Largs Bay, Australia - Sailing, Dolphins and Patience

In my working career I had to deal with a lot of different types of personalities, and there are those few types I never learned to deal with.  Two personality traits I could never find a way to deal with, were people who were not self-aware, and or were condescending.  If you added in a person who just doesn't care, you had a perfect mix of ASSHOLE!  People who showed these behaviors I always wanted to learn how to better handle them, and on this week, I got another chance to learn.

By now, I think most people know I am trying to better myself, but I wasn't expecting I would keep myself in this situation on purpose.

Well, here it goes, this is the story about my week long attempt at getting experience on the ocean.

While in New Zealand, I was on a site called CrewBay, where people with all levels of experience can apply for various positions on boats.  Ranging from a deck hand, to captain.  I would be at the bottom of this list, and have been applying for a helping hand/deck hand, in exchange for passage on a boat.

I had a few responses but nothing solid until Dragos from Adelaide, Australia messaged me back and invited me for a few day trips to get a feel for it.  I accepted this offer and left New Zealand.

A few days later I arrived at Dragos house.  From day 1 of meeting him, I could tell he was a decent guy, but definitely had a god complex.  The first day he non stop talked about how people are useless and never follow instructions.

I first hand know there is only two reasons for this, either the person is useless, or the instructions are sub-par.  I have a gut feeling I know which one it is with him.

Our first day out sailing I found the answer to my curiosity.  This is how it went.

Picture across the roof of the cabin is 8 or more ropes.  All of which go forward to the sails, and this being my first time on this boat, actually any sailboat, I don't know what each one is for.

Dragos says, "Give me slack on the (something)!"

I look at him and said, "Which rope?"

He response a little pissed, "I'll do it myself!!!"

This is how the next week or more goes.  He would ask me or whoever is with us to do something, haven't ever done it before and expect us to know what he means.  This frustrates the hell out of me but I really wanted this experience.  So I stick with it.

Our first day sailing went really good all in all.  We had two tourist with us from France.  Both of which got sea sick.  I never felt any kind of sickness and still have no idea what people are talking about.

We also saw 3 dolphins, a few seals and in the harbor there were 50 or more jellyfish.

Here are a few pictures from that day.



A few days later, we go out again with two young french girls.  The trip was a mirror image of our first trip.  The two girls got sea sick, I didn't.  I don't think I have this jean.  We again saw dolphins, seals and I got a lessen on being patient with Dragos.

Dragos says he is enjoying my company and offers to find a 3rd person to go with us on a 3 day trip.  Honestly I did not want to go, I wanted to leave and completely forgot about ever meeting this dude, but at the same time I force myself and say, lets do it!

A couple of days later Dragos has found a young German girl who is extremely excited to go and we finalize the details and meet at the boat.

Leaving the slip was easy as I have done it twice now and know what he expects.  We hit the ocean and have a days sail until we arrive at the river opening, where there is a dolphin reserve.  This is were we will anchor for a few nights.

Getting here was relaxing.  Lots of big waves and I am enjoying the bouncing around.  Annie doesn't get sea sick, and she ends up being an amazing girl for this trip.  Outgoing, funny, sweet, and nice to look at, :)  Her and I have some great times over the next few days.




When we arrive at the river opening, we sail as long as we can, and then we bring down the sails and cruise in under motor.

I handed over the steering to Annie, as I have done this enough in my past, and she has never.  As you can see, she loves it.



We finally arrive at the mooring hook and hookup.  The area is beautiful!

Annie and I jump in and swim.  The water is so warm, almost like swimming in pee.
ANNIE, you didn't!

That night we pumped up the dingy and went for a short cruise around the area to see what we can do tomorrow.


When we got back to the boat, the sun was setting and this was our view.  The night sky was perfectly clear and amazing for star gazing.












Later in the night when everyone was asleep, but me.  I was laying there enjoying the quiet when all of a sudden, I hear this snorting and splashing not far from the boat.  I get up and go onto the deck.  I can see from the moonlit water a few dolphins playing and jumping, and coming towards the boat.  Closer and closer they are coming! Just like in the cartoons, where you see them jump up and back down, over and over, making very little ripples in the water.

