Lost in Translation in the Land Down Under

By Steve Bouey in

April 5, 2007 – 7:00 pm

We have been out of the country for a while now and have had things pretty easy in terms of language given that we have only been to countries where English is the official language. However, even though they speak English here in Australia, there are actually quite a few phrases and terms that can throw you for a loop and make communicating or trying to get something accomplished a little more interesting that expected.

One of the more interesting lost in translation experiences occurred the other day when Shoppman and I were trying to buy a cooler for food and other necessary car-camping items. We soon found out that down here, a "cooler" is not part of the Australian lexicon. After a little talk we discovered that coolers do in fact exist in Australia but they are called "eskies," apparently after Eskimos I imagine. Once it had been established that it was an esky we were after, we then had to find out what size esky to purchase. The clerk assisted us by describing the size of the esky in relation how much beer you could put in it… they are not afraid to put a few drinks down downunder. With that, we encountered some more interesting Aussie terminology. We were asked if were looking for an esky that could fit a "slab of stubbies and tinnies." With a confused look on our faces, we inquired as to what a slab of stubbies and/or tinnies was. Apparently these are the terms used to describe a case of bottles bottles or cans. Satisfied that this would meet our needs, we left the store with our new esky fit for a slab of stubbies.

There are obviously tons of other interesting terms down here and this is a little sample of what we have learned already. By the time we get into the never-never, we will be speaking Aussie no worries.

P.S… so as not to leave the ‘kiwi’s" in New Zealand out, I have adopted "jandals" as the new terms to describe my flip-flops. Wearing jandals just sounds cooler.

Aussie Terminology

"back o’ bourke" – the middle of nowhere

"bloke" – man

"blowies" – large flies

"bonzer" – Great!

"cark it" – to die

"drongo" – worthless/stupid person

"dunny" – porta-potty, outhouse

"grouse" – Very good!

"little ripper" – extremely good thing

"lob in" – drop by

"mozzies" – mosquitoes

"never-never" – remote, the outback

"piker" – someone who doesn’t pull their weight, chickens out

"sanger" – sandwich

"shark biscuit" – inexperienced surfer

"shiela" – woman

"shonky" – unreliable

"spindoola" – money

"wowser" – someone who does not believe in having fun

"yakka" – work

"yonks" – a long time

By Steve Bouey | Posted in Australia | Comments (2)

Stay Left

By kira in

April 4, 2007 – 9:35 pm

After a first attempt at driving on the left side of the road things turned out pretty well despite a slightly adverse crew and a nervous Steve (or two).  After almost sideswiping a sign and knocking a few items over in the van as I got feel for the loose steering, it was basically smooth sailing from there. Apparently many others have some of their first experiences on the other side of the road here as the Australians have taken the liberty of installing signs along the Great Ocean Road reminding all of the tourists of which side they need to stay on.

As the only female on the trip to take on some of the driving burden, I expected some nervous glances and maybe even some criticism, but the guys don’t know about my love for driving.  Ever since I can remember, getting behind the wheel has been a passion. As a kid I would tag along with my dad when he went golfing just to drive the cart and I had a permanent place reserved on his lap to practice steering our family van home after school. Once, I even "borrowed" my mom’s old Buick when I was about 12-years-old for a joy ride around the block. My seventeenth birthday (the legal driving age in NJ) couldn’t come fast enough for me or my parents.

Even with a background and love for piloting a car, I still was thrown into a section of road that certainly was not the easiest to start on.  For several days, from Sydney to Melbourne, we had been driving through nice wide-open country roads which helped build up my confidence, but when my turn behind the wheel arrived, the Great Ocean Road became a great winding road. I had to tackle one of the toughest parts of the drive with hairpin turns and steep cliffs around every turn.

Other than Shoppman crying out “whoa, whoa, whoa” (when I almost hit the sign) there were no other comments about my first day as a campervan driver and only time will tell if I get handed the keys again.

By kira | Posted in Expedition Updates, For some laughs, Trip Thoughts | Comments (0)

Just another day

By bchap in

April 2, 2007 – 11:21 pm

 

There are a variety of standards most people grow accustomed to living to. I like to think my own standards happen to be pretty low. One of the things I find interesting about traveling around in a camper van with some people I barely know is the shock of leaving the comforts of everyday life behind and watching them attempt to adapt to life without them.

Life on the road camping can take a bit of getting used to for most individuals. You get little to no privacy, deal with others personal issues that are of no concern to your own, and do your best to work together in the confines of a small space.

