Wednesday, January 30, 2013

From Downunder to What the?

Re-entry.  Back to winter. From 90 degrees to 40 degrees. From sunny days to dreary low hung clouds.  Back to a possible work strike?  Where am I?  I must be back in the Pacific Northwest.

I am back.  Back from my 123 day international assignment in Port Melbourne, Australia.  Back to reality?  Maybe....maybe not.  But back to my normal routine.  Its good to be back. :)

Here's a quick summary of my last few weeks in Australia and a little note of my personal achievement and lesson learned being in Australia.  The last couple of weeks in Australia was busy and I had an opportunity to see the best of the world's Tennis players and had a great time networking and opening more possibilities in more overseas assignments.  Here is what I have left from working in Australia...Working hard never goes unnoticed, and from what I learned the most out of this experience is that the more challenging work you accept to do despite it not being the most pleasant work, is good for oneself in personal development and professionally.  From this experience I am more independent and resilient.  I also have earned respect as a bona fide industrial engineer at Boeing Aerostructures Australia.    

Quickly - The Australian Open occurs during the month of January and is one of the country's if not world's largest and most famous sporting event.  Yes, its seen by more eyes than the Superbowl...  From January 14th to January 27th, hundreds of thousands come to Melbourne, yes, Melbourne Australia to watch the best tennis players duel for that one title, champion of the world for both women and male participants. There is only one female champion and one male champion.  For those who can't afford the $194.00 tickets to see the best in the Rod Laver stadium or the Hisense arena, there are grounds passes that anyone can purchase for less than $50.00.  These passes allow anyone to tour the tennis tournament grounds, see the practice courts where amateurs to pros are seen practicing, junior tennis tournaments, doubles arenas, food, beer gardens, and many more activities and venues. Its one of the best values available and on the first day I chose to go, they were sold out...more than 100,000 visiting visitors.

I saw an incredible number of games, sets and matches.  Most I forget who they were as the names are all foreign and hard to remember, but I do remember watching a few doubles matches with the legends of tennis (more fun than competitive), and watching some of the university matches....even though they were younger, they were the best from each country and could even be the next world champions.  Its hard to believe.  But amazing.  Imagine being faced with a serve flying at your face faster than a fastball in baseball, over 110 mph!!!

The best part of the experience was seeing Djokovic up close at the practice courts.  Watching him practice was an amazing experience.  All of you who don't know who he is....he is last years and this year's Aussie Open Champion.  The best tennis player in the world. :)






Djokovic!




All of this occurred during my last week in Australia.  Work ended and transitioned smoothly as did saying all of my good-byes.  The Australian Open was the perfect way to conclude my short-term stay in Australia. With that, this is my last entry and conclusion to my blog.  As for any future blogs, of course, where and when will be the next place...is pending.  :P  Thanks for all of your support and recognition and I appreciate all of your views...yes I can track how many people are viewing my blog....over 1700 of you are dedicated followers!!!

Thanks again and Cheers!

Kevin

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef!

Take a deep breath and say "Ahhhh"....I struck paradise in Australia! Turquoise blue waters, white sand beaches and of course a nice warm tropical breeze and lots of sun.  Those are the elements that make up for a grand time in the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland Australia.  

Taking a relatively quick weekend trip to this tropical paradise wasn't enough and I surely will have to return at some later date in my lifetime to come back and get the full real deal.  Traveling to this area took a full day from Melbourne with a quick layover in Brisbane.  

From Brisbane my flight landed in Proserpine, a small town which is mostly made up of sugarcane fields and kangaroos.  I hopped onto an airport transfer shuttle and made my way to my accommodation in Airlie Beach.  This small town consists of serviced apartments and a strip of restaurants.  Nothing more than a sleepy beach resort town.  I had booked a full day tour to the Great Barrier Reef for my full day and only day there.  

Airlie Beach is considered to be the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands, which consist of 74 islands with plenty of the world's best white sand beaches.  I unfortunately didn't allow myself enough time to experience these beaches, perhaps for a romantic honeymoon? haha....plenty of time to come back.  

I checked into my budget friendly apartment and explored the small town on my first evening.  Got some good fish and chips, walked the strip and drank a couple of pints at one of the local pubs.  Then strolled by the lagoon which is there outdoor pool as their beaches aren't that...useful.  

The next morning a shuttle picked me up from my apartment and took me to Whitsunday Cruises which was the outfit to take me to the Great Barrier Reef.  I hopped on board Seaflight their modern catamaran and jettisoned to the first stop, Hamilton Island.  

