Off to New Zealand

Billy and I leave for Christchurch tonight, so we will not be blogging for 2 weeks (unless we get internet access, I suppose!)... We'll be traveling with Bob and Carolyn. Here's a quick look at our itinerary:

Day 1 - Christchurch
Day 2 - TranzAlpine train from Christchurch (east coast) to Greymouth (west coast), and drive south to the glaciers
Day 3 - Hike the Franz Josef Glacier
Day 4 - Drive from the glacier to Queenstown, with stop in Wanaka
Day 5 - Queenstown... bungee jumping?!
Day 6 - Queenstown... lugeing?! And Drive to Te Anau
Day 7 - Start a 2 day kayak trip in Doubtful Sound (guided tour)
Day 9 - Take a Boat tour of the Milford Sound
Day 10 - Start a 4 day hike - the Kepler Track
Day 14 - Leave Te Anau and drive to the Catlins, possible trip to Stewart Island
Day 15 - Drive from Catlins to Dunedin
Day 16 - We fly back to Melbourne from Dunedin

So lots of fun -- and a fully packed itinerary. It's amazing how many things we still have to skip on a 2 week trip of the south island. We're missing the north island entirely! But that just gives us a reason to return...

The reason for my immaturity

I received this in an email from Billy, and thought it was special enough to post.

"Hi darling, So I had my work health assessment today. All they did was take a prick of blood and weigh me on a scale with some sensors on it.I was pretty healthy overall, except that I had high blood pressure (even higher than what I used to be). So I may want to start watching that again.

Also, they measured my metabolic rate and I burn over 2000 calories a day doing nothing, which is quite high. They said that I corresponded to a metabolic age of 20, so I think that explains why I am so immature... Bill"

Geelong Sailing Regatta

This entry is proudly brought to you by Billy... good on ya mate for making a blog!

Before the Start of the Passage Race to Geelong

So a couple weekends ago was the massive Skandia Geelong Regatta. With over 350 boats, it is the largest keelboat regatta in the Southern Hemisphere! It was by far the biggest race I had ever been in. I was racing on a Radford Sprint 35, a light sled and only five of them have been built. I have been racing on the boat all year out of the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron, based in St. Kilda. There was five days of intense racing in the regatta, and half the challenge was not getting fried!

Thursday and Friday we raced two races each day, sausage courses around the pins. We were competing against some stiff competition, with most boats having sailmakers and professional sailor onboard. We raced quite well, except that we had very poor starts and would get gassed by the bigger boats the whole first leg. But we managed to come in the middle of the pack.

Saturday was the passage race from Melbourne to Geelong, and was by far our best race. It was a kite run the whole way (meaning that it was downwind and we could use that big colourful sail). It was an amazing start, with 350+ boats all starting in the same place with their kites up. The wind was quite light, and we did a great job of finding the wind. We had an amazing race, and we beat boats to Geelong that were much bigger than us (there were some 70+ foot boats racing). We came in second in our division, but the highlight was that we beat our friendly rival who sails the same boat as we do. He beats us every race, as he is a former Olympian and World Champion, but we beat him soundly in this race. He still ended up winning the regatta, though…

When we arrived (we had been on the water and under the sun for over eight hours), we immediately all jumped into the water to cool off. It was really cool going around and checking out all the fast (and expensive) racing boats. I stayed over in Geelong on Saturday and Sunday nights, there was quite the party as you can imagine. We had a fun crew, and there was plenty of live music as well.

Sunday was a windy day, with two races down at Geelong. We had our best crew on board, so we were more competitive in these two races. It was blowing really hard, which is not the best conditions for our boat, but we did pretty well. We had more aggressive starts as well, especially in the second race. These are big, expensive boats, and it can be quite hairy at the starting line as everyone is jostling for position. We had two fantastic starts, but unfortunately both were recalled as there were a number of boats over early. Those two starts were really exciting, as there were some very close calls with boats almost running into each other.

The last race on Monday was a passage race back to Melbourne from Geelong. This was a smaller race as it didn’t count towards the aggregate score, with just our club racing. The wind was really light in the morning, so it was very slow going in the beginning. We had to beat out of the channel to start, and amazingly several boats felt they could sail outside the channel. Of course, the water was only a few feet deep outside of it, so they promptly ran aground. We managed to get out all right, and then the wind picked up and we had a great race back.

Overall, we came in seventh place in our division, which we were very happy with given the level of competition. Five days of racing all day was tiring, and I think I may finally be a little burnt out on sailing. But I am really glad I took part, it was cool to be part of such a big event! Below are some pictures from the race, and the official website of the regatta is at:

http://www.geelongweek.com.au/

Our skipper and boat owner - Ken

Our Zinc man - Luci.

