Arriving in Adelaide.

Kaitlyn and I have the worst luck with international flights…or at least the ones to and from New Zealand. We once again arrived at the airport two hours early. This time, however, we didn’t have trouble getting our boarding passes or going through customs at the Christchurch airport. It seemed your standard procedure and I let out a breath of relief – We would catch our plane to Melbourne and I would have 3.5 hours to chill in the Melbourne-Tullamarine airport. I relaxed too soon perhaps, as once we had boarded our plane, we were told after about twenty-five minutes that there were some technical difficulties and engineers were assessing and trying to fix the problem. After disembarking the airplane and waiting anxiously in the airport, our plane ended up leaving two whole hours after it was supposed to. The flight was rather long and boring…nothing but ocean below to stare at for 3.5 hours. Thankful to finally be at the Melbourne airport, we made our way to Australian customs (at this point I had an hour before my flight to Adelaide was supposed to board). Turns out, we arrived at the end of line. It took us a good 45 minutes to get to the customs desks and retrieve our luggage. No problem, right? I had 15 minutes to get through quarantine, drop off my luggage, go through security, and find my gate. Well needless to say it was cutting it REALLY close. After a super quick goodbye to my awesome travel buddy, I rushed off to the domestic terminal and caught my flight to Adelaide. I think Kaitlyn and I decided that there’s no more international flights for us until we leave Australia to come back home in July.

I spent the next few days settling into my new home for the next 4.5 months. I met three of my roommates and a fellow Canadian named Manny, who is also an architecture student. My room is pretty standard (very white) but larger than my residence room in first year so I was quite pleased. The air conditioning works great…and boy have I needed it! The weather here has been wonderful, but after a while in the sun, there’s nothing like a cool bedroom. Adelaide is a really nice city, a bit big for my liking (apparently the population is about 1 million people), however since I live right in the center of the city, it doesn’t seem all that big. It’s full of both old and modern architecture that create a great diverse CBD that is a pleasure to walk through. The center of the city is surrounded by a large greenspace that separates it from the large amount of residential areas. It’s quite a unique and interesting layout for the city and defines the different areas with beautiful park space that both sides can enjoy.

During the international student orientation week, I picked up my student card and attended a couple of lectures but I found that they were mostly just a repeat of the information I already knew. Although I don’t think I needed to arrive quite so early to attend these events, I’m glad I did as the campus was a bit crazy this week for the first year Orientation Week. I did sign up for a Dolphin Tour and a Wildlife day trip though!

The campus of University of Adelaide is beautiful – it has some very unique architecture (some buildings come straight from Hogwarts, I swear), a great amount of greenspace (complete with lawn chairs for relaxing), and overall just a great atmosphere. I think it helps that the entire campus is a smoke-free zone! It is also right nearby Rundle Mall – a large shopping mall, both indoor and outdoor - , the Adelaide zoo, the botanic gardens, the State Library, Art Gallery, and South Australian Museum. There is so much in such close vicinity I will never run out of things to do! I do like being able to walk everywhere too…it’s great exercise!

Last Saturday, I decided I’d try and find my way to the beach. After a bus completely passed me by, I tried my luck with the tram that goes directly to Glenelg Beach (one of two popular beaches near the city). Turns out the tram is free within the city but costs a very reasonable fee of $2.40 for a single ticket out of the city for students. I spent a good two and a half hours lying on the beach soaking up the sun and even took a dip in the ocean! There was also a large pier at the beach too where I watched people jump and dive into the wonderful cool water. The sand was smooth and warm and the water was a beautiful blue colour. I know Grand Beach is supposed to have some of the best sand in the world, but there is something about a beach on the ocean that a beach on Lake Winnipeg just doesn’t have a chance to compete with…

The next day, I went to campus for 10am for the university tour to Port Adelaide where we would get to go on a dolphin tour! Port Adelaide is situated on the Port River and has been declared a Dolphin Sanctuary by the South Australian Museum. Apparently the Port Rivver is one of only a few places where dolphins live within a major city and approximately 40 Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins live in the river. 

