New Zealand by Bubble: A North Island Teaser

It was only upon landing in Auckland that we discovered the 2 hour time difference so our day was shorter than anticipated. We fought our luggage to descend the steepest street to the hostel, dropped off our bags and went for a run around Auckland. Later in the evening, we went to the lounge in the basement for WiFi and ended up befriending a group of – yep, you guessed it – Germans (as well as a bloke from Scotland). They shared their beer with us and joked about losing World War II.

A few hours later, we woke up in the dark to catch NakedBus to Waitomo. The bus dropped us off in front of an office, which as it turns out makes up 20% of the town - there were only 5 structures.  We promptly put on ALL our layers to stay warm in the freezing mist. We walked around with a British sports recruiter until our scheduled tour of the glowworm caves. The name is a bit misleading seeing as the glowworms are actually glowing insect larvae. The caves were nice and the glowworms made pretty constellations on the cave walls. We ended up getting a private tour with a native Maui guy whose family owns the cave.  At the end of the tour, he served us tea who’s name means “bitter bitter” but it tasted alright and the warmth was nice.

Hike contraption

Afterwards, we set out to do a 3-hour walk. We didn’t know what to expect but it ended up being the highlight of our visit to Waitomo. After getting lost and accepting that the map we carried was useless, we found the trail and walked through the mud and farmland, which was every shade of green. A team of 3 or 4 birds that may have flown straught out of Snow White followed us, chirping the whole way as if telling us where to go. The trail was pretty quirky and required detective work to manage. We reached what looked to us like a property edge where bizarre-looking contraptions were set up to help us scale the barbed wire fencing. We crossed a wobbly foot bridge and the path eventually led us into a forest and through a cave before looping back to farmland. The walk was stunning and unexpected. We Schlussel-timed it and made it back to “town” in 2 hours and had some time to chill and call home before our bus.

WE'RE INSIDE A BALL!

Our next destination, Rotorua, is more populated. Our hostel (Central Backpackers) felt homey. In the morning, we joined our American friends from the Whitsundays boat for breakfast and then went (z)Orbing. Rolling down a mountain inside a rubber ball filled with air and water is a ridiculous and thrilling experience. We tumbled and laughed and hoped the ball would never stop rolling!

At the bottom, we lounged in a hot tub and then strapped on our backpacks and jogged back to town, passing boiling sulfur springs along the way. Back in town, I walked along the Lakefront to a place called Sulfur Point, where you can see the mixing of blue and white water near a little sandy beach. The walk was beautiful but took much longer than what I had been told. I ran/walked back to meet Adam and catch a bus to the Redwood Forest. There, we did a nice hike that offered really pretty views of Rotorua and the surrounding area.

By the time we got back to town, I was cold and my legs were really tired! The perfect night activity was ahead – lounging in the sulfur hot springs (Polynesian spa), which supposedly has lots of restorative properties for skin and joints. I guess it worked because I wasn't sore at all.

After a beautiful 2 days in the North Island, we are now heading to the part of the trip I have been most looking forward to – the South Island. As I write this, we are flying over the most magnificent snow capped mountain ranges and lakes.  Stay tuned!

WOOOOOO ORBING!!!

Adam and I with our Orb

Waitomo

Waitomo

Rotorua Lakefront

Rotorua - Sulfur Point

Rotorua - Redwood Forrest hike

Rotorua - Redwood Forrest hike

A Tale of Two Cities: Sydney by Day and Sydney by Night

Hillary at the Sydney train platform

We arrived in Sydney on Wednesday evening and were immediately struck by how nice the trains are. While after being here for a couple of days, I can report that the locals despise the public transportation, Adam and I were both impressed by the comfort, cleanliness and efficiency of the trains. When we got down to the subway platform, we were met by WiFi and a massive screen TV showing Hillary Clinton. If there’s ever a justification for Americans to think we are the center of the world it's during American election season when on the other side of the globe, people can’t help but engage us in political conversation about our elections everywhere we go.