I am getting really excited and then it happened.  I was leaning over the edge of the boat watching them, and then they disappeared. I thought they left, but NO!  One jumped beside the boat, only inches from my face.  He was so close, I felt water on my face from him.  In that same jump, he also snorted.  Sooo cool!  I can't believe how close he was.

A split second later, the other two do the same thing.  I am in love with these dolphins.

I can officially die, I have seen everything life can give.  This moment was one of the most amazing moments in my life.

Over the next few minutes, they kept playing not far from the boat.  Absolutely amazing, I love it.

The next morning I tell Annie about it, and she was like, "Next time keep shaking me until I wake up!"

Day two we spend the morning cruising around in the dingy, were we saw the ship graveyard first.


On our way back from the graveyard, we see 3 dolphins following us.  A mom, dad and little one.  I know these are the same dolphins was last night.  My new friends.

The little one was swimming back and forth across the front of the dingy, having so much fun. I swear I saw a smile on his face.  We got some amazing videos and you can see them on YouTube.
Click Me!



However, these pictures and videos came at a cost.  During our excitement, Dragos yells out, "Is anyone videoing?"  I reply, "Yes, I am videoing above and below the water.",  He asks again, the same questions,  I repeat, my answer.  He then says, "If SOMEONE DOESN'T START DOING VIDEO, I AM STOPPING THE  DINGY AND THE DOLPHINS WILL GO AWAY!" I turn around and aggressively, say, "I am fucking videoing!".

This somewhat kills the mood for me, but then I see the little dolphin playing, and I quickly forget all about Dragos.



Eventually the dolphins take off and we head back to the boat for some drinks and sunblock.

A short bit pasts and Dragos suggest we go into this little canal which goes through the mangroves.   Sounds cool!

The canal water is too low for us to use the motor, so we paddle in.



First Annie and Dragos were paddling, but Dragos was being his normal self, telling Annie she is amateur and doesn't know how to paddle.  This wasn't actually the case.  I have a tone of experience, and could see the issue was him.  He only did power strokes with 100% of the paddle in the water.  Any experience person knows this is incorrect and would compensate for the other person.  He also tells Annie she can paddle backwards.  I nicely tell him there is no such thing as paddling backwards.  The person in the back does a Forward, Draw or J Stoke to keep the boat moving forward in the direction he wants.  He ignores me and continues telling her she is doing it wrong.

I am not sure how much longer I can deal with this dude, but now I have no choice. I am on a boat with him, and my luggage is at his house.

I take over for Annie and every time he does his power stroke, I do one harder and force the boat in his direction, annoying the hell out of him.  After a few minutes of fun Annie wanted to take back over.  She is a persistent little one and that is one reason I really enjoyed being around her.

We head back because the misquotes are eating us alive and a tree was blocking our route.

When we get back to the boat, Annie and I go for another swim and Dragos ends up going for a sleep saying he isn't feeling well.  I think he got to much sun.

That evening Annie and I watched the sunset and had a few beers together.  Was a great end to a long day, full of sun.



It is now the 3rd day, time to tie up the dingy and prepare for our voyage home.

Dragos starts bringing up our back anchor, when we both realize it is snagged around an old mooring chain.  He was able to use one of the wenches to bring the chain and our anchor about half way up.  I could see if I looked a rope through the chain, we could lower the anchor and then release the chain.  Of coarse Dragos is scared of water, so he tells me to get into the dingy to do this.  I suggested I just jump in, because it will be easier.  Nope, he says use the dingy.

OK, so I use the dingy and I can't really reach it from the dingy.  Guess what comment comes out of dickheads mouth, "Why didn't you jump in?"  I reply, "You said use the dingy!"  Anyways, I got it looped and he tells me it is wrong, I quickly respond back, "No, it is correct, pull it up now!"  It unhooks right away, and we are now free.

Funny, I never heard a thanks.  However, I did hear him explaining to Annie how he fixed it!

Only one day remaining.

Our trip back to the harbor was actually an easy one and rather uneventful.  I think I am getting better at ignoring him.

The water is super calm along the rocks where the seals are hanging out.  We anchor down and Annie jumps in to swim with the seals.  I sit back and watch, but with reason.  I was hoping the seals would fallow her back, so I can jump in the water when they are close.  Yup! I am lazy today.



My plan works, the seals are almost along side the boat.  Annie gets out and I jump in.
Check out the end of this video to see them!
Click me for video!