Manny and I walked to the nearby railway station where we bought multi-trip metro tickets. Instead of always buying the single trip tickets, the multi-trip tickets are a better deal and you can use them ten times before you have to buy more. The best part is that all metro tickets can be used interchangeably to ride the bus, tram, or train. It’s the same ticket for all public transit! I personally love the idea of not having to buy tickets for each different method of travel. We arrived at Port Adelaide too late to go on the earlier dolphin tour so Manny and I had lunch at a nice little café that had really yummy fish and chips. At 2pm, we boarded the river boat for our dolphin cruise. Personally I was a bit disappointed, the scenery was not all that great and I only saw two dolphins. I was expecting more from the trip, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy what I did get. Who wouldn’t like to see a large red lighthouse, a bunch of seagulls chilling on a boat, and a couple of cool old ships? Not such a bad day after all…

My plans for Orientation Week:

Monday – Relax and sleep in

Tuesday – South Australian Museum & Adelaide Zoo

Wednesday - Glenelg Beach (again)

Thursday – Explore campus

And finally Friday – Victor Harbour and Urimbirra Wildlife Park

So much to do, so little time…oh wait, I have 4.5 months in Australia! Bring it on! Cheers from Adelaide.

Christchurch, New Zealand

The morning after Kaitlyn and I arrived in Christchurch, we decided that we would spend the day exploring the city. While asking the receptionist for suggestions on where to get breakfast, we also inquired about different places to visit. She recommended a shopping district, the botanical gardens, and a few museums. We were told to avoid the CBD (Central Business District), otherwise known as downtown. Kaitlyn and I were eager to visit the botanical gardens once again. As we began to walk, it became clear to us why we had to take a 45 minute detour to get to our destination.

The entire downtown area of Christchurch was fenced off and closed. The destruction caused by the recent earthquakes was immense. As we walked around the outside of the CBD, we got a peak into the damage caused to the varying infrastructure. Buildings were half toppled, rubble piles could be seen everywhere, sidewalks were missing paving stones and patched with aspalt, and there was construction on many roads. I can only imagine what the center of the city looked like if the areas that were open were still in such disarray.

Kaitlyn and I walked through the make-shift shopping district – where they were using shipping containers as temporary store outlets. It was a really cool and innovative way to set up a shopping area to use while the CBD area is closed and being repaired. In a way, I hope that they keep this area open once the original shops are opened again downtown as the area is really open and engaging, and the bright colours and set-up of the shipping containers create some great architecture and definition to the space.

Next, we made our way over to the botanical gardens. I once again really enjoyed walking through the park and taking ideas from it. I definitely think I’ll have a whole new outlook on how to approach solutions to designs (especially in urban areas) from what I have seen so far in Australia and New Zealand. Kaitlyn and I really enjoyed several big trees that we found throughout the botanical gardens – they had tall and had large canopies with hollow centers. We were able to walk right under and through them. One was even used as a very well-used playground for kids.

For our last day in New Zealand, Kaitlyn and I decided to leave Christchurch for the day and take the Tranz-Alpine train to a place called Arthur’s pass. This train ride was supposed to be the most stunning of the three routes that run across New Zealand (we went on two of these). Although we didn’t go all the way to Greymouth on the east edge of the island, we were still able to see beautiful mountains, large canyons, waterfalls, and more. The journey took us about two and a half hours through this breathtaking scenery to a tiny little town in the middle of the Southern Alps.

Our accomplishment of the day: we climbed a mountain! With approximately four and a half hours to spare until the train came back to pick us up, Kaitlyn and I completed two hiking trails. The first one (which I’m glad we did first because there were LOTS of steps!) was called ‘Devil’s Punchbowl’ and was the most popular trail in Arthur’s Pass. After some great views of the surrounding mountains, the climax of the trail took us up to a rather spectacular waterfall. After taking a bunch of pictures, we sat on some rocks near the falls and ate lunch.

The second trail called ‘Bridal Veil’ was a bit easier for the most part. Definitely longer, we saw more small waterfalls, streams, beautiful tree canopies, snow on the top of one of the surrounding mountains, and an old historical house at the end of the trail. Needless to say, Kaitlyn and I definitely got our exercise! Forget indoor workout machines and gyms, go climb a mountain in the sun all day! We jumped on the train when it arrived in at the station and headed back to Christchurch. After grabbing some pizza from dominos (since all those calories we burned off during the day allowed us to eat whatever we wanted…), Kaitlyn and I went to sleep early so we’d be able to wake up at 3am the next morning to catch our early flight out of Christchurch.

Overall, Christchurch was not my favourite city; however my opinion may be a bit biased as I wasn’t able to get a real feeling of the city due to the damage from the earthquakes. It is called the Garden City, and although it has lots of great parks, much of the area that we walked through along the streets was grey and drab and lacking greenery. We were informed on the train that Christchurch used to be the second largest city in New Zealand, however due to all the migration because of the earthquakes; it is now the third largest city. I hope that over time, Christchurch will return to its former self, and at which time I can return for a true sense of what I’m sure is a great city.

Points for Picton!