We trekked to our hostel in Potts Point and were a bit alarmed by the dodgy neighborhood. Adam renamed it the red light district of Sydney but it turns out our neighborhood was not unique in being overwhelmed by gentlemen’s clubs with names such as “lick-her.” We arrived at the address of the hostel but there was no visible signage and it was a bizarre entrance around a gate so we weren’t entirely sure what we stumbled upon. It seemed like a halfway house with a storefront entrance. People were sprawled out on cushioned benches along all the walls of a narrow room.  There was a reception desk off to the right side but nobody was stationed there. After confirming that we were indeed in the right place, I went off in search of an employee to check us in and found a complete dud from California who didn’t know anything about Sydney and could barely recall his name. We were prepared to leave in search of another place to sleep when we received our room assignment and learned that we had been upgraded to a private room so we stayed.  The hostel turned out to be totally fine despite our initial impressions. We got ourselves some convenient take-out for dinner but by the time we got back, I was exhausted to the point of delirium and so dizzy I was trying to determine if someone had drugged me!! Many hostel patrons were working in Sydney to replenish their bank accounts for years of traveling. While we were sitting at the table, Adam was offered a construction job for the next day. 

On Thursday, instead of doing construction, we started our day by going for a run to the Botanical Gardens and saw the lights set up for the Vivid Sydney light show. We were doubly fortunate, because the light show provided us with conveniently located porta-potties for a mid-run intermission. We also noticed the adorable school children in hilarious uniforms. All schools require uniforms here and the kids look so precious. The girls all look like Madeline and friends!

Three Sisters, Blue Mountain

Afterwards, we caught the lovely trains to Katoomba to see the Blue Mountains including the legendary Three Sisters. We spotted someone who looked like he knew where to go and asked him directions. It turns out he was an American studying abroad from Cortland, NY and was even more clueless than we were. He joined us for our visit and we went to Echo Point for a view of the Three Sisters and then went on a bushwalk through some pretty trails.

On the train back, we went online to book a boat cruise around the Sydney Harbour to see the Vivid Sydney light show by sea. I found a Groupon for a cruise that came with 2 free drinks so we decided to book it. The problem was that the train back to Sydney was going to arrive in Sydney within the 20 minute window they allotted for boarding the boat and we still had to get from the train station to the dock. Additionally, when I read the fine print, I discovered that they require a printed (rather than electronic) ticket. We decided to race to the dock and see if we make it on time and if they will accept electronic tickets. If so, we planned to purchase the GroupOn on the spot. We prepared the purchase (apparently you need a separate account to use Groupon in Australia) and as soon as the train stopped we raced off, weaving our way through the train station, jumping onto another train, and then dashing off and sprinting through the wharf until we arrived at the dock with 4 minutes until the scheduled departure. I told the woman checking tickets that I had it on my phone and asked if that would be okay. She looked over my shoulder and saw the Groupon confirmation page. I quickly pressed purchase and she let us in, whispering to us that she was upgrading us to include food with our cruise and pressed 2 meal tickets into Adam’s hand. Moments later, the next employee handed us 6 drink tickets and said “2 each for the 3 of you.” It was around then that I looked at my phone and saw that the purchase was not successful so our night activity, dinner and 3 drinks each turned out to be free. Definitely worth the sprint!

Opera House and Harbour Bridge

The light show was terrific and we viewed the colorful lights and changing designs on the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and the city skyline. Afterwards, we walked through the rest of the light show and attempted to walk back to our hostel only to discover that the road was blocked. We went to ask a security guard for directions and he declared himself to be an oracle. Strange but very nice man. We chatted with him for a long time, learned about Sydney and heard about his experiences driving across American including his run-in with Middle America police officers who never heard of Australia and thought he was a terrorist. We ran into an Orthodox (kippa and sheitel wearing) couple and bagel-ed them, asking where we could purchase a gift for our yontif hosts. Eventually, we caught an Uber (the one thing that’s cheaper in Australia than in NY) back to our hostel.

Smoothie stop during morning run

The next day we planned our morning run around arriving at a liquor store that carries Kosher wine but the store wasn’t open so we got smoothies instead and then continued our run. We stumbled upon the Sydney Jewish Museum and stopped to inquire when the Jewish woman who was reporting to work at the museum spotted us and called out: “Hey, I recognize you guys. We met last night at the Harbour!”

Eventually, we caught a ferry to Manly Beach and explored the nearby beach town for a couple of hours, walking to Shelly Beach in a round-about way because a huge storm that passed through Sydney just before we arrived had damaged the coastline path. We enjoyed fajitas for lunch at a little Mexican place with views of the beach before catching the ferry back to Sydney. Eventually, we found our way back to the liquor store. Upon seeing the cashier, Adam pointed at him and called out, “Hey!” You see, we weren’t expecting a Chassidic man in a velvet kippa. We quickly discovered that the place is Jewish owned and were about to close for yontif.  We made our purchases, collected our bags and headed to Rose Bay for Shavuot. We stayed at Gabi Schlussel’s cousins’ - the Balkin family. They’re loud and quirky and many things that reminded us of our own weird and boisterous family. We felt at home quickly. We went to shul Friday night and were greeted by a familiar experience including Kabalat Shabbat and classic shul drama. 

As I write this, I am feeling miserable from a horrific cold but I have to say that a relaxing Shavuot was the ideal place to be sick if I needed to choose somewhere. On shabbat, we brought our books and did the cliff walk from Bondi Beach to Coggee Beach. On the walk, we ran into a Brazillian couple from our Whitsunday boat!! Shavuot night, we went to a young adult Torah power hour lecture series. Everyone was really nice and welcoming and I discovered a tasty Australian treat called Pods. In the morning, we played pool, drank tea with the Balkins' Granny, went to lunch at the Schlussels' other cousins, and then walked to Bondi for dinner with Richard Goldberger’s sister’s family.

All in all, we really liked the people we met and had a terrific time in Sydney, leaving more to see and do for next time we’re in town. Now, off to New Zealand!

Sydney sunrise

Sydney Opera House during Vivid

Sydney skyline

Opera House and Harbour Bridge during Vivid

Three Sisters, Blue Mountain

Not Sailing Around The Whitsunday Islands

We landed in Hamilton Island and took a ferry to Airlie Beach. The ferry took an hour. The ride was so lovely that we wouldn’t have minded except that we hadn’t factored in that much time and were expected at the sailboat. As soon as we docked, we grabbed our bags and thought about how we should have packed lighter as we sped up the hill to the office.

We dropped off our luggage, packing a few items into small zipper-free bags for the 2-day, 2-night sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands. We briefly explored Airlie Beach, which we thought was paradise until we discovered the Whitsundays. We slowly made our way to the dock, where we met our fellow sailors and our boat, New Horizon. After a brief orientation, in which the crew laid down the rules that they would soon tell us to disregard, we set out in the aqua sea. They took us down below the deck to the sleeping area. Adam and I started scouting which bed to claim and noted that the bottom bunks are a little wider than the top bunks. Moments later, the crew informed us that the bottom bunks were double beds and to pair up with someone you know so they don’t have to assign strangers to share beds. Adam and I exchanged an uncomfortable look. Fortunately, we each got our own narrow bed. Phew!

As the afternoon went on, we put on all our clothes to stay warm in the wind, made our way up to the deck to grab a (pre-purchased, overpriced) drink and watched the sunset over the islands before dinner. All the meals on board exceeded expectations. The food was pretty good and they were really accommodating with supplying ample vegetarian food.

Once it was too cold to stay out on the deck, we came inside, played games, and got to know our comrades. I actually remembered names and faces this time! Almost half the boat was from Germany and the other almost half was from America (including a Jewish woman from West Orange), Denmark, Holland, and England. After teasing each other with stereotypes, we had a really interesting discussion about religion. After a quick survey we discovered that the 5 Americans in the room all consider themselves religious and regularly attend Shul or Church, while all (8 or so) non-Americans do not.

The next day, we woke up at 5:30 to watch the sunrise. While still magnificent, it was no match for the colorful sunset we enjoyed the night before or would enjoy later that evening. After coffee and breakfast including the mandatory Vegemite, we were dropped off at much awaited Whitehaven Beach. To land on shore, we boarded a dingy, a small motorized boat. We had to wear wetsuits while we swam in the water to protect us from stingers. We relaxed on the beautiful beach for a while before returning New Horizon to be transported to the other, more spectacular beach. We hiked up to an overlook and then down to the sand and water. The sand was the whitest sand either of us have ever seen and the water was clear blue. I easily spotted stingrays and fish swimming through the water and after a little searching, even swam next to a lemon shark. Too quickly, we had to return to the boat. I could have spent all day there.

After lunch, we went to see the reef. Adam learned to scuba dive and I went snorkeling. I felt like I was swimming in a fish tank! Everywhere I looked were fish of different colors, shapes and sizes. The water wasn’t as clear as it was near Cairns but the reef was also impressive. The crew launched an inflatable waterslide from the roof of the boat, unloaded paddle boards, and set up the plank. We slid, jumped, paddled, and played in the water (still wearing our wetsuits) until our lips and eyes hurt from the salt. When the winds were just right, the crew put up the sails briefly before they had to take them down again to change directions. Sailing ended up not being the main event of our sailing trip.
That evening, we watched another majestic sunset. By this time, the heaps of young people on New Horizon had gotten fairly close and we spent the evening playing cards and chatting. We also watched Giant Trevally devour garlic bread near the side of the boat.

Morning yoga

In the morning, we started our final hours with New Horizon by watching the sun peacefully rise before jumping in for a refreshing morning swim and snorkeling the reef once more. At 9am, we loaded back onto the boat to head back to Airlie Beach. The skipper (or captain in American) let me steer the boat for a while! Our flight to Sydney was shortly after our scheduled time to dock and we were worried that we would miss the ferry to the airport. The crew was so nice and helpful. As New Horizon approached the harbor, they took me and Adam in the dingy to get us to ashore faster. As we departed for shore, all our new friends waved to us from the deck.

After much concern that the trip wouldn’t be worth the expense, I am happy to report that it was a fantastic 2 days that I hope to remember for a long time.

#PostGradPreMed Excursions: Cairns, Australia

And so begins my adventure summer before medical school: Australia, New Zealand and Japan!

Somehow the trip to the land down under wasn't that bad. Adam and I found different flight deals so we met in LA for our flight to Australia. I arrived at the airport pretty early and I thought my wait would be more pleasant in the Delta Sky Lounge. Thanks to a brilliant suggestion by Josh, I decided to charm an unsuspecting traveler into being my companion for a few choice minutes. A man walked into the lounge area and I asked him if he gets a guest pass and if I could come along. It turns out he doesn't have guest privileges but he insisted to the front desk employee that his "colleague" be permitted to accompany him at no extra charge and eventually the woman relented and let me in!! My luck continued when I boarded the airplane. My flight from NY to LAX was full. So full that there was apparently only 1 empty seat on the flight and it was next to me!! I met Adam at the gate for our flight from LAX to SYD and had a bizarre and embarrassing moment that reminded me of that time I had lice and was flying to Poland and Gabii Kigler had to wash margarine out of my hair in Ben-Gurion. But that's a story for another time. 

Sunrise Run on the Cairns esplanade

Adam and I had gone all out and upgraded ourselves to comfort+ seats, which look just like regular seats but supposedly have extra leg room. Magically, the middle seat between us stayed unoccupied so it was a pretty sweet deal.

Wooroonooran Rainforest

They say New Yorkers think they live at the center of the world. I've never been quite sure why they say that (that's a lie) until a conversation we overheard on the plane. Two American strangers in the row in front of us started chatting. There was a whole to-do about one having a baby and wanting to switch seats and he responded that he was sitting with people and couldn't switch and bla bla bla. The woman with baby then asked the clearly Southern man if he is Australian. Adam and I looked at each other because his accent was clearly Southern. Turns out he is from Charleston so that conversation came to a pretty abrupt halt. 

Eventually, we touched down in Sydney and made a mad dash through the airport to catch our connection to Cairns. Our Charleston friends (who had an even tighter layover) casually strolled through the airport and called us New Yorkers as we ran past them. We realized that Australia may be culturally different from home when Adam's humor was met with blank stares. Then again, it could just be 27 hours of traveling that made things funny to us alone. 

Despite the domestic terminal being quite far from the international one (requiring a shuttle bus through the city streets), we fortunately made the flight to Cairns. And 2 days after leaving New York, we arrived at our hostel, Traveler's Oasis (and went for our 1st run on the esplanade)!

Josephine Falls

It turns out Australian accents can be very difficult to understand. The false assumption that communication will be easy because they speak English in Australia stands on thinking that Australian and American are the same language. We're also having a difficult time adjusting to crossing the street with cars coming from the opposite direction. I'm hoping we get used to it before we drive on the wrong side in New Zealand. 

Milaa Milaa waterfall

Our first day, we explored the Wooroonooran rainforest (with Barefoot tours) through cliff jumping, rock sliding, Herbal Essence hair flipping, waterfall swimming and lake chilling (with a possible croc). The group (made up of mostly Germans and Brits) was super friendly, the guide was great and they provided solid snacks, reuniting me with my beloved Tim Tams! The scenery was beautiful with lush greenery surrounding us, and the water was crisp and refreshing. Overall, we had a blast... except the time I got attacked by a leech (and apparently their venom acts as an anticoagulant). Also, I had significant difficulty recognizing any of our new mates, which became painfully obvious when we went to dinner with everyone afterwards. Pretty much everyone we've met has assumed that we are a couple so after explaining that we are actually (a couple of) siblings, we demonstrate our common heritage by sharing (unsolicited) pictures of Rory and Riley because why not!?   

Today, we took a boat (Deep Sea Divers) out to the outer Great Barrier Reef to go snorkeling. The first snorkel was tough because the water was choppy and kept getting into our snorkels. (Adam claims he swallowed sufficient water to decrease the water level.) The reef was incredible though! There was so much color and life beneath the surface. We saw so many fish and even 2 turtles, which are remarkably graceful. The day was really fun and the boat ride each way was scenic and relaxing. 

Snorkeling in Cairns

Cairns, Great Barrier Reef

Scouting and Surfing in Manuel Antonio

On Thursday, we left the cloud forest for the Pacific coast. At Manuel Antonio, we felt as if we arrived in humid paradise immediately. Our hotel, Costa Verde (whose motto is: "still more monkeys than people"), was beautiful. Our room was huge with a kitchenette and a sitting area, a terrace and gorgeous ocean views. We went to lunch and while we were waiting for our food to arrive, some other visitors arrived first: monkeys! We didn't know what was happening at first when what had been a serene setting, suddenly sounded as if the roof was about to collapse. And then one by one monkeys leaped off the roof into trees all around us. They were adorable and hilarious and we were completely distracted by them that we were surprised when our food came so quickly.

Afterwards, we found a supermarket to get food for shabbat and found that everything lies alone one very steep hill. Armed with peanut butter and nutella, we ventured way down the hill to the beach. It was so incredibly beautiful there. The sand was hot and the waves were somehow gentle and rough at the same time. At high tide, the waves completely covered the beach and reached the forest.

We walked along the beach as the sun set and then discovered that we didn't bring money and would have to trek back up the steep steep hill to our hotel.

Friday, we went with a group to tour the national park and saw frog eggs on a leaf, birds, crabs, snakes, bats, sloths (2- and 3-toed) and 3 different types of monkeys! At the end of the tour, we followed a trail on our own for a little hike before heading back.

At one point, we were crossing a little bridge and the girl ahead of me with an Israeli family asked to no one in particular "מה השעה?" When no one answered her, I responded with the time. They all turned sharply around and asked how I knew. I told them I speak Hebrew (mind you, the exchange was in English at this point) and they exclaim: "But you don't look Israeli!"

Surfer Couple

True, we aren't Israeli (well, Josh thinks he is because he is but whatever) but we definitely wanted some falafel from the #1 rated restaurant on Trip Advisor for lunch. After fueling up, we returned to the beach to learn to surf. We had such a good time and we both were standing up and riding waves after a few tries.

On Shabbas, we read and relaxed and returned to the beach and played in the ocean all afternoon, reflecting on how fun and different this vacation was. In the morning, would have 3 flights back to NY.

The airport

When we were dropped off at the first airport, we had a really hard time finding it. Not because it was hidden but because we were standing in it and didn't realize. The entire airport was a single room without walls, which had a check-in desk, a bathroom, and some chairs. They must have heard my theories on airline procedures because while the rest of the world told me my idea of weighing passengers with their luggage was ridiculous and illegal, the airline did just that. Our plane was tinyyyy. There were 9 passengers and a pilot and co-pilot. We flew so low the mountain tops were higher than our plane. It was so much fun and a little scary -- it felt more like an excursion than transportation.

Yes, we really flew in that 

We landed in Miami and cleared customs there. They had automated kiosks for passport control and then we brought our tickets to an agent to stamp our passports. The agent asked if I had anything to declare and I promptly told him that I declare that I had a wonderful trip. Josh thought we were going to get arrested and dragged me away to baggage claim.

We did have a wonderful trip though. I was fun and adventurous and quite rejuvenating.