Our trip is finally over.  We are now at the slip, hooked up and ready to go.

Even though Dragos is a condescending, not self-aware, god like complex guy.  I still had an amazing time.  I do now realize I still do not know how to deal with these types of people, but I am learning patience.  In the past I would have blown up and told the guy where to go on several occasions, but this time I just ignored it and enjoyed the amazing views.



Annie, you are an amazing girl!  Keep living life and being the sweet person you are.
Don't forget, "I am going pee" and "I want to see" sound a lot like with a German accent.


Until next time!

Adelaide - Buying a car!

In New Zealand I noticed that not having a car can be a massive pain and it is so easy to get a car in New Zealand or Australia.  Both countries don't really have safety or emission checks.  Renting a car can be very expensive.  Not really the rental price, but the third party insurance you need is what kills you.

So I have decided to buy a car here in Australia.  I don't care what it is, just as long as I can sleep the odd night in it and it runs.

Doing a search within 50 KM of me, I found a few Wagons which would be perfect.  Folding down the back seats gives me a place to sleep, and they are normally good cars here.

After calling a few cars, I found there was a Ford Wagon 1 block from me, and the price was perfect.  $800.00.

I called Mike and he was available for me to come look at the car right now.

Dragon and I walk the long 2 minute walk to his house and the hot rod is right out front.  It looks exactly as the picture does.  Worn out, but sexy!

Mike comes out and shows me he has done a tone of work.  It has new ball-joints, tie-rods, brakes, battery, exhaust manifold (Headers now), and so much more.  I was very impressed, all of this for $800.00.

I take it for a little drive around the block and it drives perfect.  It has a lot of pep.  V6, 4.0 Litre which is way more power than I wanted.  However, he tells me he gets 10 L/100KM.  I am a little skeptical on this one,, but who cares.

I take a day to think about it and decide to buy it.

The buy process is easy, he signs the registration over, and I give him cash.  All done!

That day I call for insurance.  I learn that insurance is covered with your registration here, except if you hit someone.  The coverage of their car and yours has to be third party, but medical, damage to public property, that sort of thing is covered.

My third party insurance, because I am a Canadian comes out to $30 per month.  Wait, I am fully covered for $360 a year.  It is even cheaper if I am from Australia.

Okay, the cost most be a lot of switch the car into my name.

I head over to Service SA to switch the car to my name.

Since I am a foreigner I need 3 forms of ID, not including drivers license, or health card.

They accept my visa card, and my passport, but I need a third.  The girl sees my USA - Toronto Dominion bank card.  She says this card will work, but it says the best bank in America.

Uh oh, if she sees this is from USA, they won't accept it.  I act quickly and say, "Canada is in North America!".  She says, "Oh yes, you are right!" and accepts me third ID. Lol!

I don't even know why they want 3, as she did not make a copy of them, all she did is check a box on the written form saying I had 3.

Now that I have proven I am Rob, and not some other extremely handsome dude from Canada.  She then gives me the total amount.

Here it comes,  I start to pull out the lube that I always carry in my back pocket for these types of rapes.  But wait, the total is just over $200.  I ask her why this amount, and she tells me, "Well it is a lot because you have taxes and also registration for the next 3 months!".

I respond with a calm, "No No, this is fine! I was just curious."

Holly hell, this is cheap!

All of this excitement is over and I am now a proud owner of a 1994 Ford Falcon Futura Wagon.  Check out this sexy bitch below!

Melbourne to Adelaide - Trains, ISIS and Landscape

Early in the morning I left the worst hostel I had ever stayed in.  It was in Melbourne, but I don't recall the name.  I won't go into details, but just imagine a nasty, dirty place, with some of the rudest people I have ever met, and to top it off, it was attached to a dirty bird type of bar.

Anyways, I arrived at the train with an hour to spare.  Got my first good coffee at a reasonable 4 dollars price.  Finally, I have been missing my Tim's and this was damn close.  Mmmmmm.

The train arrives on time and I meet my travel mate.  He is a 20 year old Aussie guy, who is going home after working in Melbourne for 2 years.  He has decided to try and find another job close to his family in Adelaide.