Kaitlyn and I left the hostel in Wellington on February 8^th and took a shuttle to the ferry terminal where we boarded the Interislander ferry to take us to Picton. The ride took 3 hours and 10 minutes to get us from the bottom edge of the North island to the tip of the South island. Luckily, I didn’t get sea-sick, however Kaitlyn took a Gravol just in case. I’m definitely glad we took the ferry as I was able to get A LOT of beautiful pictures of the coastlines instead of taking the alternative, which is a tiny plane that takes just 25 minutes to make the journey.

J ust one look at the port of Picton from the Ferry told both Kaitlyn and I that we were going to love this quiet little town. After disembarking the ship, we decided to walk to our hostel, as I was pretty sure that it wasn’t too far away. Turns out it was less than a 5 minute walk!  Score one for Picton! After looking back and forth at the outside of two somewhat sketchy looking hostels, we chose to try our luck at the Picton Lodge. [We were greeted by a very nice receptionist and a very cute ( and somewhat vocal until you gave it attention)  poodle. We ended up getting two beds in an 8-bed dorm, which we were pleasantly surprised to find that we only had to share it with one other girl. The beds were super comfortable and the showers had decent water pressure!  Score two for Picton!

After taking a short rest, Kaitlyn and I changed into our swimsuits and made our way to the beach ( another short walk of approximately 10 minutes) . This time the sun was out in full shine and we were able to suntan on the beach for a couple hours. Score three for Picton!  For all those who had to remind me a hundred times to use sunscreen, I did remember to put it on and didn’t get sunburnt! It was so nice to just relax and soak up the sun. I think it finally hit me that I was in New Zealand, on a beach, with my best friend!  Talk about enjoying the finer things in life.

We stopped for dinner at a small restaurant near our hostel, called Toot ‘N Whistle. Here we tried a different kind of beer called Tui blonde, which turned out to be just as good as the Kiwi Beer in Auckland. We also each got a ‘Toot Burger’, which came almost fully-loaded, including an egg to top it off. It was actually really yummy ( though I was craving a burger…)  Score four for Picton!

The next morning we bought a couple tickets for the Coastal Pacific train which would take us all the way to Christchurch; through the mountains, along the coast, and past some agricultural areas. The train left at 1:00pm, so we decided to do some hiking through Victoria Domain ( which would be classified somewhere between a cross of a big hill and a mountain) . Turns out, this was a great idea as we got some great views of the harbour, the channel that lead to the ocean, and the town of Waikawa. Talk about some classic New Zealand scenery!  Score five for Picton!

Kaitlyn and I were both very excited to take the train to Christchurch, as neither of us had ever been on a passenger train before. It was to be a 5.5 hour trip. We’d heard mixed stories, obviously the websites offering tickets for the journey said great things about it; however we also talked to a few people who said it wasn’t worth the money at all. All I have to say is: “Man, was I impressed! ” We spent a few hours taking photos from the outdoor carriage, which led to some really tangly hair that took a while to brush, but it was completely worth it. I’d highly recommend the trip to anyone who wants a good look at the varying landscape in New Zealand.

We got into Christchurch at around 6:30pm, checked into our hostel, and went out exploring for a place to eat. Kaitlyn and I were able to see some of the damage from the recent earthquakes that had hit the town, however it wasn’t until the next day that we got a good look at the full extent of the damage. More on this soon!

Overall, Picton was my favourite town in New Zealand. I loved the smaller size – it just felt so much more relaxing and peaceful, not to mention friendly (everyone seemed to smile and say hello)! I’m no country bumbkin like a certain friend of mine, but I definitely enjoyed the smaller town atmosphere better than the large busy cities.

Wellington, New Zealand

We arrived in Wellington, New Zealand by plane from Auckland. The flight was about an hour, which since we were a bit pressed for time seemed like a better idea than the 12 hour train ride (though apparently it had some great scenery). Kaitlyn and I had a bit of an adventure finding our hostel as the bus driver told us to get off at the second stop. We misunderstood his advice and were surprised to find that we weren’t in the city of Wellington but in another small town. We decided to try walking and ended up hiking up a massive hill where we asked a nice woman for directions and she told us to board another bus as it was a very long walk. Although we had walked for about 20 minutes with our heavy hiking bags and backpacks, I did get some nice pictures! The second bus driver was much more friendly and nodded to us to let us know exactly when to get off. Turns out this stop was only a block or two from our hostel! After checking in, we explored the town looking for a place to eat. Many of the restaurants were closed and we did a full circuit that took us about 30 minutes before finding a café/bar called “Joe’s Garage”. Turns out they had all-day breakfast which made Kaitlyn VERY happy. I ended up ordering a delicious ice cream sandwich made with chocolate wafers. Later on we learnt that February 6^th is a holiday called Waitangi Day! It’s a public holiday held to celebrate the day when New Zealand joined the British Empire in 1840.

