtake and kill any tree they come in contact with. life is dangerous for everything here in the tropics.  We drive back up north past cairns, to port Douglas. Port Douglas in nice, like a resort town...

Day one: melbourne to Sydney to ayers rock (Uluru). Warmer, dryer. Immediately reminds me of Utah. Red, flat. Shuttle to hotel. It's on a resort, which is the only thing around for many many miles. Because of that, all the prices for everything: gas a, lodging, food, shuttles to the rock, are all ridiculously expensive. To spend the next three days at the rock and nearby katja-tutu will cost us over $300, just in shuttle fees. Fuck that. We go rent a car. The resort is connected to the little town of Yulara . While exploring the town, I came across my first 'real' aborigines. I mean, we've seen aboriginals in Melbourne, but these were like the ones you see on tv: with ragged clothes, nappy hair, smell like haven't bathed in awhile. There's a racist joke Aussies tell: "I got a tattoo of an aboriginal on my arm, and now my arm doesn't work!" Sunset in the Uluru-kata tjutu national park. Can't see much, cloudy. Sunset not too impressive with sky g...

(JEH May 24 2010 - after having visited uluru and queensland, i've now updated the list with new notes and priorities) After having lived (4 days shy of) a year now in Australia, Lisa and I have seen and done quite a lot. Here's a list of some must-do items if you're considering visiting the red continent: 1. Tasmania . I can't stress this enough. this place is other-worldly. Hire a campervan and spend a week just tramping around the state, seeing the pristine beaches , snow-capped peaks , and tropical waterfalls . If you're after a closeup of exotic Aussie wildlife, this is the best place to do it. 2. The Great Barrier Reef . Essential. I've rated Tassie higher because it's such a smorgasbord of awesomeness, but a visit to the reef cannot be missed. We went via port douglas , a beautiful beach town. also check out Cape Tribulation while in the area. (do not base yourself in Cairns. it's ghetto) 3. Sydney . See Darling Harbour (I recommend getting a st...

friday, xavier rudd played a show at the palace in melbourne. xavier is an artist from nearby Torquay. I got into him just a few months before moving to Oz. He's a bit like the more-famous John Butler, but has more of what the Aussies would call " bush band " feel (no, not Gavin Rossdale). More like roots-rock. anyway, he put on a killer show, full of dancing, hoopin and hollerin, and a good time was had by all. in other, sad news, about ten minutes into the show, my old trusted friend, my Kodak V570 7.1 Mp Wide-angle dual lens camera finally died after four years of faithful service. RIP. next week, more music as we're seeing Vampire Weekend down by the Docklands

as our time here in Oz counts down, we're preparing for the insanity of moving again to another country. This time it's back home, and I'm taking a lot of comfort in that fact. Colorado is like no place on earth and I can't wait to call is my home again. A short stop (3 weeks) in Singapore for some work stuff, then it's off for the next chapter of life in the USA. More and more thinking of the stuff I'll miss about Melbourne. Like Belvga. Best Fish n Chips ever, event though lately we've switched over to the grilled fish w/ rice instead of the fried + chips combo. We definitely were not city people before moving here, and I can't say it has made us so, but I can see some advantages to living in a big city. Just not enough.

well, specifically, here: Our wedding A few choice shots: the last known photograph of jim heskett as a single man. that's anticipation in my eyes, not fear. it was one of the most whirlwind weeks of our life. I didn't feel the brunt of it as much as Lisa (since she did most of the planning) , but it was still pretty crazy. We decided literally about ten days before that we were going to get married. it's legal! We had, since getting engaged last November, talked through many different wedding scenarios: In Michigan, in Colorado, in Vegas... we couldn't seem to agree on anything, and we especially couldn't see throwing $25k-$50K on a one-day party. Plus the thought of months and months of picking out invitations,cakes, caterers... it just seemed like it would consume us and was not going to be what we wanted it to be - fun. attn: blog-only exclusive pic! for some reason, we did a bunny picture. don't ask me why. Of the scenarios we discussed, one we kept co...

Last weekend, came the whirlwind Sydney experience. I'm not going to post anything to do with Sunday yet, but this will be Friday & Saturday: Upon arriving in Sydney, our first experience was the train to Kings Cross. On the train, we saw a woman have a conversation with her own waggling fingers. We get to Kings Cross, walk to our hotel at Potts Point. (Ed note: not our hotel, but in the same neighborhood) In Potts Point, we we nearly run over by a car full of teenagers. One of them leaned out of the car and gleefully shouted at me, "I'm going to kill you!". Welcome to Sydney. Friday night, we met with our wedding celebrant , then out to dinner near the bridge/opera house. Saturday morning, I'm approached by a prostitute while looking for a coffee shop in Kings Cross. Saturday was action-packed as we wandered around Darling Harbour, The Rocks and a market around that area. monorail station Saturday night, the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb. I can't describe ...

you can't get it like this in Starbucks-infested America

sealers cove is apparently one of the can't-miss sights of the prom. it took 10ks of hiking to get there   through a trail that looked straight out of a grimm brothers fairy tale the cove itself was secluded, pristine, surrounded by green hilly coastline, a lot like tasmania after the return trip, we were all a bit tired (i hadn't hiked 20ks [12 miles] in a single day in a few years) but we stopped off at the incredible Whisky beach right next door to squeaky beach, it had that same beautiful white sand, clear blue water and rocky areas thumb rock. get it? the next day, on the way back we stopped off at a petting zoo to give our guest Nan a close up view of some Aussie wildlife. check this albino roo (in Aussie, that's pronounced al-bee-no) and, the obligatory koalas dirty, filthy creatures

last weekend, took the 3 hour drive down to the south of Victoria (through the area known as 'Gippsland') to Wilson's Promontory National Park, known to the locals as the Prom. It's a stretch of coastline at the southernmost point of mainland Australia. It's a trip to look out over the southern ocean and know the only thing between you and icy Antarctica is a little hunk of land known as Tasmania.   whisky beach      the tidal river flowing into the ocean     more tidal river      alpacas at the cabin we stayed in near Yanakie, VIC      leftovers from 2005 brushfire. when we were in the Grampians a few months ago, saw a quote from an aboriginal leader: "white man fear the fire. they rush to put it out, but don't realize it is needed for new life". I'm paraphrasing, but it's an interesting take on something so destructive.   rainforest trail taking us to Sealers Cove... to be continued

last sunday in st. kilda, the area in melbourne formerly known as the best place for quality drugs & prostitutes, is now home to an annual festival celebrating festivities of st. kildaness here are some of the highlights from our visit: heaps of people young ladies silent clubbing. i hear it's big in the UK, i could not envision why. it looks retarded. kite sailing.

messages on the walls of the train   because snarky wisdom has always changed my behavior for the better

In Amurrica, what we would call white trash or redneck or hick, in Oz is called the "bogan". In my neighborhood, we don't often spot this elusive creature, but I spied one near the South Yarra train station yesterday: note the telltale signs of a bogan: 1. half-shaved, half-mulleted quasi-dreaded hair. 2. "High-Vis" gear, indicating a blue-collar profession 3. High Vis gear is dirty, prolly not washed in several days 4. Short shorts 5. Thick socks and boots, in the middle of summer Other signs, not pictured: Heavy metal tattoos, can of alco-pop, sneering expression. I apologize for the substandard picture quality, but i only had a few moments to get my phone out to snap a picture of this elusive beast. If you see one out in the wild, do not approach . Instead, take all necessary precautions: If he presents his teeth or shows any other sign of aggression, gather any children with you close, make yourself very "tall" and wave your arms above your head wh...

now that i've made the trip across the Pacific ocean a total of 5 times, i'm beginning to consider myself experienced in the art of Long-Range Inter-Continental Travel. Flying 2 hours from denver to LA, then 14 from LA to sydney, then 1 more hour to melbourne can take its toll on someone. when I get to the gate and the people start to file in, we all cautiously look around at each other. these people are going to be my roommates for the next 16 hours or so. no one looks happy, but we all just know if we can get through it, then we have the customs & immigration post-flight grilling to look forward to! There are a few simple things you can do to ensure your travel is easier: make sure you have one of those curvy travel pillows. it sucks to wake up with neck pain halfway through a long flight an ipod/laptop/portable media player with extra batteries or charger. you really can't count on the in-fight entertainment, because they always pretty much just show the newest san...