During our 7 hours together on the train, we had some really interesting conversations.  A lot of the common stuff such as, were we live, our likes, dislikes, etc.  There is one conversation that really stood out in my mind.  He asked me what I thought about ISIS.  My response was simple, "I don't know much details about them, and why they do what they do, so I can't really say.  My only opinion is, I never agree with taking someones life, that you don't know!"  His response was interesting.  He told me he understands why they kill, because a lot of them have lost everyone, their entire families, so they have nothing to live for.  My comment to that was, I still don't think that gives a person a right to take a life of someone they have never met.  I changed the subject quickly after that.  Not something I really want to talk about.  Maybe someday after I know more details and facts about them.

Below are some pictures from the train ride.



We arrive at my travel mates stop at 3 pm and I wish him the best of luck in his job search. We then say goodbye, and I give one final wave through the window to another new friend.

A few more hours and we arrive at my stop in Adelaide .  The train ride was a long one, but relaxing.

There is still two city trains to catch before I get to Largs Bay, where I would be staying for a while and learning how to sail.

The first train was a 10 minute walk, which I really enjoyed after sitting on my ass for the last 9 or more hours.  This train stop is just a parking lot with no place to buy a ticket.  I yell across the tracks to the only other person and ask where do I buy a ticket. He says, at the next stop.

Okay, so I get on and 15 minutes later I arrive at the central train station.  I get off my train and ask the security guard standing right there, where to buy a ticket.  He tells me to get on my next train and buy it on the train,

Okay, so I get on my next train and following behind me is a guy with a ticket thingy.  I set my bag down on a seat and ask him if I can buy my ticket.  I should mention, the security guard I just asked where to buy my ticket, is guarding this guy.

He responds to me in a harsh voice, "Where is your ticket?"

I say, "I don't have one, I am asking if I can buy one from you!"

He says, "How DID YOU get on the train!"

I say, "I walked on!"

Train dude responds, "How did you get through security!!!"

I say, "What security" as I look at the security guard.

Train dude says in a fustrated voice, "I don't understand!"

My response, "Me also, I don't know where I would have went through security.  I got on a train near the train station, and when I got off, I asked him, where I go to buy a ticket.  He told me to get on the train and buy it here.  So, now I am trying to buy one from you, and it seems that isn't going to happen.  Can you be so kind and tell me where I can buy one?"

Train ticket dickhead says, "I only check tickets, you buy one at the other end of the train at the yellow machine."

I say, "Well thank you, I will do that."

He then starts to threaten me with a $220 fine, but the security guard jumps in and says, "I will watch your bag, quickly go buy one."

I say, "Thanks, you are how I thought true Aussies acted."

I get my ticket and give it to the ticket Nazi, and wish him a wonderful day.  He looked a little shocked when I was this nice and he responded with, "Now you know! I hope you enjoy your time here." or something to that affect.

Finally I made it to Largs Bay and walk to Dragos's house.  I get to meet him and his family.  More on that to come!

New Zealand to Australia - Goodbye, but Helllooo!

My fight arrives on time and is full but 2 seats, one of which is between me and an older Aussie guy.  A few more minute wait and score me! One of the vacant seats is the one between us.  This gives me great opening for conversation with the Aussie guy.

Over the next 10 minutes we talk about his travels to Canada back in the 1970's  He had some cool stories and knew the road I lived on.  I showed him a few pictures of my old house and he tells me, there wasn't very many houses on the road back then.  Small world though!

My luck got even better.  Just before we take off, the older Aussie guy got promoted to 1st class.  I now have all 3 seats to myself.  The extra room makes the 4 hour flight just fly bye!  We even landed 30 minutes earlier than expected. Life is great!

Here is my last picture of New Zealand!  Bye NZ, I hope we meet again.


Hello Australia!


With such an uneventful fast flight, I had a bad feeling customs might not be as easy.  As I am walking up to the lines, I see we are being separated by people with electronic chips in their passports and the people who don't.  Mine doesn't have a chip and that line has 2 people in it.  Score me again!  I go directly to the customs lady.

Within seconds of her taking my passports, she pulls me aside, where there are two other guards.  My first thought is, here we go, life was too easy.

I ask her if there is an issue I can help with, and she promptly tells me to wait.

Another minute goes by and the two security guards are smiling at me.  This either means they are happy to get a chance to see in my anal cavity, or they are laughing at her.  Please do not be number 1.

She then gives me my passport back and wishes me a nice day.  So again I ask her what was the issue.  She then tells me my passport is missing my middle name.  I look at it and tell her I am confused, it is right here.  She looks confused and says, have a  nice day.

I now know, the guards were laughing at her.

I am now through customs, and can see Australia... it is just past the last bag check.

On my form, I declared fresh fruit, as I have a can of fruit with a label that says, "Fresh Fruit".  I know this isn't what they mean, but I do not want any more issues.

The fresh fruit, bio-hazard check line is empty, and the line with people who declared nothing is full.  I am first in line again.  Hehehe!

The guard asks what fresh fruit I have and I tell him with a serious smile.

He says, "fresh fruit in  can!"

"Yes!"

"Go on!"

I am through... I am here. I am officially in Australia.

Casey you can't call border patrol on me it is too late!

Greymouth - Christchurch - Trains Trains Trains

My car rental drop off is at the train station, which is extremely convenient and only a short wait until I board the train.  While waiting I took some pictures of Greymouth.  I really like this town.



The train arrives and I board.



The train  ride was about 5 hours long, and not really much to mention about the ride, other than the views.  I am very happy I did Arthur's Pass this way as the train slows down often to allow you to take pictures and enjoy the views.



I arrived Christchurch on time and head over to the Jailhouse Hostel.  This is a retired jailhouse which was converted into a hostel, but they kept it as authentic as possible.

Some pictures of the hostel.



That evening, I met my roommate, Max.  He is a young German guy, and about the nicest outgoing guy I have ever met.  From the minute he walked into the room, until the next day when we said goodbye.  He was always smiling, and just gave off this happy good vibe.  The type that makes it impossible to be unhappy when he is around.

I know Max will have an amazing time travelling.

The next morning, while wasting sometime waiting for my flight to Australia, I met a Chris.  Chris is a 31 year old American, living in China.  He is a principal at one of the high schools in Shanghai.  Chris and I got along great and we ended up spending the entire time together and with some good luck, even our flights leave at the same time, and gates are beside each other.

I really enjoyed meeting Chris and hearing about living in China.  I had a million questions for him and learned a lot.  He also gave me great advice about getting a teaching license.  I have been interested in teaching English in Vietnam or Thailand.

A short bit before our flights depart, I say goodbye to Chris and thanked him for keeping me company.

Below I have added some pictures of the container mall now in Christchurch.  I didn't get a chance to post them earlier.



Next posting will be about leaving NZ and arriving in Australia.

Christchurch - Greymouth - Who drives on the left?

A while back one of the backpacker's I met, told me about car relocation rentals.  These are rental cars that were left in a different location than they were rented.  Rental agencies sometimes rent them at a discount, if you are willing to relocate them back.

Searching online I found a website claiming to find them and they just so happened to have some going to Greymouth.  Exactly where I wanted to go, and at 1 dollar a day rental.  http://www.imoova.com/

I took the chance and booked the car. About 1 hour later I got the confirmation email stating where to pick it up.

Fast forward a day and I am at Thrifty car rentals getting my car.  Its a new ford, with a 6 speed standard.



The first thing I noticed when I opened the door to get in, was I was on the wrong side of the car.  I quickly toss my bag on the seat, acting like I met to open this door.  I then casually walk around to the right side and get in.

I adjust the seat, while hitting my head a few times.  I think a tall midget and a Chinese person was the last to drive it.  Anyways, I get the car started, find 1st gear and I am off.  So far, I made it around the first round about without anyone beeping at me for driving on the wrong side of the road.

As I approach the first intersection, I turn on my signal lights and see the wipers start moving.  Yes, those are on the opposite side.  I eventually signal as I am completing my right turn.  At least I found them, right?

Over the next 3 hours, I get my Bluetooth connected, radio on and have a rather uneventful drive.

Somethings my friends from home will love to hear about driving in New Zealand.

All roads are 100 KM/H unless you are in the city.  Even though you cannot reach 60 KM/H on a lot of roads, you can still drive 100.  I love this.  However, if you go more than 4 over, you will get a ticket.

Another thing is they do not stop for pedestrians.  If you are walking near a car, you better move.  They will hit you, as I found out several times.

My first stop is at Oamaru to see the cute little Blue Penguins.