After dinner we explored the harbour and waterfront. I really enjoyed walking through this area as the space had been designed to be used in a way different from any of the other waterfronts in the previous cities we visited. Both tourists and locals were able to feel comfortable and connected in the space. I saw children jumping off the pier, adults relaxing in the shade, and tourists taking tons of pictures. As well, there seemed to be a seamless link between the varieties of uses along the water. A museum, marinas, grassy areas, small beaches, playgrounds, and areas for commercial and industrial use all shared this space. The artistic use of sculpture, benches and greenspace all enhanced this area to create one of the most functional and widely-used waterfronts so far.

Unfortunately the sunny weather didn’t hold up for the second day that we spent in Wellington, however we didn’t let the rain dampen our spirits. We set off late in the morning to tour the botanical gardens. After grabbing some really strong specialty coffee (since apparently the idea of a regular “double-double” coffee doesn’t exist), Kaitlyn and I ate a small breakfast, consisting of muffins and fruit, on the grass near some local museums. Our walk through the botanical gardens was once again different from the last two..

The botanical gardens in Auckland and Sydney seemed more like parks, with plenty of wide-open grassy spots and large trees growing along the edges and scattered in-between. Both had duck ponds and fountains as well. There were some arranged gardens; however I found it hard to spot signs identifying different species. Overall, these two were definitely not what I expected when I think of botanical gardens. In Wellington, there was so much variety; I saw rose gardens, a duck pond, an herb garden, bush walks, a main garden with annual displays, and after a long walk up a hill…great views of the city. Definitely worth a visit!

After supper, we went to the beach, because unlike both Auckland and Sydney, it didn’t require a car or bus to get to – it was only a 20 minute walk from our hostel. Getting a great look at a rainbow after the rain all day, it was the perfect ending to our last few days on the North Island. The next day, we’d be jumping on a ferry and heading over to Picton on the South Island. So began the final journey of our time in New Zealand.

Two Days in Auckland!

Kaitlyn and I have decided that we’d like to experience the different cities in New Zealand by touring them ourselves. It has definitely allowed me to get a better idea of the atmosphere and lifestyles in each city. For example, Sydney was very green with a quite unique modern style of architecture and always felt busy. Auckland, however, seemed much more peaceful and relaxed but lacked the same amount of greenspace found in the Australian city. Here’s a bit of a summary of what we did during our two days in Auckland, New Zealand.



On our first day, we walked through several different parts of the city. We visited the harbour, three different parks, the University of Auckland campus, and the Sky Tower. Our hostel was in the centre of the city about 5 minutes walk to the waterfront. As can be expected, this part of the city was full of people but it didn't have the same rushed and somewhat chaotic feeling found in the busier parts of Sydney. After doing a circuit of the harbour, Kaitlyn and I found our first park; which was basically just a large sports field with trees lining the edges. However, I was surprised to find several teams of young children playing cricket! Turns out it's quite the popular sport down here (Kaitlyn and I were later trying to figure out how the game works). Our lunch was eaten at a small Italian restaurant where I had pasta and Kaitlyn tried a gourmet pizza that had potato wedges on top (which apparently was not a great idea).

Afterwards we found a second park, Albert Park, filled with lanterns. We thought this was a bit odd at the time but we later learned that there was a lantern festival that night to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The University of Auckland campus was right across the street so we spent some time wandering around it before finding a quiet spot to lay down on the grass and rest our legs. Finally we made our to a large park called The Domain. It consisted of botanical gardens, a tropical house, duck ponds, and winter gardens. That night we made our way over to the Auckland Sky Tower (Sydney has one just like it) to get a great 360 degree view of the city before strolling through Albert Park to see all the lanterns lit up in the dark.

We decided to act a bit more like tourists on our second day in Auckland and took a free shuttle to a local aquarium called Kelly Tarlton's where we got to see sharks, turtles, stingrays, and penguins! Nearby was a small beach where we took a couple pictures; just to say we had been on a beach, even though it was cloudy. We spent a bit more time walking around the centre of the city and went out for dinner and I ordered a $15 steak (which was really good!) and my first New Zealand beer!

Overall, it was a great few days in Auckland! It never fails to amaze me how different each city is from the next. Sydney wins based on the amount of greenspace and interesting architecture, but I definitely liked the atmosphere and social aspect of Auckland better. Find me next in: Wellington, New Zealand!

Airport Surprises!