The passage race to Geelong, there are a lot of boats behind us!

New Contact Details

We can now be contacted at:

Kersti Miller & William Peter, SCR
Ormond College
49 College Crescent
Parkville, VIC 3052
Australia

Telephone +61-3-9344-1219
That is our direct line and we finally DO HAVE voicemail. Hooray.

Our mobile numbers remain the same...
*** UPDATE*** We don't think you dial the zero before the 4... so try it this way
billy +61-438-558-592
kersti +61-438-558-593

Bob & Carolyn's Visit!

Billy's aunt and uncle, Bob & Carolyn, are touring Australia so we were able to spend time with them in Melbourne before they started their road trip to Brisbane. Qantas unfortunately lost 3 of their 4 bags... 2 of the 3 were found within 48 hours, but the third bag did not arrive until after they had left for Brisbane (returned 74 hours after they landed). They had already delayed their drive for 2 days, and couldn't afford to waste more time so they had to head off to Brisbane without that bag.... why couldn't Qantas get their act together faster?!

But anyway, they went on a bike ride around the city and then the four of us met for a picnic lunch along the Yarra river... there they go!


Our picnic spot was just beyond those wooden docks.

After the bike ride they drove off to Phillip Island to watch the Penguin Parade! They watched about 2000+ (can't recall the number Bob relayed to me) waddle up the beach and then find their way to their huts. The following morning they went to the Koala Conservatory and then ventured back to Melbourne. We went to dinner at the Veggie Bar and then had drinks at Polly's. A wonderful time we had!

We will meet back up with them on Feb 13 when they arrive back from Adelaide. We then follow them to Christchurch on the 15th and begin our 2 week tour of the South Island of New Zealand. Should be terrific!

Ormond, our new home

We have now settled into our new apartment at Ormond College. We've downsized a bit, but with some careful organization, this should prove to be more than satisfactory. We attended our first "senior common room" function last night... a nice bbq out on the lawn. Last night we enjoyed this sunset as it set over the main campus building...

The kitchen has yet to be open full time, so we have only been down to the dining hall on two occasions for breakfast. So far it has been most delightful, but we'll see how long we last! You grab your food in the kitchen and then sit down at the large wooden tables with heavy beautiful chairs... and you enjoy the cathedral ceilings, dark stone fireplaces and gorgeous stained glass. No complaints from me!!!!! Certainly beats eating breakfast by myself at the old apartment! Today I will go down for lunch... so we shall see how that goes.

Guess what? There are at least 3 Redwood trees growing in the gardens here?!?! I must say, I believe these are the first redwoods I have seen in Australia. They are not very tall... not sure if that is more related to their age or with poor growing conditions. I will have to talk to the grounds people to find out more... A few years ago the Ormond alumni got together to donate rainwater tanks to the college, and that is the sole reason their beautiful gardens are still alive. With the water restrictions, you are no longer allowed to water your garden with the mains water. (Side note... Why we require drinking water to water our gardens, I do not know... but the Aussies call recycled water "poo water"... so you can imagine its popularity.)

One downside exists, for which an immediate solution is required. Mossies (aussie term for mosquito) fly in at night and torment us while we try to sleep. Melbournians like to pretend that they do not have insects so they do not install screens on any windows or doors. But I assure you, there are insects. At our previous apartment, we didn't have many bugs because we were surrounded by concrete and I suppose there just wasn't much life! But here, we are surrounded by gardens... so, alas, we have moths, flies, and mossies.

The front entrance to the College...

Our view of the other side from our apartment...

View from our apartment looking at Melbourne Uni's cricket field and campus...

Carolyn and Bob with Billy...

She stole my boxes...

Yesterday I went to Safeway and spoke to a nice young man in produce about cardboard boxes. He said he would save boxes for me and that I could come by tomorrow to pick them up. And he added that anytime during the day would be fine. So nice, he was.

This morning, around 10:30am (I know, not that early!), I walked over to Safeway. I couldn't find the same guy so I asked a different man. He said, "Oh, yeah, he told me! But another woman came at 7:30 this morning and I thought she was you, so I gave her the boxes."

He was able to find a few for me, but the boxes are certainly not the creme de la creme that I'm sure my friend had saved me. These are cauliflower boxes and they are covered in wax.

Oh well, that lady LUCKED OUT!