A quick 45 minute cruise to Hamilton Island, led us through some of the islands of the Whitsunday's, past sand white beaches and empty coves ideal for those tropical images of a sailboat moored alone in pristine clear blue waters.  At Hamilton Island we picked up more Great Barrier Reef tourists and departed to our destination, Hardy Reef.  On a side note, Hamilton Island is the luxe of islands with some of the fanciest resorts in all of Australia.  Golf carts roam freely as the main mode of transportation...and the minimum that one could spend there begins at $500 a night....not something that I could afford, but could only dream and drool over.  Looked like a fun time!

Casting off from Hamilton Island, the two hour cruise to the Great Barrier Reef was filled with more delightful  beaches, islands, and dolphins.  

At our destination, we arrived to our pontoon which housed everything we needed for our day's adventure.  I took to a guided snorkel tour where a marine biologist took me and another on an hour long guided tour to explain what I was looking at and to get myself accustomed to snorkeling.  It was great.  Wetsuits provided it was a grand time.  I saw some amazing coral and fish.  No sea turtles, but everything else made up for it!  I then ventured by myself after the tour to see more of the great reef and captured some images of what I saw.  The photos do no justice of what I actually saw, but you can get an idea of what was there.  Giant clams, anemones, colorful fish...etc.  The reef was bright and colorful and the images don't show that, but I can vouch.

Parrot fish! They make the sand....they poop it out and make the fine sand. :P

Snorkel Shot

Face shot.




Coral - its blue tipped......but my camera doesn't show it

Giant Clam, produces the largest pearls in the Sea

Hamilton Island Bay




Once I was finished snorkeling for a good 2.5 hours, I took to the sky.  I jumped aboard a quick air tour of the Great Barrier Reef and was able to see the Heart Reef....(yes...romantic and sappy, but its in the shape of a heart!).  It was a amazing experience and was fun flying in a helicopter for the first time.  I have two videos of the flight below to view.  

See the heart?  Its upside-down......




Riding co-pilot in the helicopter!






After the air tour I took to the lunch buffet and filled myself with prawns and other delights!



Here's what the snorkeling looked like as there were ropes that helped lead us over the reef.

A nice panorama shot of the reef


Sunset near my apartment

Airlie Beach Bay where the waters are blue
It was a fun and action packed weekend and I will have to return again to see Whitehaven Beach...and other spots that get this place ranked as the world's best beaches.  

This was also a great way to wrap up my 4 month stint in Australia.  As I prepare for my return back to the States in two weeks.  I will be headed back on Australia Day, January 26th, the equivalent of Independence Day in the US.   Its been a great experience and awesome opportunity and all I can say is "Thank You, Mr. Boeing" and of course to my manager as well for giving me this great opportunity! :)  

I'll have one more entry after this to conclude and summarize my trip.  Thanks for following and enjoy the photos!

Cheers!

Sunday, December 30, 2012

An OZ 2012 Wrap Up - G'Day to 2013


Good-bye 2012 – G’Day 2013!!

G’Day! 2012 is almost over and over the course of three weeks a lot of activities and events occurred to send 2012 off with a bang and a great way to welcome the new year of 2013!  As my uncle Mike from Alaska left back to the US I had a week of rest and an apartment move before my parents arrived from Seattle for their two week holiday. 

With two weeks off from work I took it upon myself to be that good son and provide a great OZ tour.  Some of the planned activities were repeats for me, but most were new and was a great opportunity to see new places of this great country.  Upon the conclusion of this two week extravaganza, I can really say and conclude that OZ’s really know how to party and celebrate!

Apartment Move

Prior to my parent’s arriving I had requested an apartment change as my current setup had too many issues that would not make for a continued stay…ie. Mold and a funky smell.  Luckily I was able to move to a building right next door.  The new view is great; however, there is no longer a nice city skyline to see, but rather a bay view.  This unit also has much better stocked utensils and appliance….a great way to live it up in my last month here in OZ.



Parent’s Arrival - Ballarat

With my parents here, we began our OZ tour with a road trip to Ballarat.  The state of Victoria and the city of Melbourne were all founded due to the discovery of gold in the land.  Thousands upon thousands of immigrants from around the world ventured to Australia for their chance of finding gold.  Some of the world’s largest gold nuggets were found in this region and the town of Ballarat was the center of it all.  Gold built this region and the mining galis frames dominated the skyline, probably more so than the city of Butte Montana where copper was king.  J 

A quick 1 ½ hour drive from Melbourne we reached Ballarat.  Now a sleepy town as gold mining has ceased, it now attracts tourists to their living history museum of Sovereign Hill, their Gold Museum, and of course wild life park.  We began the visit with the wildlife park to experience the feeding of the kangaroos, wallabies, emus and to see the fauna of Australia. 








The next stop was Sovereign Hill, a living history museum that takes place in the 1840s.  The museum was an awesome experience.  Getting to see how a gold mining town may have looked and functioned in the 1800s was fascinating.  The actors there recreate everything from gold pouring $150,000 worth of gold, making boiled sweets, bakery goods, stage coach rides, metal working and of course mining.  It was a hit with the parents and myself!  The working mine was remnants of an existing gold mine and to this day still functions in order to extract the gold from the quartz to fill the creek for the tourists to pan for real flakes of gold! Cheesey…..yes but a fun historical experience!



Whether or not they really did use 150,000 dollars worth of molten gold is of question but it was neat to see it done!


Downtown Ballarat

The Train Station of Ballarat

After the living history museum we toured the Gold Museum across the street which provided history and insight to the different stages of mining in the region.  So – so experience and glad it was saved for last. 

Great Ocean Road

Yes, for a third time, but worth it!  This third visit along the Great Ocean road proved just as amazing as my first two visits!  The famous Bell’s Beach where Surfing is legend, Cape Otway Koalas in the trees, Gibson’s Stairs down to the beach, the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard gorge, and all the other many scenic lookouts along the great coast.  Truly spectacular and truly a geological masterpiece! 







Beyond the 12 Apostles and Great Ocean road, our trip ventured to Warrnambool a small city along the coast.  We stayed at a small motor inn called the Raglan Motor Inn, a staple from the 1960s.  Here in Warrnambool we used this town as a base camp to help split up our journey.  The next day we ventured further west to a town called Port Fairy.  On our way to Port Fairy, we stopped at one of Victoria’s oldest state parks, Tower Hill Reserve.  This oldest park has one of the most recent volcanoes in Australia, which erupted some 12,000 years ago.  Perfect for bushwalking and seeing wildlife we easily spent more than half a day here seeing the wild emu’s, koalas, birds and spectacular view points on top of the various volcanic cones. 






Beyond Tower Hill Reserve, is a small fishing village of Port Fairy.  This town is now a summer tourist haven for balmy summer nights; however, we were there just for the afternoon and were able to see most of this town and its surroundings easily, despite the invasion of flies….and lots of them.  We walked from the city center to the docks of the fishing vessels to the little island that housed the light house, wild black wallabies, and saw lots of nesting birds, seagulls….maybe…?







Our second night in Warrnambool was pleasant and on our journey home, we took the inland route and got to see the countryside of wheat and cows.  One lane roads lined with Eucalyptus trees and numerous water pumps were seen.  Nothing like the Outback, but definitely something only seen in Australia, plus the milk was terrific in this region, especially when they provide you with a free pint of milk upon check-in at the motel. J

Our road trip back to Melbourne was half a day’s worth of driving and we were able to conclude our Great Ocean Road journey with a feast and evening at Queen Victoria Market’s Night Market. J

Sydney

With the first week filled with exploring the state of Victoria, it was time to venture to a new state and see one of the most recognizable cities in the world, Sydney.  We took a quick plane trip from Melbourne to Sydney and arrived safely in Sydney.  Our first evening took us to the Rocks, an area of Sydney where the first convicts arrived and settled.  Now a highly touristy and filled with restaurants galore it was hard to imagine that this neighborhood was so dangerous and filled with convicts.  Our free tour of the area concluded with a great view of the bridge and surrounding neighborhood.  It was a neat and informative tour. 




After our tour we ate on the fly and went through the bazaar which was concluding that evening and for the year.  It was filled with great food, arts and crafts and live music.  A great find for sure.  We passed through and boarded an evening ferry to Manly, an outlying beach town 45 minutes away.  We passed the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Bridge and of course all the other amazing landmarks of this city.  We returned on the same ferry with the same spectacular Sydney Skyline and were able to conclude a great first day in Sydney. 

Our full day of Sydney began with walking through Hyde Park, think Central Park in New York City, not as big, but very close.  Beautifully kept and lots of neat old trees and monuments.  Through the park, we walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens, visited the Opera House Steps, walked through the central shopping district, visited the Circular Quay where all the ferry terminals were and took a bus to Bondi (Bond-Eye) Beach.  Along the coast about a 20 minute bus ride from the central part of the city, is Bondi, a beach where the locals go for some surf and swimming.  In addition to Bondi, there’s a spectacular coastal walk that is along the coast and takes you along multiple beaches and amazing coastal views.  Worth every penny to do this and we were lucky to have great weather. 

















Our second and last evening in Sydney concluded little did we know, with one of the country’s largest Christmas Events, Carols in the Domain.  A free event and set up near the Royal Botanical Gardens, OZ’s from the city and surrounding suburbs converged beginning at 4pm to hear and listen in this annual event to Christmas Carols sung by national and local celebrities.  From 4pm till 10.30pm carols were sung.  We did not stay for the main performance but were unlucky pass through the thousands of concert goers. 

Our last meal in Sydney was at a great little local pizzeria in little Italy.  It was perfect and we were able to bring our own bottle of wine to go with our personal sized pizzas! 

We were short on time in Sydney; however, with our good planning we were able to see the main sights of this OZ city. 

To say which city is better.....comes with bias.  For me, I like Melbourne. What Melbourne does not have...such as the bay, Opera House, and Bridge, Melbourne makes it up with good food and being the cultural center for Australia....flip flops and shorts is not what the OZ's want the world think of them. :)
  

Christmas Eve

With Christmas a day away we returned to Melbourne from Sydney and were again doused with Carols.  On the eve of Christmas Eve, the local neighborhood, Docklands, hosted a Carol extravaganza with local artists and celebrities, we only witnessed a few songs and then proceeded to the center of town for a great laser and light show of town hall.  The old town hall building in Melbourne is lit up with colorful animations and lights and draws a great crowd for Christmas cheer. 

For Christmas Eve I had reserved a great spot for some OZ steak.  Rockpool, located at Crown Casino, which is one of Melbourne’s largest entertainment complexes provided us with a great dining experience with great food.  It was a nice Christmas Eve dinner with the parents.  We then were able to view Melbourne’s great Carol event at Federation Square.  Here on the large television screen they broadcasted the caroling event to those, “us”, who could not afford the highly priced event at the Sid-Myer Bowl Amphitheatre near the Royal Botanical Gardens.











36 month aged wagyu beef!

Passion Fruit Pavlova! The staple Christmas dessert!








Christmas

Christmas in OZ wouldn’t be complete without going to the Beach!  Picnics are common here in OZ for Christmas.  For us, we made a picnic and drove to the local beach town of Brighton.  About a 30 minute drive we arrived took a nice pre-lunch stroll along the beach and then picnicked along the shore with the Melbourne city skyline and the beach huts of Brighton Beach in the distance.









Boxing Day   

 Boxing Day in OZ is another public holiday, but is Australia’s busiest shopping day!  In addition to one of the busiest days for starting holiday travel!  For us, we took to the peninsula, the Mornington Peninsula that is.  A good 1 ½ hour drive to our South East along the perimeter of Phillip Bay is the Mornington Peninsula.  

Filled with vineyards, beaches and horse stud raising the Peninsula is perfect for those city day trips.  We stumbled upon Arthur’s Seat State Park which was a great find! Here we picnicked and had time to bushwalk the local flora.  Great vantage points of the bay and coasts were here too.









After our leisurely tour of the peninsula, we ventured to Phillip Island in order to let my parents see those Little Penguin that come in at night.  They of course were thrillingly pleased with the little creatures and was a great way to conclude the holiday trip. 






Post-Christmas

With Christmas over, so were the decorations and carols.  Everything in the city was cleaned up and all the Christmas décor taken away and up came the New Year’s decorations.  With the last couple of days left for my parents, we did the few remaining activities that they needed to see.  We went to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Immigration Museum, Melbourne Museum and the National Gallery of Victoria International. 
The two fully packed weeks flew by and was full of everything that I believe could be done in a manner that wasn’t rushed.  With my parent’s safely back in the US, its back to normal for me as I prepare for the last few weeks here in Australia.

For New Year’s Eve, I will be celebrating with co-workers at a roof top bar in downtown Melbourne along the Yarra River.  It will be a fun experience as I will be the first here to experience 2013!  Melbourne knows how to party and celebrate!  With over 22 firework shows of which 3 main shows are at three main parks the city knows how to bring in the new year! 

2012 brought lots of opportunities and learning experiences for me and there’s nothing to regrettable!  Australia has been a great learning experience and has brought great opportunities that makes saying good bye to 2012 easy!

2013 will bring much more and as always I am optimistic!  What will be next? Nothing but becoming a stronger and better person filled with new experiences!  With that! Happy New Year and Happy Holidays!