22. Florida

Arriving in Florida was not only a mid-point of our sabbatical, it also offered us some time to 'neutralise' our senses so that we could absorb more of the many great sights and experiences we have planned. During the trip to date we have had so many amazing times, seeing and doing pretty unforgettable things, we didn't know how to express and memorise them in their full glory any longer. Unbelievable but true, a certain travel "fatigue" had started to set in, noticeable on our way to Yellowstone. 

Clermont (near Orlando, Florida) for us was not a place we wanted to go to for cultural reasons (even if Disney could be mistaken for such), there are also no mountains or grizzly bears, but we have spent many holidays in Clermont in the past enjoying their weather, the many lakes and most of all watersports. Also the number of golf courses in the area has not gone unnoticed. It was here we wanted to chill and relax, finally enjoy true summer weather, work on our wakeboarding skills and swing the golf club. Svan had found us a lakeside cottage on Lake Louisa to make our home for 5 weeks - bliss - ...then again, also a big change. What if it would feel like  "Groundhog Day", what if we got bored or heaven forbid, if one of us got injured? Well we had some plan Bs, including a drive to the  "Keys", visit the space centre or maybe even check out a themed park or two! Famous last words - one day we woke up and had to leave. Not a single Plan B was put into action as Plan A was just too good  ;-)

View of Lake Louisa next to our cottage

Svan chilling out at the cottage

Lake Louisa at dusk

From the photos above you would think it was always beautifully tranquil, and yes for the most part it was. For those of you in the know, September and October are hurricane season in Florida. We didn't get any real storms in Clermont but a weekend of some interesting monsoon style rain:

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Most of the time it was sunny and calm, giving me the chance to perfect my "Australian" style cooking - steak, marinated chicken and peppercorn pork featured regularly on the menu!

Golf also was a regular past-time throughout our stay and a nice change to the very physical wakeboarding:

Playing the 7th at Palisades Golf Course

Playing the 2nd at Swiss Fairways - this place had a different kind of water hazard with the "Swiss" ski school situated inside the golf course!
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Svan, Bill and me playing Lake Buena Vista Lake Golf Club at Disney
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Playing the 5th at King's Ridge Golf Course

The things you do for love!! - Trying to retrieve Svan's ball on the 12th at King's Ridge Golf Course - I'm afraid there was no happy ending for Svan's ball but I'm relieved to report I didn't find any alligators!

We viewed wakeboarding as our "day jobs" and rode Monday to Thursday each week at "The Wakeboard Camp" situated on Lake Minneola (www.wakeboardcamp.com).  We took the "long" weekends off to recover and do other things.  Even though we only rode 2 sets of 30 minutes each day, it being such a high impact sport it is still pretty tough on the body, and most afternoons we visited the local gym (Anytime Fitness) to stretch and twist our bodies back into how we were supposed to function. I even worked on my jumping skills in the gym - needless to say, some of our exercises were observed with disbelief and amusement by the locals who were there mainly to lose weight or sociallise. After two weeks, Svan admitted to feeling quite self conscious as she must be the only woman there who didn't wear make-up and was looking quite 'yuck' (her words, not mine) as a result of sweating - shame on her! All in all, we were very active as the photos below confirm. 

Svan's tail grab!

Just before landing an "Olly Backside 180"

Svan attempting a "Back Roll"

Svan with coach and pro-rider Bob Sichel

Landing a "Wake to Wake" jump

Receiving instruction on how to improve my "ollies"

Svan receiving instruction on how to improve her position for her "regular 360s". 'Ollies', 'wake to wake', etc - a whole new language was learnt to communicate.

During our stay we were lucky enough to spend almost every 'working day' with our friend and head coach Kyle Schmidt. He is on the photos above and you can see that even when facing away from us, we were still under his watchful eye in the mirror. No gentle suggestions were made but clear instructions were shouted towards us - his favourite words are  "HARDER!" or "BIGGER!" which inspired the 1st of the videos (below) that I put together with my new 'Power director software'! Not that I needed any new hobbies but at least this new hobby doesn't physically exhaust me as much as the others. 

Wakeboard is not all about riding - our arms would drop off - but about hanging out in the boat, putting the world to rights or just being silly. With Kyle's influence we didn't just learn about the sport but as Svan says, we bring out the 'worst' in each other. I believe, she meant that in Kyle's company both his and my "boyish" sense of humour flourished!

We got to meet some other cool people along the way including (front right) Alejo a professional wakeboarder from Argentina who we got to see ride over a couple of weeks - he was an  amazing rider and a very cool guy! 

Wakeboard camp also gave us the chance to catch up and spend some time with our friends Bill and Mary who live in Clermont. Bill is the manager at camp.

Here at Outback, enjoying a steak with Mary and Bill!

Svan finally getting the chance to try her hand at stand up paddle, and we both stayed above water!

As mentioned before, video editing became a new hobby and to learn, test and experience how to use the software, I needed ammunition. Svan hardly saw me for days as I immersed myself into the tutorials, only to come up for air, requesting her to ride a certain way so that I can video new material that would fit with the music and plans I had. Oh I will regret admitting to it, as she will just nod knowingly, stating that 'she is sooo tolerant', but as we all know, I am the most tolerant person in this relationship! Anyway, I have uploaded some of the mini-movies in which I hope to have captured at least a bit of the fun we were having. I am open to suggestions for improvements as this will influence what can be done when we are on snowboards and wizzing (hmmmm - maybe I will need to speed up the video for that ;-)) through the trees in Canada next month.

Please remember to turn up the volume when looking at these mini-movies:

1. Harder, Faster, Bigger, Stronger (featuring Kyle and me)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tr3GywXA6Q

This clip is about the drills that Kyle put me through to get my 'switch' riding (right foot forward as opposed to left foot forward, which is my "regular" stance) into better shape! For the next set of tricks this was urgently needed and hard work.  At the start of the trip I spent many of my full sets (30 minute riding sessions) in switch and especially my toe edge - grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. This video shows a number of the drills and Kyle's 'encouragements'. I got to the stage where I would wake up during the night hearing him shouting "harder" or "bigger"! Oh boy, this is scary ;-)

2. You Spin Me (featuring Svan)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_XV2fj4X-U

This video is all about Svan's riding!  She landed her first 360 trick (a big milestone in wakeboarding)  - man I was so proud of her and will never forget her reaction.  Check out her little victory dance and fist pumping on the water ;-) As usual, once she landed it once she could land this (frontside, healside 360) just about every time and even "wake to wake". I am sure this is not normal - is she an android?

3. Galvanize (featuring Svan, Kyle and Me)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMdgkoeXc3U

This was my favourite video. I had checked out the professionals on video and some use helmet cameras - that's what I wanted. When Kyle had the camera, and we wore it for a couple of sets wakeboarding, it then took time to piece it all together ...and no kidding it really did take time ...but I love the result. The whole experience was so cool, even if we did look like aliens with our yellow helmets with their video "antennas" on top!  We felt like pros riding even if we didn't land any of our back roll inverts!  

4. Room At The Top (featuring, Svan, Kyle, Bob and Me)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lchQoKqHplw

I put this video together during our stopover at LA airport on the way to Auckland. It contains the "best of the rest" - the footage that I hadn't used in the other videos. It think it captures some fun moments where we landed jumps, or just missed them, and even my enthusiams - not for a new trick but for getting one of Kyle's wakeboard questions right!

   

Oh and let's not forget, during our stay in Florida, Svan and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary. Where has the time gone? We indulged in huge amounts of beef carpaccio and champagne. Oh this certainly is the trip of a life-time that I had worked for so hard for many years... 

Our time here truly flew by!  We laughed at our worries at the start of the trip about the "Groundhog Day" feeling and teased each other about "stealing the time" - where did those 24 hours each day actually disappear to?? We could have happily extended our 5 week stay to 8, but with New Zealand calling that was not an option!  After this settled period we felt ready for our next adventure where we would explore the North and maybe also the South island - "time thievery" permitting of course!  Even though we would just miss the "hullabaloo" of the Rugby World Cup, hopefully some of the feel good factor from New Zealand's historic victory would still remain!  

NZ was a place where Svan had actually lived a few years back, whereas I had never been.  This sounds like having your own personal tour guide - bring it on, let the adventure begin...


[Note:  I have finally got the opportunity to update Section 19 of the Blog on our Roadtrip from the Yukon to BC to include a video showing the grizzly fishing for salmon in Hyder, Alaska - truly amazing!]

21. Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, Wyoming

After short stops in Victoria and then Vancouver, where we met up with Svan's friends Michael and Elena, and our new friends Jacqui and Mark from the Orca trip, we then flew out to Salt Lake City...

By now I was starting to look like quite the "seasoned traveller", held together by duct tape and wearing as many of my clothes as possible (even if this may appear strange when heading for warmer climates) only so that the evil scale at the check-in permits me to travel.

On our latest flight, I even managed to tie shoes beneath the rucksack. It's quite the look.

Just before heading to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, we passed through Salt Lake City. It's a strange place where the 'prim and propper' meet 'Bill & Ted'. Whilst the surrounding mountains attract the extreme sports community, inside SLC a very subdued (laughing not allowed) religious atmosphere seems to prevail. We didn't really warm to this city during our 1 night stopover, although it seemed very clean, safe and modern. To top it all off, we checked directions with the hotel's concierge. He was quick to emphasise that he once made the same trip from SLC to Jackson, as we were planning, in two and half hours whilst driving a BIG and POWERFUL Ford Mustang. I think he even stuck his chest out when he said it!  Even driving our "My Little Pony" renter we should still make it in four, or so he advised.... off we set at 10am with plans of arriving in the early afternoon to then arrive by sunset. Hmmm maybe some poetic license was applied.

The drive itself was however pretty and even a little eventful, hitting a new form of traffic problem - Bison herds!

 

The sunset over the amazing Teton Mountain Range was a great welcome to this next part of our adventure. I will never get tired of seeing those mountains, which are definitely in my top three...and it seems that I am not the only one in love with them....it was crazy the number of tripod stands we could spot positioned close to the road. Svan and I have developed a feeling of inferiority when it comes to photographic equipment. Thermal activity in Yellowstone and the sunsets over the Teton Range are definitely attracting the largest amount of tripods ever spotted so close to together - and I am not kidding - there must have been 30-50 at special moments. We shouldn't joke, these national parks are great to explore even if mobility and fitness have gone in the twilight years, and photography is definitely a super way to give the holiday added focus.

Jenny Lake in front of the Grand Teton

Following advice of the local Visitor Centre, we threw ourselves into a long awaited 11 mile 'must do hike', covering the Jenny Lake and Cascade Canyon within the Teton Range.

Svan on the way to Inspiration Point shortly after the start of the hike

During the hike with the Grand Teton in view

Day 2 saw us take on Jackson Hole's Ski Mountain (Rendezvous) - the "Summit Trail" as it is called is 7.2 miles, starting at an elevation of 7,000ft rising to 10,770ft by the time you reach the summit.

On the way up we found a snow cave - unbelievable for mid September!

Svan and I at the windy summit - we had made it!

Only a few visitors attempt this "altitude" hike which takes between 3 and 5 hours.  Luckily we were able to catch the Aerial Tram back down as we were both feeling the effects of the 1200m elevation gain. Having now seen the mountain featured in the Travis Rice movie "That's it that's all" we vowed to come back one day in Winter to ride this amazing mountain with its incredible terrain and powder!

This was the last, and I think best, of the photos that I took of the Tetons, this time showing the sunrise......(a few tripods were present even at 7am)

Grand Teton National Park borders on Yellowstone and on day 4 we headed to the legendary "Old Faithful" where our next hotel was. Initially we were pretty underwhelmed (Canadian wilderness and the Tetons are difficult to beat) but the thermal activities got me finally hooked.

The 3 million summer visitors to Yellowstone each year clearly knew what they were coming for - well, many come for the easy access to the wildlife; fishing but also elk, moose, bison and of course grizzlies! I love the geysers (although I am still not sure how to pronounce it properly - the more people you ask, the more versions you get). So we focused on thermals and not the bears - we had seen enough and better in Alaska and on our road trip, and Yellowstone didn't seem all that safe. On the radio was news about the outcome of the investigation into the first of the two fatalities caused by Grizzlies so far this year in Yellowstone. It was clear that the "ease of access" to the wildlife works both ways.

..back to the 300 geysers and 10,000 thermal features, roughly half of the total in the whole of world. These features include hot springs, geysers, "mud pots" and "fumaroles" (steam vents). Hydrothermal activity results when surface water seeps down to meet the heat of the Earth's molten rock.  Even though not shaped in the way you would normally associate to one, Yellowstone is basically one bloody great "super-volcano"!  Fortunately for us though it last erupted 640,000 years ago and no sign yet of another, although there is certainly a lot going on down there.

"Old faithful" (it's most famous geyser),probably because it erupts safely and like clockwork evey 90 minutes, has by now been set up like a Disney attraction - benches, ice cream, etc. I really didn't like it. We did however venture out further and it became better and quieter. The geysers and hot springs really held a mystical quality and were fun to watch ...except for the smell (but I am used to Svan's trainers ;-) ...methinks I will regret this comment!) 

Old Faithful in action

One way of leaving people (and tripods) behind was by bike or even jogging one morning - although I almost needed to administer CPR (no rude comments please).  Miss 'Uphill' was for once struggling to keep moving due to a lack of oxygen. I may have found my lethal weapon to keep up with her. We certainly both felt the exercise, especially on the back of our 'Summit climb' and the flat thermal landscape deceived us into underestimating the high altitude.

  

The weird volcanic landscape

Of course it's all about finding your favourite geyser - "Grotto" (photo above) erupts at irregular intervals and we were lucky enough to be passing when it started splashing out hot water 15 feet into the air. It was love at first sight. It is super cool when the side vents erupt with scorching steaming hot water -  see video below..

 

"Saphire" pool (above) had amazing colour and depth, which sadly the photo doesn't show! With temperatures of at least 70*C these are not the kind of hot springs that you would want to jump in to, even if the Kayak trip has conditioned me to handle up to 46*C!!

"Morning Glory" Hot spring

At the risk of sounding like a 'hot spring geek', the photos below are from my favourite  "Mammoth" Hotspring area - it feels like a fantasy planet - not earth (and I am bringing Crossfit - see the t-shirt - to it).

 The famous "Terraces" at Mammoth Hot springs are constantly changing and look amazing!

More exploring was done on our final day, with more weird and wonderful photos of the park:

 Firehole Canyon

Svan in front of the Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest by area covered in the whole park at 300ft x 160ft.  It's sheer size and brilliant colours were truly memorable!

Excelsior Spring - this large and impressive geyser last erupted in 1985!

Some videos....

Clepsydra Geyser

The Artists' Paintpots

The Fountain Paintpots

Excelsior Hotspring running into Firehole River

Yellowstone and Grand Teton, after a slow start, really showed why they are great places to visit.  Highlights for me there were the Grand Teton Mountain, Grand Prismatic and Excelsior hot springs, Grotto Geyser and the terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs; but remember you really have to get away from the crowds to enjoy it, and steer clear of those grizzlies! Next stop Florida for a whole 5 weeks in one place for wakeboarding, golf, some chilling, and of course the chance to unpack our bags!

20. Kayak with Orcas Trip - Johnstone Strait

Having ridden a bison bare back rodeo style in the Yukon, wrestled a Grizzly in Alaska, I felt I was now ready to lassoo a passing orca and surf kayak behind it for a while......I mean how hard could it be??.................Hmmmmmm in my dreams!! :))

The Johnstone Strait, situated between Vancouver Island and mainland BC is home to the largest resident pod of killer whales (orcas) in the world, with a population of approximately 200 whales. Apparently there is no better place to view them......time would tell.......

We would be spending 3 nights at the Spirit of the West "base camp" situated on the West Cracroft Island (see http://www.kayakingtours.com/).  We would return back to base at the end of each day.  This was clealry very different to the expedition trip along the Yukon River!

Before our boat transfer to base camp, we got to spend a couple of evenings at the Taku Resort on Quadra Island, which is just a 10 minute ferry ride from Campbell River.  This was a beautiful spot!

Svan at the harbour at Taku Resort at sunset

At "Rebecca Spit" on Quadra Island

A very civilsed lunch at Tsa-kwa-Luten Lodge, Quadra Island

After a 3 hour boat transfer from Quadra Island to the base camp we couldn't believe the facilities that they had!  Having grown accustomed to "back country" camping in the Yukon, we were amazed to find hot running showers, hot tub, nice clean out-house and luxury 4 person tents for each couple!

Hot tub with view..

Hot water shower!

We were also incredibly well looked after by our 3 great guides (striking the pose left to right) Pat, Mattias and Steve.  These guys enjoyed food - we ate incredibly well and the whole experience felt like the "Hilton" of back country camping!  The best of the best meal for me was the fondue - we dipped freshly sliced pineapple, peach, pear, strawberry and apple in gorgeous creamy chocolate! Yummy!! 

Before attempting my dream new sport of "orca kayak surf" I would first need to hone my kayak skills!!.....With only a couple of hours ever spent on a kayak (canoe is actually very different) it was clear that in the event of an emergency my eskimo roll was going to need some work!  On the first afternoon I got straight to it and found out what the guides were referring to when they had highlighted the release (or "holy crap") cord during the safety talk!

Me kayaking in the customary upright position on the last day

Kayaking in the clouds on the final morning!

The Team - on our left Mark and Jacqui from Australia who were great fun and who we met up with in Vancouver after the trip

Having seen nothing of the orcas for the 1st three days, just when there was talk of us going to SeaWorld along came a pod of 5 or 6 on the final morning.  We had actually been out on the water that morning and had given up hope when Mark in our group spotted something from camp through his "binos".   We all rushed to grab our cameras, which many of us had already packed away for the boat trip back.   They passed us in the middle of the channel but came right past camp!

There was a "hydro-phone" set up in camp so we could actually hear them calling to each other.  It helped to make the whole experience really memorable. 

After we had all started with such high expectations there was a huge sense of relief (guides included) that we had actually got to see some orcas!  And yet there was still even better to come...

It was almost as if the guides had put a call out on the hydro phone! On the boat on the way back to Quadra along came a "super" pod of around 200 dolphins who played behind the boat as our driver Jay skilfully drove through them time and again.  This was truly amazing and felt almost like they were trying to jump into the boat!  Compared to the orca pod so far away this felt so up close!

Dolphins chasing the boat!

This was another great trip.  However having completed the Yukon River trip only a matter of a few weeks before the comparisons were numerous.  Having often felt cold and shivery during not only the river trip but also in the RV we certainly had our reservations going into this one!  We couldn't believe how lucky we ended up with the unseasonably warm temperatures, even if Svan did still wear her thermal underwear (remember this is the same woman who wears a wet suit wakeboarding in Florida!)  With the base camp being sited on such a busy shipping lane this trip did not have the same feeling of being in the wilderness as the Yukon trip (some of the guys even had network coverage!).  Plus with all the great creature comforts, being so pampered by our guides and returning back to base each evening it did not have the same sense of "big adventure" either! 

With all that said we did get to see orcas (albeit from afar) and the dolphins chasing behind the boat (all on the last day) certainly meant we all finished on a real high, even if my dream of "orca kayak surf" never did materialise! :))