Getting Slack.

So I've been getting slack on blog updates. I apologize. But I haven't been taking many pictures and I didn't feel like boring you all with my ramblings.

The past two weeks or so have been a blast (not much has changed). I made another short video of what life in Australia has been like .... the beach.... and climbing (watch below).

THE CLIMB:

In the video I have some clips from an awesome relaxing multi-pitch climb we did two weeks ago. The route was called "Bunny Bucket Buttress". It was a 270m (~900ft for you non-metric folk) cliff that took about 8 pitches of 5.9 class climbing.
In order to get to the climb we had to ride our bikes 10Km with fully loaded packs (camping/climbing gear). I can't say I enjoyed it, but the journey made for a good/painful story.

The climb however was well worth it. Climbing took about 5 1/2 hours (NOT including the somewhat exciting return, which involved us getting lost). The scenery was outstanding, hopefully you'll get an idea in the video and pictures but it doesn't do the area justice. The exposure and relaxed nature of the climb is what made it so good. There was a nice exposed section on the 6th pitch underneath a roof, and once you make your way up and around the roof you're surprised by an extremely vertical headwall of about 3 pitches (clip in video). It was brilliant.

We're definitely heading back to that area in the blue mountains to climb some more challenging but similar multi-pitch routes. The climbing there is endless. The only draw back is that I forgot to take pictures. So I only have a handful of photos to share with you (and the video). Enjoy.

Video:


Pictures at the top of bunny bucket buttress:

Literally at the last hold and top out of the climb.


Also from the top out.


On the way back. This picture was taken while we were lost... so I couldn't tell you where exactly it was taken. Love you too mom.



Those are the only pictures I have of the climb. Sorry.



I recently shaved my head again. First hair cut in Australia, so I thought I would share this memorable moment with you. Photos courtesy of Stefan.
Yes, I used beard trimmers. Yes, it took forever.

The start.


The end.
As the Aussies would say... I'm really "keen" of my new hair style.


FOOD:
I'm somewhat hungry at the moment (of writing this), so naturally I'm thinking about food. Our apartment had a Sushi night last week, so I am now a sushi expert....kinda. I also made a fresh basil pesto which is the bee's knee's (I'll be eating it once I'm done with this blog update). I've really been enjoying cooking on this trip. I think the fact that my class load is so light is giving me time to experiment.

Party Boat:
Party boat in Sydney harbor Friday night. Not to much else to say about that. It was hectic and fun. Thanks Victoria for the free tickets!

Rugby:
This past weekend I experienced my first game of rugby league. I went to a Newcastle knights game with most of our apartment, and witnessed a victory! It was cool to see it live rather than on T.V. I also attempted to order a Corn dog, which I knew wasn't called a corn dog going into the purchase but I attempted anyways. After some weird looks and hand gestures I figured out that they are called Pluto Pups. So remember kids.... Corn dog = Pluto pup. Beer, vendor food, and rugby ... It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Other than that life in Australia has been very relaxed. It's starting to get colder outside, but today was another perfect beach day. I can't believe that winter is coming.

Next week is easter break and I'll be heading to New Zealand with my roommate Stefan to do some exploring. I'll probably get a good taste of winter there. And I promise I'll take Plenty of pictures.


Until next time. I'll return with pictures of Kiwi land.
-Pieter

Here's what I've been up too

This will be a quick blog entry.

I don't have to many pictures to share since I decided to make a little video of our adventure to Hawkesbury River. We decided to try some deep water soloing this past weekend just north of Sydney. Our boat of choice was an inflatable kiddie pool, which was riddled with holes. The constant threat of sinking ,as well as not having a legit paddle, made staying afloat interesting. We ended up jumping off of cliffs and finding some bouldering problems. There is a lot of potential in the area if you have a floating boat. Some of you might have seen the video, but here it is.



We also found a local (20 min bus ride and 15 min hike) climbing spot called Glenn rock. Nothing to spectacular, but some solid routes if nothing else is possible. (No pictures because I'm lazy)


This past Sunday our entire apartment decided to go on a wine tasting tour in hunter valley. A van picked us (10 people) up at our apartment and took us from winery to winery until our heart's (or stomachs) were content. We got to try some "dragons breath" wine, which involved hot peppers and some sweet port and desert wines. Fun stuff. I didn't take pictures and thats all there really is to say about it. I apologize.


Two weekends ago I met up with my parents in Sydney. They are traveling in Australia for two weeks. It was good seeing them and getting some home warming gifts (sleeping in a huge hotel bed where my feet didn't hang off the edge was also a plus). We walked around Sydney and Darling harbor, and also visited the Sydney aquarium. This was my second trip to Sydney and I'm starting to get familiar with the area. I'd like to make a few trips down there since its so accessible (2 1/2 hours by train and about $3.90 one way). My parents also stopped by Newcastle to see where I'm staying and get some lunch. I think they approved.

Here are a few pictures of Sydney harbor at night (These were rare pictures for that night, because shortly after "Earth Hour" began and the majority of the lights in the harbor were turned off).


A memorial to sonic the hedgehog?



They're big Sega fans.



Sydney Harbor Bridge.




Circular Quay Ferry station.



Me Mom.



Me Dad.



Me April fools joke.



( ^ I have to give some credit to Will Wright for starting this idea.)



Well thats all I have for this blog entry.
Sushi night tonight.
Blue Mountains this weekend, with possibly another video.

Later.

Gramps.

This weekend was a very eventful one. Here's a quick summary.

-Driving on the left side of the road.
-Great ocean road.
-St. Patty's day.
-Melbourne in a night.
-Grampians National Park.
-Wild Roo's.
-Successful Trad lead fall.
-Unsuccessful Trad lead fall.


Melbourne

Will and I left early Thursday morning (4am) to catch a train to Sydney and then a Plane to Melbourne. Once we landed in Melbourne it was pure efficiency. We drove ~1 1/2 hours to the start of the great ocean road and then did some power "touristing" along the 3 hour drive. The ocean front was magnificent, the only down fall was the over cast weather.

Our car was .... exotic and practical (aka. Yellow and we slept and crammed everything in). Driving was surprisingly not to difficult. Just some habits were hard to overcome.
- The wipers and blinkers are swapped (binker on the right, wiper on the left), so there was plenty of "mist" action going on when I intended to turn right.
- Also, the rearview mirror being to the left of you was awkward, as was looking over your left shoulder when reversing.

Time for some Day One pictures:


Poise of a champion.




Incase you forget.




Lighthouse.




Power-cling.




The majestic Australian sheep (Australia is not flat).



The majestic Australian Asian.




This area was named after shipwreck survivors (forgot the name).



The 12 apostles. (well... not all of them)



The sun broke through the clouds and was shinning on the ocean... thought it looked cool




Sun rays on the great ocean road.



The London Bridge.




Grampians National Park

After our efficient tour of the great ocean road we drove back to Sydney to meet up with some friends to celebrate St. Patty's Day. Needless to say, we didn't get to a bar until after midnight. It was short but fun.

Will, Kevin ( a friend of Will's who is studying in Brisbane), and I woke up from our comfy post st.patty's day car sleep and began our drive to Grampians National Park for a weekend full of climbing.

The rock quality and color were some of the best I've ever seen. It was climbing pornography. Lots of the climbs were mixed offerings and trad, with very few sport routes.

While on a trad lead Friday I took a fall just below the third piece of protection. The second piece of gear I place was a So-So stopper... which didn't hold. I took a ground hit pretty hard and landed on my back. I was lucky to have landed where I did and not sustain any permanent injuries. I walked away with a swollen and bruised butt/lower back and some nasty rope burn around my left arm (which is now infected and keeping me from climbing :/ ).
The fall really shook me up and it got in my head when leading after that. Lesson learned and it was a big eye opener.

Anyway, I wish I could of taken more advantage of the amazing climbing in the Gramps. The Tiapan wall is world class climbing, just a little to hard. Most is pure trad and rated at 5.12 or higher. If anyone reading this is a climber...here's the climbers porn I was talking about.

Tiapan Wall.



More of the wall.



Will leading a first pitch on the Tiapan wall.




And now for the rest of the Gramps.


Sunnyday valley area.




Will Warming up.



Wall of Fools.




This is where I slipped. Just under the 3rd piece of gear. Beautiful climb though, It traverses left from where will is and tops out past the roof.




The last climbers didn't do so well...




On the way to Tiapan.



Candid...I promise.



Kevin taking a break.





Some Bonus Stuff:


Wild Roos! Kangaroos were everywhere in the National Park. I woke up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, and there were at least 10 wild kangaroos roaming around the campsite. Hitting a Kangaroo was always a worry while driving. However,We did manage to race one. He was standing in the middle of the road when we pulled up to him. He began to run down the road, so we pursued. 20kph....30kph..........40kph......50kph. It was so foreign to see a kangaroo at full stride (Hop?).




Dinner of the week. Octopus. Yum.



Until next time.

It goes on and on my friends.

***Disclaimer: My lovely mother has been pointing out grammatical errors. I'm not a grammer fan. Sorry. Live with it :) *******

I'm in my third week of school but still feel like I'm on vacation. I've figured out how to juggle school around the surfing and climbing that has become the norm. If the weather is decent I either wake up early or rush home from school to surf. My roommate , Will, and I have also been planning climbing trips and recently discovered some bouldering/buildering in our town. I've slowly been collecting surf and climbing video footage, so hopefully I'll have some videos up soon.

Some things you should know about Australia:

It's not as sunny and dry as you'd expect. 4 days out of the week are usually overcast or drizzling (Maybe it's just the time of year). The weather is very unpredictable, and the weather channels aren't of much help.

I thought I'd share some of the slang/Australian I've heard so far. Most of these words are used pretty commonly:


Bodgy- Sketchy
Mozzie- Mosquito
Mackers- McDonalds
Mate- Dude
Bogan - and idiot, or someone you don't like in general. Usually involves them being drunk
Bottle Shop - Where to buy the overtaxed alcohol of Australia.
Thongs - Flip Flops (Not what you think when you hear a guy say "Im going to go put on my thongs")
Fortnight - Every other week ( they actually use the term often)
Scooner - Glass of beer
Piss - Beer ( getting pissed or hitting the piss means to go drink)
Heaps - A lot or very (They use this non-stop)




Now Time for Pictures:


Bouldering and Buildering in Newcastle. We've also heard of "heaps" of other places in town and will be exploring them shortly.


Will buildering an arch on Newcastle beach.




Warming Up.




Our new climbing "Gym". The Arches.



The signs didn't say anything about No Climbing.




Our French friend, Jean ,working on a V4 which he named "The Arch of the Sea" (only in french).




Will on "The Arch of the Sea"



Pain on a V4/V5. Big move off of tiny sharp holds.



Will making the move. Pain Face.



After the pain.



Project.





More climbing:

We also went on a Mountaineering Club climbing Trip this past Saturday. I didn't take any pictures as it was in the same place as an earlier climbing trip. Will, Jean, and I got on 8 climbs of various difficulty, the highlight being a blank looking Australian grade 23 (~5.11b). The main goal of the trip was to get "certified" by the Mountaineering club so that we could rent gear and lead future climbing trips. The weather and views were fantastic!


More About Australia:

One fun aspect of Australia is the diversity of people. This includes ethnicity and political views. Australia is as much of a Hodgepodge of culture as the USA, if not more. Because of this there are plenty of political demonstrations. Last weekend I attended Mardi Gras in Sydney. This is quite different than the Mardi Gras in New Orleans because the Mardi Gras in Sydney is the largest Gay/Lesbian festival in the world. Everyone, young and old, was getting involved and dressing up for the festival... the city was out of control. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately) I didn't bring my camera, and my video camera ran out of batteries by the time the festival started.


Coal Harbor Blockade.

Although I wasn't able to take pictures of the Mardi Gras festival, I did manage to grab some pictures of another demonstration. Newcastle is one of the worlds largest coal harbors, and therefore is a hot spot for environmentalist's protests. Yesterday (Sunday March 13th) a human blockade of the coal harbor took place. Below are a few pictures of the event.


In the parking lot.




Maybe the Biggest Coal Harbor?



Free Kayaks for those willing to protest.




Pumping up the crowd.



Hippie Pirate and Rainbow huggers?



And They're Off! Opposite ends of the environmentalist spectrum.



Teach them while they're young.




Running behind, but having fun.





Until next time. I'm heading to Melbourne for St. Patty's day and then Climbing in the Grampians.


-Pieter