The group I am traveling with does exceptionally well at this, which is great because it can be very hard for most people. I think the wanderlust of these travel companions has a lot to do with their ability to be comfortable when most people would not and the experience of camping is only part of the journey we are on.

Personally, I have been living out of my backpack for the past eight years. In that time I have lived in a lot of different places and situations… many of them on a boat.

There are many similarities between camping and the maritime profession, many of which I previously mentioned. However, out at sea there is no one other than the crew to socialize with… you can’t just go for a walk and get some time to yourself, and you do the same thing day after day. To make matters even more complicated, your personal space may be a room that is only the size of a walk-in closet… if you’re lucky.

In the end the campervans are not much bigger than walk-in closets, so I guess this is just another day for me… only better.

By bchap | Posted in Trip Thoughts | Comments (0)

Got the Toyotas… sort of.

By Steve Bouey in

April 1, 2007 – 7:00 pm

We have been out of internet contact for about 4 days now and as usual, there is a lot to update everyone on. We found out that we will in fact be getting our trucks on the 7th of April… after having to shell out another thousand dollars to get them here two weeks earlier (insert link to rediculous bureaucratic hoops to jump through in order to get our cars out of the country and general lack of knowledge on the part of so called "experts" blog link here) That being said, I am still not holding my breath given what we have gone through to date, and will only truly relax once I insert the keys into the ignition of the "Thundra" and drive her off the docks.

In the meantime, we rented two campervans which happen to be Toyota Hiace’s, so I guess you could say the driving of two Toyotas around the world has begun, even if we are in rented ones. The people at Britz campervans in Australia were even kind enough to offer a discount to us given the nature of our travels and time spent here in Australia.  

Even though we expected to be driving around Australia in our own cars at this point in the expedition, driving the campervans is pretty cool. The vans have a fridge, a stove, a small sink, and sleep 3 which is perfect for the 6 person TWBR crew. After a bit of an ordeal getting the vans in Sydney (insert link to blog about idiotic american business banking systems here), we headed out on the Princes Hwy down the SE coast of Australia and have now covered more than 1100 kms through Melbourne and are now on the Great Ocean Road.

Driving south, or anywhere in Australia for that matter, takes you through some interesting towns with interesting names. From Wollongong to Dandenong and through Ulladulla, there is always a little hessitation among people in the van for fear blurting out and totally butchering the of name of the town we are passing by. The highways in Australia outside of the cities are also pretty narrow and even though the speed limit on the open road in New South Wales and Victoria is 100km per hour, the average speed ends up being around 85. Given the shape, size and weight of the vans, they are interesting to drive to say the least. I don’t know if it is the loose suspension, the not so tight steering, or the higher than normal center of gravity, but sometimes you are sure you are going to roll the thing on a tight corner. The road around the town of Malacoota was even more interesting given that you are sharing it with huge logging trucks barreling down the road in the opposite direction at 110km and passing you with only an inch (or 2.54 centimeters) to spare. When the loggers do pass you, they leave behind one hell of a windshear and by the time we arrived in Melbourne, my arms were actually quite sore from trying to keep the van on the road.

All in all, camping out of the vans is pretty cool and is a new and interesting expereince for most of us. However, there are always some problems… which we have since come to call challenges. At this point, Steve and I have been the only ones driving the vans because, as previously indicated, in order to rent them we were required to put down a $5,000 cash damage deposit for each of them. Good thing I cashed out my 401k I guess. However, the other day we did sucessfully manage to get Brain and Kira on as additional drivers, but that was also somewhat of a laborous process, one that I won’t go into here.  

By Steve Bouey | Posted in Australia, Trip Thoughts | Comments (2)

The good kind of delay.

By Steven Shoppman in

March 28, 2007 – 6:33 pm

On our journey further south we have arrived in a town named Geelong.  In stark contrast from the busy city of Melbourne, this quaint little town has an unbelievable waterfront with a quiet little restaurant serving excellent food, wood carved statues ornamenting the small parks along the boardwalk and lines of sailboats ready to cruise the bay.  Intially we would have passed right by this little gem and pushed on to the more known surf town of Tourquay, but we had a meeting with the marketing person for the tourism board handling the Great Ocean Road.  Roger Grant was his name and he was a pleasure to deal with.  From the moment I walked in the door of his office I felt like an old friend while he walked me through the many different locations and attractions he recommended along the famous Great Ocean Road.

I was made aware that our next five days will be spent on a road recently recommended by Frommers as the best touring road in the world.  As I listened to Roger speak of the thick forests, waterfalls, shipwreck coast and charming hotels along the route, I did not know that the adventure was to begin in less than a couple of hours.  Our meeting ended with a piece of paper from the receptionist that had the name and phone number of man named Duane who runs the Jet Boat operation in the bay.  Roger recommended taking a quick ride out on the jetboat before heading out to Tourquay.  We indulged in this offer, but never expected to still be in Geelong five hours later with this jet boat captain.

After a phone call to Duane on his cell phone I was made aware that he works another job building fences in the slow season, but was apparently more than happy to be pulled away from his other job for some afternoon fun.  He raced over to the marina to meet up with us and we were off.  Throughout this intense afternoon of bouncing, splashing, seemingly close calls with channel markers, and waves of water soaking the group, there was nothing but laughs and smiles.  We all hit it off pretty well with Duane so we lost track of time and stayed out on the water much longer than expected.  Upon our return the helicopter   pilot who runs an operation next door offered Kira and Chap a helicopter ride around the bay (I think he was a little jealous that he was not getting filmed). This lead us to the restaurant on the waterfront for some refreshments and conversation while the rest of the group waited.

We learned of Duane’s heritage in New Zealand, and how he has been in Australia for the last 20+ years.  He had always planned on heading back to New Zealnd, but ended up marrying an Australian and never returned.  He did however bring a little piece of New Zealand with him…Jet Boating.  In fact, the boat we were on orignally hailed from there. 

It is always a true pleasure to meet people with a zest for life.  Duane was nothing but good attitude and good times. A fence building, jet boating dad with a commitment to having a great time only adds to the great experience of flying around the bay on a jetboat.  I would be happy to have a delay like this any day of the week.

Click here to see all the pictures.

By Steven Shoppman | Posted in Action Sports, Australia | Comments (0)

South Coast Drive

By kira in

March 25, 2007 – 10:44 pm

We’ve been on the road for a few days now headed south to Melbourne with two camper vans and it’s been great. Getting out of hot, busy Sydney was a much-needed breath of fresh air for us all. The two Toyota Hiace camper vans we rented from Britz are actually quite nice and I’ve been feeling a little spoiled because “roughing it” has come with a refrigerator, microwave and running water thus far.

Our route has been along the scenic Princes Highway which, for the most part, hugs the coast. About an hour outside of Sydney, shortly after the town of Wollongong, the land opens up dramatically into lush rolling farmland with horses and cattle grazing through the kind of green that appears to be glowing.  Every once and a while we caught a glimpse of the inviting coast to the east and the horizon to the west is filled with flat-topped mountains thick with dark rainforests.

We spent the first night camped at a small, secluded beach called Merry Beach by the town of Kioala and were greeted at dusk by wild kangaroos littering the campsite. It was so incredible seeing kangaroos, more prevalent than squirrels back home, feasting on the grass and being able to get within 3 feet from the strange but beautiful animals. I went wild photographing them especially a mama with a little Joey cramped into her pouch.

This first campsite we found was perfect. Besides my first wonderful encounter with kangaroos we were only about 200 yards away from the ocean on a gorgeous beach. Plus, first thing in the morning Elena and I took a great run along a dirt trail that headed up to the surrounding cliffs and on to other tiny beaches with astounding views. And when we thought our morning couldn’t get any better these friendly rainbow lorikeets- big, colorful, parrot-like birds- came right up to us and we were able to feed them from our hands.

The following nights we hopped along down the coast staying at Mallacoota inlet, Tyres Lake beach and Wilsons Promontory National Park. They were all pretty cool campsites especially the last one where we all tried body boarding on a nice surf break but none of them could compare, in my opinion, to our first night.

It was just such a special place. It wasn’t listed in any of our guidebooks, no one recommended it. It was just this tiny spot on one of our maps that turned out to be such a wonderful place, a gift, our first little reward of having automobiles and being able to get off the beaten path.

By kira | Posted in Australia, Expedition Updates, New Photos, Trip Thoughts | Comments (0)

When is the Sharper Image going to come out with the right adapters?

By Steven Shoppman in

March 25, 2007 – 3:10 am

Out of all the things that did not make it into the trucks or our bags in the chaos before we left, a power adapter is probably one of the more important ones.  As we did the push to get sponsors on board before we left, we even produced a video travel guide with a full section on the importance of understanding voltage differences and power outlets in foreign lands.  This was not a big deal though, since most airports have a plethora of different models of power adapters to choose.  The power conversion situation was easily averted.

As we go around the globe we are still very connected to home in many ways.  One of the less fun ways we are connected is to our bank.  Of course our bank is essential to our success, but it does not play well with others.  Upon leaving we notified all of our credit card companies and banks of our situation.  They all supposedly updated their computer systems with word of our impending nomadic lifestyle.  In the end however, no adapters exist to help the hundreds of banks and systems of payment around the world work together.

On Tuesday morning last week, Steve Bouey and I left the team behind at the hostel in Sydney, jumped on the subway system and made our way across town to the Britz campervan headquarters.  The team’s instructions were to find something to occupy themselves for the next couple of hours until we arrived with the vans.  The wait time was inevitably doubled due to the adapter problem, along with a few extra curve balls thrown into the mix.

We arrived at the Britz location in wide eyed excitement to finally get the vans and get out of the expensive city of Sydney.  After listening to the usual rental shpeal about getting additional insurance for the bargain price of $18 per day per van that only effectively lowered our liability to $2500 per van, we declined to find out that we need to put down a $5000 deposit to rent the vans.  This is $5000 each in cash for the rentals.  Since we do not have a bank here, they will not accept checks.  Since we are out of the country our limit for daily charges is $3000 per card…let the games begin.

First we tried to charge the full $10000 for both vehicles directly from our bank account.  The charge was declined.  Then we tried to charge $5000 for one, the charge was declined.  Next we called the bank internationally and were disconnected 2 times before we found out that the only way to have this daily limit raised is to sign paperwork at our bank in the USA.  So now the only solution is to charge $3000 on 3 different cards, sounds easy enough.  First we try to debit directly from our bank account $3000.  It was declined, this time because we have now been flagged for fraud from Mastercard.  After pulling out a total of five different cards to pay for everything from 3 different banks, signing about 6 different waivers and documents, and having a quick little 30 minute hiatus to watch a serious car accident that happened at the intersection just outside of the rental shop, we were on our way four hours after the whole saga began.

So the question is, when will we have the right adapters that can allow all of our different systems to work together.  Whether it is the banks, the rental companies, the credit card companies, the airlines, or the government, we have only found that everyone has a completely different way of setting things up.  With the help of a kind manager at Britz or wherever you might be, an answer is only a matter of a positive attitude, and so far these little debackles have only proven to small annoyances.  Dwelling on these moments is a waste of time when you only have to go through a few hours of trouble in the morning to enjoy beachfront property while eating dinner.  At the end of the day we had kangaroos for company and one of the most beautiful beaches to call home for the bargain price of about $16…Australia is not a disappointing place in the least bit.

By Steven Shoppman | Posted in Australia, For some laughs | Comments (0)

New Bios

By Steven Shoppman in

March 24, 2007 – 4:54 am

I have updated the bios for the new members of the team.  Check them out!

I have also received a few questions concerning the vehicles.  We are working on the vehicle page right now and are hoping to get them up tomorrow morning.  Unfortunately we will not have any action photos until the 7th of April, when the trucks finally arrive in Sydney Australia.

By Steven Shoppman | Posted in Expedition Updates | Comments (0)

Birthdays for Bridges and Neon Baseball Caps…

By Caki Shay in

March 21, 2007 – 4:53 pm

Behind the desk at the xBase backpackers hostel is a extremely knowledgeable woman named Lydiane whom we refer to as the oracle. Every morning the team gets together to decide what we have to do that day, and what we want to do that day. The first part usually consists of errands and research, or time spent at a local Internet cafe. As for the latter, in a city in which no one is familiar, an oracle is an excellent source to have at your disposal. Yesterday, she directed us across the city to a birthday celebration for the Sydney Harbor Bridge. This bridge was turning 75, and tons of people came down to join in the festivities.

The TWBR team, a little weary from the St Patty Day outing the night before, made the trek across town to the Botanic Gardens before heading to the harbor side birthday party. Much to my dismay, the highlight of the garden adventure was these massive Orb spider nests in the trees. I am terrified of spiders. This fear has been the butt of many a joke between my friends back home and a certain member of the team, Bouey. I tried to join in the spider excitement, but every time I let myself relax a little, some one would grab me or poke me causing me to scream, my pulse to rise, and my anxiety level to sky rocket.

 At least I got my first spider encounter out of the way in a semi controlled environment. Enough about spiders…

Next, we headed over to the birthday party. The Harbor was a sea of people in neon green baseball caps. These must have been handed out for free somewhere, but we never found that location. After loading up on beer and ice cream, we lost a few members of the team to the great St Patrick’s day hangover and jet lag. Chappy, Shoppman, Elena and I trekked on to find a large outdoor market amidst the festivities. Local artists displayed everything from jewelry to utensil themed wind chimes. We entered what can only be described as a birth canal, guiding us through the market, buying little treasures here and there.

Once the crowded market spit us out on the other side, we walked on. Leaving the party behind, we found a small cafe by the water, sat down on comfy couches and re-fueled on delicious coffee. We took this opportunity for new and old friends to catch up and swap funny stories. There was a very long walk to come before we reached the hostel, so we paid up and walked on. Weaving our way back along the river, we climbed up and down old hills and stairways. The coffee seemed only enough boost to keep our feet moving, and the chatter between the group faded as we made our way home. That was until Chappy decided that we should all shove ourselves into these small cubby holes for a photo opp… Good times!

By Caki Shay | Posted in Australia, Trip Thoughts | Comments (3)

Our adventure leaving New Zealand

By Steve Bouey in

March 20, 2007 – 3:05 am

I wrote this blog about a week ago, but in the busy whirlwind surrounding our arrival into Australia, I was only able to post it just now.

On an expedition around the world, not to mention a driving expedition, there are bound to be problems that pop up from time to time. We still do not have the Toyotas yet, although they are scheduled to arrive in Australia on April 7th which i guess is good news… at least we know when we might be able to expect them. In the meantime, we rented a Mazda station wagon to act as our chariot while we were in New Zealand. The story behind the Mazda is quite interesting because when we first tried to book the vehicle, the company did not have any available, however, at the last minute they were able to find a wagon for us. It just so happens that the people who rented it before were actually con artists traveling around the country defrauding stores out of merchandise and ended up stealing the car to use as their base of operations. The police found the car the day before we rented it and aside from a few new dents in the doors, the car seemed to be in good working order.

 

A few times throughout the two weeks we had the car, some of the indicator lights on the dashboard would pop on every now and then. First it was the battery light, then the airbag light, then the ABS light. We didn’t pay much attention to it as it went off after a few minutes and none of them really came back on all that frequently. Well, there is this certain law that many attribute to a man named Murphy that always seems to come into play at the most inopportune times. It was our last day in New Zealand and we were making the 400km drive from Queenstown back to Christchurch to catch our flight to Australia the next day. Whilst enjoying some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, the car started to lurch as I drove over over a pass near Mt. Cook. We didn’t seem to think much of it, but the lurch turned into the speedometer failing, the radio going out and the car not responding to the application of the gas pedal. I pulled over, turned the car off and the problem seemed to have resolved itself.  We proceeded down the road, but about 5 minutes later, it was obvious that there were some serious electrical or related issues going on with the car.

We limped into the small town of Omarama just in time for the car to completely die. After a quick diagnosis by the local mechanic (who’s name also happened to be Steve – probably why he was able to discern the problem so quickly) he informed us that the alternator was completely shot and that it would be about 3 days turnaround on the repair. Given that we had an international flight in less than 24 hours, we called the rental car company to see what could be done to solve the problem. After some heated conversation (with a guy from the company who also happened to be Steve – enter the Twilight Zone) and some frustration, the rental company decided that they wanted us to try and make it as close to Christchurch as possible. The solution: put a new battery in the car and run entirely off of the battery. The car company was convinced that we could make it the 300 km to Christchurch but Steve the mechanic was convinced that we would only make it a couple of hours which would still put us a ways out. To make matters worse, it was raining out and about to get dark and running the wipers and the headlights in addition to driving would exponentially reduce the battery’s life. The solution presented by the rental car company: turn the lights off when there are no other cars around!

After Steve (the mechanic) put a new battery in the car and convinced that we would only make it to Timaru before the battery died and have to go about finding another replacement,we pulled out. At the last minute, Steve the mechanic received a call from Steve at the rental company and they decided to give us another spare battery just in case. It also happens that we have a mechanical genius of our own on the crew and his name is Brian Chap. Brian informed us that if we put Rainex on the windscreen, we would probably not have to use the wipers.  With two new batteries in hand and Rainex on the window we headed on our way. Exactly 1 hour and 55 minutes later the battery was dead (score 1 for mechanic Steve) and we were still about 185km from Christchurch. Brian quickly changed the replacement and we were off. By that time it was getting dark and we drove as long as we could without the lights. Once the headlights were needed we disconnected the right headlight in order to conserve more battery power… another idea from Brian. With the second battery, the Rainex (which really worked) and the half headlight/driving in the dark technique, we made it to Christchurch. From this moment on, Brian is called "El Capitan" and we have the first of, without a doubt many, interesting car stories under our belt.

By Steve Bouey | Posted in For some laughs, New Zealand | Comments (2)