G'day,
I awoke from a good nights sleep ready to pack and leave the south island to fly to Wellington. The people at the home stay gave me a lift to the airport before jumping on the plane for a short journey to Wellington. I say short journey but it was quite a bumpy ride due to a lot of wind travelling over the water and sometimes felt like the plane was travelling sideways.
We eventually landed and I collected my bags, I now needed to look for Matt O'Mara from Wellington City Council, with only a picture to work with I wondered round the airport. It was however Matt who found me first and we jumped in a taxi to hotel Ibis where I would be staying to drop my bags off.
Then back at Wellington City Council I was able to meet the manager of web content and discovered they use Silverstripe as a content management system and have various e-services such as e-petitions and e-payments. I then moved on to look at GIS and the different map views such as 3D or 2D and scenery such as park view or road view. I was also able to see the e-learning at Wellington used to train their employees, both the face to face training and online learning using Kallidus.
I had a great time at Wellington City Council, it was good to see the technology in the capital and meet new people. Afterwards Matt invited me round to his house for dinner, which was a really kind gesture and it really helped me to feel at home. The food was lovely and everyone was great. After food and chats I went back to my hotel for some sleep and I will see you tomorrow.........
Wednesday 21st in New Zealand
G'day,
I awoke to a beautiful day in Kaikoura and ready to do some Whale watching as recommended by the people at ALGIM. I wrapped up warm and grabbed my camera ready to snap some good pictures. I arrived at the Whale watching centre, handed over my ticket and bought cheese, ham and tomato toasties (Have to admit I didn't like it them too much) then sat down for the safety briefing. We then all hopped on the coach for the journey to the sea front to embark on our boat. We were informed that all the people who get sea sick are best seated at the back as the front bounces around more, therefore I jumped straight into a seat at the front.
Wasn't long before we spotted a Whale but it soon went under again so we set off looking for our second Whale. Some of us wondered onto the top deck and it presented us with a beautiful view. This was until one of the Whale spotters shouted Whale 2 miles ahead and the boat shot off with us all holding on for dear life. If your the type who feels the draft from a door easily this is not for you. We quickly arrived at the new location and managed to get some great shots of the Whale before we needed to head back to shore. Luckily we were able to see some Dolphins and native sea birds along the way. A worth while trip for anyone near Kaikoura if you love wildlife or even just to see the views.
I arrived back in the centre of Kaikoura and decided to do a popular walk along the sea front where I was able to get some amazing photos, see Fur Seals and learn about the history of the area, Whale hunting and the Maori. Kaikoura is truly a wonderful place rich with wildlife and history. I had to hurry though to catch the bus to my next stop, Blenheim.
On arriving in Blenheim I was picked up and taken to my Homestay, this is the first time I have ever stayed in a Homestay and it was different. For those unsure what a Homestay is, you go and stay in someones house and other people stay there too so its like a hotel but it has more of a personal touch, it was nice. Anyway time for bed and I will see you tomorrow.........
I awoke to a beautiful day in Kaikoura and ready to do some Whale watching as recommended by the people at ALGIM. I wrapped up warm and grabbed my camera ready to snap some good pictures. I arrived at the Whale watching centre, handed over my ticket and bought cheese, ham and tomato toasties (Have to admit I didn't like it them too much) then sat down for the safety briefing. We then all hopped on the coach for the journey to the sea front to embark on our boat. We were informed that all the people who get sea sick are best seated at the back as the front bounces around more, therefore I jumped straight into a seat at the front.
Wasn't long before we spotted a Whale but it soon went under again so we set off looking for our second Whale. Some of us wondered onto the top deck and it presented us with a beautiful view. This was until one of the Whale spotters shouted Whale 2 miles ahead and the boat shot off with us all holding on for dear life. If your the type who feels the draft from a door easily this is not for you. We quickly arrived at the new location and managed to get some great shots of the Whale before we needed to head back to shore. Luckily we were able to see some Dolphins and native sea birds along the way. A worth while trip for anyone near Kaikoura if you love wildlife or even just to see the views.
I arrived back in the centre of Kaikoura and decided to do a popular walk along the sea front where I was able to get some amazing photos, see Fur Seals and learn about the history of the area, Whale hunting and the Maori. Kaikoura is truly a wonderful place rich with wildlife and history. I had to hurry though to catch the bus to my next stop, Blenheim.