Kaitlyn and I have spent the last few days in New Zealand, but we had a bit of a difficult time getting here, that's for sure! We arrived at the Sydney airport two hours early, as is usual for international flights. We waited in the line for Quantas airlines, same as all the times before. Except this time when we got to the counter, we were informed that we had to have paper “proof” that we would be leaving New Zealand before we could get our boarding passes. Well that was definitely a surprise! Luckily I had booked my flight to Adelaide the night before, however Kaitlyn hadn’t. There were two options laid out for us: we could find the check-in booth for Virgin Australia (the airline I had booked on) and get them to print off my boarding pass OR find the office for the airline on the second level of the airport. Seems simple enough right? We should have lots of time…or not.

After running around the airport for about fourty minutes with two hiking bags weighing about twenty-five pounds each and two additional backpacks, Kaitlyn and I were unsuccessful in finding the Virgin Australia booth. The information and help centre was closed as well so we headed upstairs for option number two. After navigating some very confusing hallways that all looked the same, we found the Virgin Australia office but it was locked! A very nice lady came out when she saw us at the doors and told us that they only booked flights to Los Angeles and Abu Dabhi! She realized that we were very upset and worried about missing our flight and she brought us into the office after about another ten minute wait (while she looked for additional help) and printed off my boarding pass and booked a flight for Kaitlyn online.

Feeling more than a bit relieved, we returned to the Quantas check-in booths where we heard an announcement on the intercom saying that our flight had begun boarding! An airport official rushed us to the beginning of the line and we began the process of checking in once more. Except the lady was unable to find a seat for Kaitlyn on the plane and so we waited for about another fifteen minutes as more boarding calls for our flight sounded over the intercom. Eventually we got both our boarding passes and were led through the express lane to go through customs.

Everything should go smoothly from there, right? Wrong again, I got pulled aside at security for a random explosives test. Kaitlyn decided to run ahead and hold off our plane from leaving. After passing the test, I sprinted through the terminal to find our gate (which of course was the last one). And what a surprise! The plane hadn't even started boarding yet. Turns out all the stress and worry was for nothing! We managed to get on the plane just fine, make it through New Zealand customs, and arrive at our hostel in Auckland. So friendly tip for friends and family travelling to New Zealand in the future: Have printed proof that you're leaving the country before you arrive at the airport. It'll make things a bit easier. But then again, if not, it turns out to be a great story to tell!

Coming soon: Two days in Auckland!

First Experiences in Australia!

Welcome to Sydney!

Wow....that was a LONG flight! What an understatement! After twenty and a half hours on planes, and about five hours in airports, Kaitlyn and I finally made it to Sydney, Australia. After getting through customs, we took a shuttle to our hostel (with a rather crazy driver). Having lunch at a small cafe called 'Bella Vita', we got our first taste of life in a part of Sydney called King's Cross. Chicken Snitzel seems a rather popular food choice around town and the smoothies were amazing. Once we checked in, we both crashed on the beds (which felt super comfortable after spending so much time in economy airplane seats) for a few hours before taking some well-needed showers and fell asleep once more.

Today, Kaitlyn and I decided to walk around Sydney and explore a bit of the town ourselves. Tracing out journey later over Google Earth, it turns out we walked fifteen kilometers over about five and a half hours. We set out intending to find our way towards the Sydney Opera House and a rather large park called The Domain. Turns out that we went the wrong direction; however, we found several small beautiful greenspaces along the way, a few marinas, and got a great look at a bunch of what I'm guessing were million dollar houses along the waterfront. Viewing the top of the Opera house from a marina, we retraced our steps and found what we were looking for. We also walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens, had lunch at a small cafe (with really good hot chocolate), and saw the Government House. Needless to say, we saw a lot of Sydney; some tourist attractions, residential districts, the downtown business area, and lots of parks. Our shoulders and feet are sore but it was definitely worth it. I feel satisfied that tomorrow we will see a bit more of Sydney before heading off to New Zealand for ten days.

One thing I have noticed is that the buildings are all VERY close together, with tons of tiny shops and cafes. Many of the houses had green roofs, decks, or walls. No matter where you go there is always a lot of people around and I have no idea how anyone finds a parking spot on the street! It's a really great atmosphere and I definitely love how green the city is. Its filled with hidden gems (parks/small gardens) that you would have no idea existed if you didn't explore. At one point, we found this small place in a triangular area between streets that had a waterfall! It totally took you away from the noise and stress of the city and it felt like you were in a tropical forest. I feel like I have learned so much about the architecture and environment in Sydney in just one day. I can't wait to see more of Australia! However it'll have to wait a week. Next stop: Auckland, New Zealand.

P.S. Here's the route we took through the city: