Auckland

We arrived in Auckland only to be greeted by one of the biggest rainbows we have ever seen. The grass was super green and sheep were sprinkled across the hills. At the airport we booked a free shuttle to a cheap rental car place and headed over to the Vodafone kiosk where we bought a cell phone. Our stay in Auckland consisted of searching for a van and wandering around the city. To our surprise, Auckland was full of diversity, with a great number of Asians. Thankfully we were staying in a hostel where we had a room to ourselves and internet access. It was also nice because it was cheap and right in the center of town, making it easy to walk everywhere once the rental car had to be returned. One cool thing we did when we were there was taking a drive to the West Coast where we had a picnic on a secluded beach and found cool colored sea shells. The drive to the coast was beautiful because it was through a rainforest. This made us anxious to get our van and keep exploring the rest of the country. (Click pictures to make them bigger!)

Brisbane Hostel

At the end of our stay in Australia, we returned our van to Jucy and had to stay in a hostel in Brisbane. Brisbane is a neat city because there are rivers that run all throughout it and some people use boats to get around. Our Hostel was cool and full of young people from all over. We stayed in a room for 16 which had 8 bunk beds and we found a good bunk that was in the back corner. The hostel had a kitchen, dining area, game room, pool, hot tub, bar and night club. The hostel was also near China town, so we got to explore and eat some of the best Chinese food we have ever had. The next morning we got up early and took a train to the airport, just in time to make our flight to New Zealand.

Gold Coast Australia

The Gold Coast of Australia is truly a sight to see. Not only are the beaches clean and the water crystal clear, but there are crazy skyscrapers all the way down the coast. Also, there are lakes and rivers that run all through the inland parts of the coast which is cool because people live on the water where they can boat and stuff but then be just minutes from the ocean. We rolled into Burleigh beach on the southern side of the Gold Coast after dark so you could see all the buildings lit up all the way up the coast. We parked our van in a beach parking lot over looking the water and stayed the night there until we were woken up by a police officer at 4 am who told us that you can't sleep right on the beach at the Gold Coast. He was nice and just let us be on the conditions that we wouldn't go back to sleep but he pretty much told us he wouldn't be back so we did anyway. There were a bunch of surfers there for sunrise within the next hour anyway so it really didnt matter. It was nice waking up there because they have Boiling water faucets and electric grills all around the beaches so it was easy to cook food for ourselves. We also were able to take showers in the beach bathrooms which was nice except the water was cold. We spent the majority of our time on the Gold Coast sitting on the beach and waking around Surfers Paradise, the main city right on the beach. Australians call Surfers paradise sin city and I could see the resemblance with Las Vegas because its just one big tourists city with shops, restaurants, casinos, and clubs but its different because its right on the ocean. Also just like Vegas, the nightlife was filled with a bunch of club goers who listen to horrible techno music and dress in ridiculous clothes to try to be fashionable.

The Australian Zoo and Big Pineapple

The big pineapple is a big fake pineapple which marks one of the pineapple plantations of Australia. At the plantation you can go inside the big pineapple where several stairs lead you though the process of how pineapples are grown. Out side acres of land are covered in growing pineapples (they take 2 years to be ready for harvest.) In the market inside, we purchased a slice of pineapple on a stick and it was the BEST pineapple we have ever had! After that we headed over to the Australian zoo where Steve Irwin is worshiped like a god. The zoo had beautiful habitats for all of the Australian animals and we were surprised to find that many of the animals roamed free in their environments and you were able to approach them. There were many kangarros and they were all soft and friendly. We were also just in time to have a photo opportunity with a koala! The koala (Kramer) had a flat butt (like a shelf) and smelled of eucalyptus. It was hard to give him back after the photo. One amazing thing to see was a mommy koala sleeping with a joey in her pouch up in a tree. All in all the zoo was a blast, but it was sad to see all of the things in dedication to Steve Irwin, but his family is still very active with the zoo today.

Sunshine Coast Australia

Upon arriving in Brisbane, we picked up our Jucy Campa van and headed up North to the Sunshine Coast. We found a secluded beach parking lot, where we cooked Alfredo pasta and fell alseep. We woke early (around 5am) to watch the sunrise and jumped into the ocean with our shampoo to clean. The water was much warmer than the air and a few others were out surfing. To decide where to spend our next night, we looked over brochures and saw beaches with clear blue water similar to something you would see in the Caribbean. These beaches were only about another hour North so we headed that way. The drive there was awesome because it was through green hilly forests. It was funny because there were a few signs to watch out for kangaroos and horses along the sides of the highway. We arrived at Rainbow Beach just in time to watch the sunset and we parked our van on the beach where we camped for the night. The stars there seemed to be brighter than anywhere else we have ever seen before so we left our moon roof open. We woke up at sunrise again, cooked breakfast and ate on the beach. Although it was a bit cloudy in the morning, the sun eventually came out and we were able to enjoy the extra blue water where you could see right down to the bottom wherever you were swimming. It would've been cool to have 4 wheel drive because you can drive all over the beaches and even to some secret areas where the sand gets blown onto the sides of the hills and into the nearby forests. (Click picture to view them bigger)

Desert Rocks Music Festival

On May 27th, the first car of friends (Eddie, Wes, Jess and Patty) left in the morning with a truck packed full of camping gear and filming equipment. Shortly after, around noon, Mike, Nate and I filled the Subaru to the top and set out for our musical weekend in the desert of southern Utah. We arrived in the evening and set up at a new camp spot within Desert Rocks Music Festival. Unfortunately, a dust storm swept through and made it difficult for us, along with other media people to use any of the film equipment. That night we had fun listening to music, people watching and cooking in the fire pit that we had made. The next morning, the horrible dust storm continued. To escape the heat and sand, we drove to the swimming hole (pretty much the only place to swim in Moab). After hiking 3 miles past the swimming hole, we finally made it and jumped into the cool water quickly. The swimming hole was packed with hippies and fellow campers, but was kept clean due to the stream that ran through. Later that day the dust settled, the lizards came out and we began filming and partying. On Saturday, we made yet another trip to the swimming hole to cool off and kept up with filming, dancing and partying. On Sunday, we stayed at the festival, explored and saw most of the bands that played that day. As the face paint and glow sticks began fade, the crazy weekend came to an end and we packed up Monday morning and drove back to SLC.

Random Road Trip

It was Friday when Mike, Wes and I decided to spend the day biking around SLC, but before we even got on our bikes, we figured it would be nicer to spend a day at the beach. We quickly began packing my car and impatiently waited for Nate to get off work so we could start our excursion. We left SLC around 6pm and headed for Vegas. We arrived late and were more than impressed with the swimming white swans in the lobby and our free room in Embassy Suites (thanks to Dan). We spent the night exploring the strip, playing slots and a few games of black jack here and there. After a 4am swim in a pool filled with fallen palm leaves, we staggered back to our room and woke early to enjoy our free hot breakfast. We started on the road early and made it to Newport beach where we met up with RJ who had been staying there with some family. That night we went on a mission to find the perfect camping spot, but to our dismay, all of the campsites were full. We talked to some locals and they directed us to San Clemente State Beach, where we relaxed by a fire and threw our sleeping bags on the sand to sleep like bums. The next day we were relieved to have been offered showers at RJ's relatives house and we searched the web for cheap tickets to Disney Land. We ended up finding 55$ "park hopper passes" to Disney Land and Adventure Land, so we left as soon as everyone washed the sand off. We spent the day at Disney Land and Adventure land with RJ, his sister Becca and her friend. We rode almost every ride and were exhausted from all of the Disney excitement by evening. That night we easily found a campground and set up the tent on a rocky bluff. The next morning we packed up early and headed to Huntington Beach where we ate lunch, swam, skim boarded, boogie boarded and sunned. We left around 2:30pm and made it back to SLC around 3:00am, ready for bed.