On arriving in Blenheim I was picked up and taken to my Homestay, this is the first time I have ever stayed in a Homestay and it was different. For those unsure what a Homestay is, you go and stay in someones house and other people stay there too so its like a hotel but it has more of a personal touch, it was nice. Anyway time for bed and I will see you tomorrow.........
Tuesday 20th in New Zealand
G' day,
Today I would move on from Christchurch and travel north to the Whale watching town of Kaikoura. I jumped on the coach and enjoyed the various city and rural views on my trip to Kaikoura. Upon arriving at Kaikoura I was amazed at how beautiful the place was, no skyscraper buildings and gorgeous mountain ranges, definitely a place I would recommend visiting. I then went looking for my hotel and found it fairly easily and was shown to my room. I went to check out the bar to find it full of New Zealand truckers and if they are anything like the truckers in the UK, you don't mess with them. So I set out to find a nice place to eat choosing the beef and reef followed closely by heading back to the hotel for an early night.
So see you tomorrow.........
Today I would move on from Christchurch and travel north to the Whale watching town of Kaikoura. I jumped on the coach and enjoyed the various city and rural views on my trip to Kaikoura. Upon arriving at Kaikoura I was amazed at how beautiful the place was, no skyscraper buildings and gorgeous mountain ranges, definitely a place I would recommend visiting. I then went looking for my hotel and found it fairly easily and was shown to my room. I went to check out the bar to find it full of New Zealand truckers and if they are anything like the truckers in the UK, you don't mess with them. So I set out to find a nice place to eat choosing the beef and reef followed closely by heading back to the hotel for an early night.
So see you tomorrow.........
Monday 19th in New Zealand
G'day,
Welcome to todays blog in New Zealand and today I will meet my first Council in NZ, Christchurch City Council. Here I met Greg Riach and we started with a coffee (Yes I've started drinking coffee over here now). We then headed back to the office where quickly I learned they are moving to SharePoint in the next 12 months. It was great to see how the project is coming together as Leeds City Council is currently migrating to SharePoint. I was then shown the Library and Art gallery sites who are doing large amounts of web 2.0 to push out events and information.
Now time for lunch, Greg took me to a local cafe, which I had a modest sandwich and drink of cola. Then onto my next organisation, Environment Canterbury (E-Can). Here I met David Lewitt who gave me an insight into the role E-Can plays in the community. For those curious, they oversee all the environmental issues such as air quality, coastal environment, emergency management, pests and biodiversity. This was a very unusual place to visit as I found out during a tour, one moment you're in an office with people wearing a shirt and tie, the next you're in a lab with people clutching test tubes. This was an interesting place to visit seeing all the environmental processes in place and getting to look at the emergency room in case of a natural disaster.
I then set off on foot back to the hotel and managed to get lost wondering through the different streets. I did however find a Subway and remember thinking to myself Ill grab one of those later only to not remember where it was, doh! So I eventually found my hotel and settled down for the night.
That is that so see you tomorrow.......
Welcome to todays blog in New Zealand and today I will meet my first Council in NZ, Christchurch City Council. Here I met Greg Riach and we started with a coffee (Yes I've started drinking coffee over here now). We then headed back to the office where quickly I learned they are moving to SharePoint in the next 12 months. It was great to see how the project is coming together as Leeds City Council is currently migrating to SharePoint. I was then shown the Library and Art gallery sites who are doing large amounts of web 2.0 to push out events and information.
Now time for lunch, Greg took me to a local cafe, which I had a modest sandwich and drink of cola. Then onto my next organisation, Environment Canterbury (E-Can). Here I met David Lewitt who gave me an insight into the role E-Can plays in the community. For those curious, they oversee all the environmental issues such as air quality, coastal environment, emergency management, pests and biodiversity. This was a very unusual place to visit as I found out during a tour, one moment you're in an office with people wearing a shirt and tie, the next you're in a lab with people clutching test tubes. This was an interesting place to visit seeing all the environmental processes in place and getting to look at the emergency room in case of a natural disaster.
I then set off on foot back to the hotel and managed to get lost wondering through the different streets. I did however find a Subway and remember thinking to myself Ill grab one of those later only to not remember where it was, doh! So I eventually found my hotel and settled down for the night.
That is that so see you tomorrow.......
Saturday 17th / Sunday 18th in New Zealand
G'Day,
Today was my first day in New Zealand, however the blog is a little late due to Internet issues and little time. However it is here now and I hope you enjoy reading the NZ part of my trip as much as the Aus part.