I should have done a little more planning because the cute little Blue Penguins are hard to see unless you are there at night or early morning.  Good news is there are 3 on land that I get to see.  I also get to see their homes and some lazy ass seals.

They have signs everywhere stating no pictures and I see they are very serious, as I just noticed an employee watching me and cameras everywhere, but I was able to sneak a few.  The dark one is inside his little home.  He was sleeping.



Online picture of what I could see.

My next stop is going to be in Haast on the West coast.  The drive to Haast was uneventful, but has some really awesome pictures, as you can see below.

A Dam,



Me!  Mister Awesome!


Randoms



I arrived in Haast around 7 pm and checked into Haast Lodge Backpackers & Motor Park.

As I was checking in, guess who was standing there.  The 2 USA girls from New Years eve.  I was very happy, because this is my chance to apologize for how that night ended.  The one girl saw me first and said hi right away, the other girl pretty much avoided me, but did say hi.  However, I didn't get my chance to say much right there, because the owner was checking me in.  The bad news is, I tried to find them before I left the next day, with no success.  So I didn't get a chance to redeem myself.

I did have some great luck that night.  When I entered my room, the 3 other backpackers were not there.  Sometime around midnight they arrived at the hostel and decided they wanted a private room, and got one.  I ended up getting a 4 person dorm to myself.  Nice!

The next day I left the hostel early and headed down the road to find a nice place to eat breakfast.  This is where I ate my sandwich and had a ice coffee.






My next stop would be Fox Glacier.  You can't see the glacier from the town, but a 5 minute drive down a back road, you get these nice views.  I stayed at the view point for about 20 minutes just enjoying it!



The views of Fox Glacier were pretty amazing, but I have to add this one picture of a beffed up cow that was standing along the road.



On my way out of Fox Glacier, I see a hitchhiker and I must pick him up.  I made this decision the day I got the rental car, that I would pick up every person I saw.  I have been picked up so many times, it's time to pay back.

Trek is a 21 year old male from Japan and has been traveling around New Zealand for 7 months, often sleeping under bridges and has only used hitchhiking as his means of travel.  He has a very limited budget and didn't want that to stop him from seeing New Zealand.

Trek behind me! :) Sneaky pic.


Trek is a funny guy, and has 100 questions about me.  Where am I from, what is Canada like, should he work and travel the rest of his life, or get married, etc.  But the questions are welcomed and I enjoy our time together.

Shortly after picking him up, I see another hitchhiker and pull over to get her.

Lina is a 23 year old girl from Belgium.  She has only been in New Zealand about 3 weeks and is loving it, but mentions several times, she is missing home and is not sure if travelling is for her.  I give Lina a few really good suggestions on how to make it more fun and how to get out of her shell.

One of my biggest suggestions is working for accommodation.  I told her about my experience in Hahei and how it felt so good to be in one place for a few weeks.

Less than an hour down the road is a campsite Lina wants to be dropped off at.  She isn't sure how much it cost, so I told her we would wait and if she doesn't want to stay, she can just hop back in and carry on with us until we find a good place.



The place was owned by a bunch of x bikers who were really rude.  Lina didn't feel welcome so she continued on with us.  I have to say, I was a little surprised at how they acted.  My experience with bikers has never been like this.

Another 15 minutes down the road is a freedom campground that Lina loves.  It is on a lake and has lots of people her age.

Trek and I say goodbye to Lina and wish her the best in New Zealand.

It is another hour until we reach Greymouth, and our first stop is at the iSite.  This is where Trek decides he wants to depart.  My hostel for the night is also across the street.

Trek and I say goodbye, and I wish him the best of luck.  I know Trek will have a great life, because this kind deserve it.

At the hostel I decided take a dorm room for less than 1/3 the price of a private.  The dorm room has 4 beds, and I am the first to arrive.  Bottom bunk for me!

Later that day my only roommate arrives.  His name is Ian and he is a 36 year old Chinese commercial pilot. He currently is flying for Air China and is in New Zealand for 3 days, while he waits for his next flight.  A very nice break from flying.

Ian and I have a great conversation about flying and traveling around New Zealand.

Just before bed, I say goodnight and goodbye as Ian is leaving at 6 am, and I will be in dreamland.

Sleepy time!