Why the boxes, you might be asking?! We start moving on Monday the 28th! Wahoo! And when I say, "We start", I really mean, "I start". Billy once again has shirked the responsibility of moving his belongings... he claims he's busy with a "5 day sailing regatta". Whatever that is....

More of the Aussie Open

On Tuesday night we went to the Australian Open again... before the start of the center court matches we watched doubles in the smaller arena. Venus and Serena Williams were playing against two chinese players... and they lost! I think had Venus been playing by herself, they would have been fine. Serena was making heeps of unforced errors. Anyway, there were tons of Chinese fans who were happy happy happy.

A little clap and re-group after every point... By the way, Venus (in the green/brown/white) wore the same outfit the next day in singles against Ana Ivanovic. Doesn't she design the clothing? You'd think she'd have another outfit to wear!

And here was a picture from the center court match we saw... Maria Sharapova defeated Justine Henin!! ... Where's the ball?!

And we were too tired by the time Youzhny played Tsonga to take any photos... after sleeping through 3 games, Billy let me go home at 11:30. Tsonga ended up winning in 3 straight sets, so it probably ended pretty soon after we left! Oh well.

Farewell Weeked to Liz

Liz heads back to the UK (for good) tomorrow, so we have spent as much time with her as possible during the last few days. Her departure saddens us greatly as she has been such a wonderful friend who always brought laughter and cheer everywhere she went.

We went to dinner at The Long Room--a tapas/sushi restaurant. Seems like a frightening mix, but the restaurant is quite large and the food is segregated, so it worked pretty well. Unfortunately the decorator chose marble topped iron tables that impaled your legs with iron rods when you sat down.

This poor guy adorns the entrance way to the restaurant...

Here is Billy eating the octopus to frighten Liz. I think he ended up removing the head so that she could eat it, but I think she ultimately refused. Eating pieces is a lot different than eating it whole... a little scary.
Where's Billy?We went to brunch with Liz yesterday and then played tennis in the afternoon... despite the light rain! It was her very first time hitting the ball, and she shows true promise... A few lessons and she will give me Billy run for his money.

Our Own Grand Slam! The Australian Open

Billy, Liz and I went to the Australian Open last night. We had tickets that allowed entry into all the courts except the two big stadiums... So we saw parts of about 5 matches. During dinner we watched Venus Williams on the big screen and then we later watched Roger Federer... he was beating his opponent, Diego Hartfield, pretty soundly so we snuck into the stadium during the end of the third set and took some empty seats. Quite fun to see him live! And then he entertained us with humorous commentary after the match.

We have tickets to the quarter-finals on the 22nd, so hopefully we'll get to see a good match!

Here's Federer...And his brave opponent, poor Diego... People were really cheering him on, though! In between points you would hear, "Go Diego!!". I was rooting for him as well, and he did manage to win 3 games! It's a bad draw to have to play Federer in round 1!

Venus with some ridiculous earrings...

Here's Billy and Liz at one of the earlier matches... and then some shots of some of the players we watched.
Peter Luczak....Severine Bremond who lost to Na Li...
Oscar Hernandez...who beat Ivo Minar...
Liz with Jurgen Melzer...

who defeated Jiri Vanek...

Kersti's Turn for the Fairy Godmother....

Since I have given Billy so much grief over the years for losing things, I must confess here that I myself have finally succumbed to it. But luckily for me, Billy's fairy godmother was working a double shift and returned my lost items back to me! First, I left my mobile on the tram. Yep, just left it right there on the seat. But some nice man found it and called Billy. Then, I left my watch by the pool at the bed and breakfast in Torquay. And then I got a call the next day asking if I had left my watch!

I asked Billy if the "disorder" was in fact contagious, and whether or not losing things would now be part of my daily life. He said, "oh kersti... you have to do this for about 5 years for it to be a legitimate part of your being." Phew.

Torquay Mini-Break

What a nice weekend! We love the ocean and the beach town life! Torquay is a small town with the priority being surfing... we didn't surf, but we did enjoy the beach! We stayed at a small b&b where we played a competitive game of water volleyball. (I of course got to stand in the shallow end with my upper body out of the water and poor billy had to stand in the deep end... this considerable handicap made the game very fun for me and Billy had a good time having the beach ball spiked at his head all the time!)

The b&b has two special friends that roam the property... Coffee the pony and Argonaut the llama.

The reception is in an old train carriage. This was a car used in Queensland in the late 1970s! Yes, it does look a wee bit older...

At the beach we came across a swimming competition. Heaps of people were involved... we saw at least 4 heats of swimmers start. It was a 1km swim... out into the surf, and around in a big square. I think it took about 45 minutes... and people looked exhausted when they finished!