I landed in Christchurch, NZ and I am so thankful I didn't need to face any jetlag like landing in Australia. I stayed at a modern hotel called Hotel SO, which has some very innovative features. These included a mood light which changed colour depending on the mood selected and sunbeam lights designed to help with jet lag.
As it was a Saturday I decided to see the NZ nightlife. The lovely girl at the reception pointed out some areas of interest and honestly I couldn't find any of them. I figured I would find a nice steady bar and have a drink only to find everywhere empty, I later learned that everyone drinks at home until midnight then goes into town. So I went to the local store for Cola and Chocolate followed by a night of TV.
Soon followed Sunday and I decided to visit the Willowspring Wildlife Reserve, which for me was a great experience. To start with I got to walk around a beautiful environment and interact with a group of Wallabies. They would jump around me, feed from my hand and allow me to take some great pictures so a great experience.
At the Wildlife Reserve I signed up for the Maori experience, which allowed me to learn a lot about the Maori uses of trees and importance of local wildlife. On this experience one of the young warriors perform a war dance during which a branch from a local tree was dropped. I then had to accept the branch as a sign of peace or reject as a sign of war, for obvious reasons I was only told to pick up the branch and only told the other option afterwards (I'm pretty sure I would have accepted peace anyway as the guide explained the men would have to go to war and in this particular tour the only other 'warrior' on my side had been using a bus pass for quite some time). Having accepted the gift of peace we met the Chief, which I did the native greeting and later performed the Haka, a native dance.
I then finished the day off with a night tour around the wildlife reserve to experience the native nocturnal wildlife especially the symbolic Kiwi bird. This ended a great weekend in New Zealand and I can't wait to see what ALGIM (Association of Local Government Information Management) has planned for me. For those who do not know about ALGIM they organised large amounts of my trip to New Zealand. ALGIM like SOCITM (Society for IT Management) in the UK provide tools, services, resources and conferences for its members mostly from Local Government. With that explained I will see you tomorrow...........
Today was my first day in New Zealand, however the blog is a little late due to Internet issues and little time. However it is here now and I hope you enjoy reading the NZ part of my trip as much as the Aus part.
I landed in Christchurch, NZ and I am so thankful I didn't need to face any jetlag like landing in Australia. I stayed at a modern hotel called Hotel SO, which has some very innovative features. These included a mood light which changed colour depending on the mood selected and sunbeam lights designed to help with jet lag.
As it was a Saturday I decided to see the NZ nightlife. The lovely girl at the reception pointed out some areas of interest and honestly I couldn't find any of them. I figured I would find a nice steady bar and have a drink only to find everywhere empty, I later learned that everyone drinks at home until midnight then goes into town. So I went to the local store for Cola and Chocolate followed by a night of TV.
Soon followed Sunday and I decided to visit the Willowspring Wildlife Reserve, which for me was a great experience. To start with I got to walk around a beautiful environment and interact with a group of Wallabies. They would jump around me, feed from my hand and allow me to take some great pictures so a great experience.
At the Wildlife Reserve I signed up for the Maori experience, which allowed me to learn a lot about the Maori uses of trees and importance of local wildlife. On this experience one of the young warriors perform a war dance during which a branch from a local tree was dropped. I then had to accept the branch as a sign of peace or reject as a sign of war, for obvious reasons I was only told to pick up the branch and only told the other option afterwards (I'm pretty sure I would have accepted peace anyway as the guide explained the men would have to go to war and in this particular tour the only other 'warrior' on my side had been using a bus pass for quite some time). Having accepted the gift of peace we met the Chief, which I did the native greeting and later performed the Haka, a native dance.
I then finished the day off with a night tour around the wildlife reserve to experience the native nocturnal wildlife especially the symbolic Kiwi bird. This ended a great weekend in New Zealand and I can't wait to see what ALGIM (Association of Local Government Information Management) has planned for me. For those who do not know about ALGIM they organised large amounts of my trip to New Zealand. ALGIM like SOCITM (Society for IT Management) in the UK provide tools, services, resources and conferences for its members mostly from Local Government. With that explained I will see you tomorrow...........
Friday 16th in Australia
G'day,
Today is my final day in Australia and I went to visit Sydney Downtown Council. Sydney Downtown Council and the structure in place reminds me a lot of Leeds City Council back home so it was interesting to visit them.
At Sydney I got to meet the web team focusing on e-services and the customer focused applications in place such as e-payments. Also discussing the different practises and careers within Sydney Downtown. I then met the project manager and we talked about different management methods and agile development and e-learning. I then met the mapping team who spend time mapping the whole of Sydney such as locations of trees, buildings, roads and cables to aid the teams on the streets with portable computers. This was very interesting as Sydney is such a big place but the models were well constructed. I was also shown the physical 3D model at Sydney Downtown Council created by professional modellers. This looked really amazing and I will put some pictures on for you guys a long with lots of my trip. I will also be doing a presentation and writing an article of my findings so keep your eyes peeled.
So that concludes Australia, tomorrow I fly to New Zealand, so see you on the other side (or the dark side as the Aussies like to call it)........
Today is my final day in Australia and I went to visit Sydney Downtown Council. Sydney Downtown Council and the structure in place reminds me a lot of Leeds City Council back home so it was interesting to visit them.
At Sydney I got to meet the web team focusing on e-services and the customer focused applications in place such as e-payments. Also discussing the different practises and careers within Sydney Downtown. I then met the project manager and we talked about different management methods and agile development and e-learning. I then met the mapping team who spend time mapping the whole of Sydney such as locations of trees, buildings, roads and cables to aid the teams on the streets with portable computers. This was very interesting as Sydney is such a big place but the models were well constructed. I was also shown the physical 3D model at Sydney Downtown Council created by professional modellers. This looked really amazing and I will put some pictures on for you guys a long with lots of my trip. I will also be doing a presentation and writing an article of my findings so keep your eyes peeled.
So that concludes Australia, tomorrow I fly to New Zealand, so see you on the other side (or the dark side as the Aussies like to call it)........
Thursday 15th in Australia
G'day,
Not long to go before New Zealand but today I have a very busy day visiting people in Penrith and Parramatta.
In the morning I met with Kathie Goldsworthy at the University of Western Sydney to discuss the e-learning taking place there. We talked about the content management system in place and different plug ins such as the lecture recorder. This was very interesting as unlike the UK, Australian Councils do not oversee education so it was great to see some e-learning in action.
I then went to meet Richard Hawkins, the web co-ordinator at Penrith Council. Richard showed me the content management system in place there and the issues he is facing. I was also shown the e-services in place before going to lunch, I had the steak sandwich and chips (if anyone was wondering).
I then quickly moved on to meet Professor Peter Phibbs at the Urban Research Centre. Peter helped me arrange my visits today and we had a quick chat about my trip and about my favourite sport, Rugby League (I support Bradford Bulls if anyone was wondering again).
I then returned to Sydney and as it is the last chance I will get to have a few beers I went out for a bit, tomorrow I will be visiting Sydney Downtown Council and packing my bags ready for NZ. See you there..........
Not long to go before New Zealand but today I have a very busy day visiting people in Penrith and Parramatta.
In the morning I met with Kathie Goldsworthy at the University of Western Sydney to discuss the e-learning taking place there. We talked about the content management system in place and different plug ins such as the lecture recorder. This was very interesting as unlike the UK, Australian Councils do not oversee education so it was great to see some e-learning in action.
I then went to meet Richard Hawkins, the web co-ordinator at Penrith Council. Richard showed me the content management system in place there and the issues he is facing. I was also shown the e-services in place before going to lunch, I had the steak sandwich and chips (if anyone was wondering).
I then quickly moved on to meet Professor Peter Phibbs at the Urban Research Centre. Peter helped me arrange my visits today and we had a quick chat about my trip and about my favourite sport, Rugby League (I support Bradford Bulls if anyone was wondering again).
I then returned to Sydney and as it is the last chance I will get to have a few beers I went out for a bit, tomorrow I will be visiting Sydney Downtown Council and packing my bags ready for NZ. See you there..........
Day 9 in Australia
G'day,
Today I met Darryl and Reem from Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW in Sydney. This was a really great experience, Darryl taught me a lot about Local Government and how they opperate and the issues Local Government face with e-services and web applications. Darryl also showed me some of the e-learning taking place and how they are pushing out e-learning to aid Local Government. Reem showed me a lot of the web work she is doing and the content management web sites that she looks after.
I then met with Allison Hornery and John Wells from Know and Then for evening lunch. I had a great time, the food was gorgeous and Allison and John were brilliant. We shared many stories and laughs, had a few mental blocks and a few drinks. I'm pretty sure the last two were related somehow.
Well that concludes Day 9, tomorow I will be travelling to Penrith and Parramatta.......
Today I met Darryl and Reem from Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW in Sydney. This was a really great experience, Darryl taught me a lot about Local Government and how they opperate and the issues Local Government face with e-services and web applications. Darryl also showed me some of the e-learning taking place and how they are pushing out e-learning to aid Local Government. Reem showed me a lot of the web work she is doing and the content management web sites that she looks after.
I then met with Allison Hornery and John Wells from Know and Then for evening lunch. I had a great time, the food was gorgeous and Allison and John were brilliant. We shared many stories and laughs, had a few mental blocks and a few drinks. I'm pretty sure the last two were related somehow.
Well that concludes Day 9, tomorow I will be travelling to Penrith and Parramatta.......
Day 8 in Australia
G'day,
Now for my final week in Australia before I head off to New Zealand, I would start the week with a visit to Bankstown Council to the west of Sydney. It took about 40 minutes on the train to Bankstown and then a short walk to the Council.
Bankstown is a lovely city and the Council building is a beautiful blue glass structure. Here I met Tanya Whitton and Stephannie Mikhail. They were both very welcoming and friendly and provided some very nice biscuits and sweets (Not that I'm hinting to any future organisations I visit). At Bankstown I learned a lot about Councils in and around Sydney and how advanced ICT is here. I got to learn a lot about e-services and the future of e-services in Bankstown and in New South Wales.
For lunch I headed towards Bankstown's shopping centre which is a lot bigger than it looks. I managed to get lost and decided the best way back to the Council would be to take the nearest exit and walk around the outside until I reached the part which I entered. For lunch I had Sushi, which I have never had before and loved it so if you ever get the chance head over to Bankstown shopping centre and have Sushi.
Once back at the Council I showed Tanya some of the e-services at Leeds City Council and the e-learning at Leeds Learning Network. I felt it gave Tanya some good ideas and it really showed some of the differences between England and Australia. I had a great time at Bankstown and tomorrow I will be meeting Reem and Darryl from LGSA in Sydney so tune in.....
Now for my final week in Australia before I head off to New Zealand, I would start the week with a visit to Bankstown Council to the west of Sydney. It took about 40 minutes on the train to Bankstown and then a short walk to the Council.
Bankstown is a lovely city and the Council building is a beautiful blue glass structure. Here I met Tanya Whitton and Stephannie Mikhail. They were both very welcoming and friendly and provided some very nice biscuits and sweets (Not that I'm hinting to any future organisations I visit). At Bankstown I learned a lot about Councils in and around Sydney and how advanced ICT is here. I got to learn a lot about e-services and the future of e-services in Bankstown and in New South Wales.
For lunch I headed towards Bankstown's shopping centre which is a lot bigger than it looks. I managed to get lost and decided the best way back to the Council would be to take the nearest exit and walk around the outside until I reached the part which I entered. For lunch I had Sushi, which I have never had before and loved it so if you ever get the chance head over to Bankstown shopping centre and have Sushi.
Once back at the Council I showed Tanya some of the e-services at Leeds City Council and the e-learning at Leeds Learning Network. I felt it gave Tanya some good ideas and it really showed some of the differences between England and Australia. I had a great time at Bankstown and tomorrow I will be meeting Reem and Darryl from LGSA in Sydney so tune in.....
Weekend in Australia
G'day,
My first and only weekend in Aus and having had a busy week it was time to relax. Friday evening I went out for a few beers, which turned into a few more, met some great people out from Chicago and Tennessee in America, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Arrived back at the hotel Saturday morning and spent most of Saturday relaxing by the pool and shopping around Sydney.
On Sunday I'd already decided I wanted to see a rugby game, luckily Manly Warringah Sea Eagles were playing Cronulla Sharks. I got on the ferry to Manly from Sydney and started talking to a few Manly fans who kindly let me jump on their coach to the game. I bought myself a Manly Warringah jersey and got ready for the game, it was a brilliant match and the Sea Eagles won so it was even more sweet.
That's pretty much the weekend, now for my final week.....
My first and only weekend in Aus and having had a busy week it was time to relax. Friday evening I went out for a few beers, which turned into a few more, met some great people out from Chicago and Tennessee in America, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Arrived back at the hotel Saturday morning and spent most of Saturday relaxing by the pool and shopping around Sydney.
On Sunday I'd already decided I wanted to see a rugby game, luckily Manly Warringah Sea Eagles were playing Cronulla Sharks. I got on the ferry to Manly from Sydney and started talking to a few Manly fans who kindly let me jump on their coach to the game. I bought myself a Manly Warringah jersey and got ready for the game, it was a brilliant match and the Sea Eagles won so it was even more sweet.
That's pretty much the weekend, now for my final week.....
Day 5 in Australia
G'Day,
Today I would meet my second organisation, Avoka who are based in Manly. I had already decided the best way would be to get the ferry from Sydney to Manly and find the organisation on foot. This went to plan until I got the the street Avoka is supposed to be on, I could not find the company and none of the smaller businesses near by knew either. This was OK as I had 45 minutes to find it but I still could not find them. With 5 minutes to go I spotted a delivery guy who promptly pointed me to the building. Phew I'd found it on time.
Here I met Ben Walsh who was very welcoming and is a very knowledgeable guy. I got the full tour of Avoka including the board room (Not the same as back in England, its the surf board room). Maybe that's an idea to take back to England. With Ben I got to learn a lot about E-forms using PDFs and Adobe Lifecycle designer, 2 techniques I know little about. We also moved on to Web 2.0 and how you can use Rich Internet Application's to create forms with great user interfaces but still keep the functionality. We talked about Business Project Management and how agile development has helped and hindered projects. Having worked for a public sector organisation who has used agile development it was interesting to see how private organisations are using agile too.
At Avoka I had the honour of my first Aussie BBQ and one thing I will take home, is the Aussies know how to do a BBQ, very nice food indeed. So I want to finish up by thanking the guys at a Avoka and Ben Walsh for all their time and the knowledge they have given me.
So its been a long week but roll on the weekend......
Today I would meet my second organisation, Avoka who are based in Manly. I had already decided the best way would be to get the ferry from Sydney to Manly and find the organisation on foot. This went to plan until I got the the street Avoka is supposed to be on, I could not find the company and none of the smaller businesses near by knew either. This was OK as I had 45 minutes to find it but I still could not find them. With 5 minutes to go I spotted a delivery guy who promptly pointed me to the building. Phew I'd found it on time.
Here I met Ben Walsh who was very welcoming and is a very knowledgeable guy. I got the full tour of Avoka including the board room (Not the same as back in England, its the surf board room). Maybe that's an idea to take back to England. With Ben I got to learn a lot about E-forms using PDFs and Adobe Lifecycle designer, 2 techniques I know little about. We also moved on to Web 2.0 and how you can use Rich Internet Application's to create forms with great user interfaces but still keep the functionality. We talked about Business Project Management and how agile development has helped and hindered projects. Having worked for a public sector organisation who has used agile development it was interesting to see how private organisations are using agile too.
At Avoka I had the honour of my first Aussie BBQ and one thing I will take home, is the Aussies know how to do a BBQ, very nice food indeed. So I want to finish up by thanking the guys at a Avoka and Ben Walsh for all their time and the knowledge they have given me.
So its been a long week but roll on the weekend......
Day 4 in Australia
G'day,
Well today I had a free day and it gave me chance to catch up on much needed sleep. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do today but as it was a nice day I decided on a trip to the Taronga Zoo I'd heard so much about.
Having heard many great things about Taronga Zoo I really wanted to fulfill a small dream of mine and come face to face with great Australian animals such as the Kangaroos and Koalas. I set off on a really enjoyable ferry ride, which gave great views of Sydney Harbor and the Sydney Opera House. The Zoo was packed and on a hot warm day it didn't make for a happy crowd but I was really looking forward to the experience. Upon entering I was able to sign up for a Koala experience, this would give me the chance to come face to face with one of Australia's most iconic animals.
The Koala experience was really special and I was able to get some amazing pictures, for such cute creatures they have very deadly claws. I also got the chance to see many other great animals including a Brown Bear, Snow Leopards, Red Pandas, Kangaroos, Lions and Tigers. I will say that nothing will beat the experience of watching a Tiger relaxing in the water then in a split second jump out and run straight up to the screening window. Then repeatedly march up and down, a true display of animal dominance and territorial instincts.
If you ever get the chance, visit Toranga Zoo, a really great experience and I'll see you on Day 5.....
Well today I had a free day and it gave me chance to catch up on much needed sleep. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do today but as it was a nice day I decided on a trip to the Taronga Zoo I'd heard so much about.
Having heard many great things about Taronga Zoo I really wanted to fulfill a small dream of mine and come face to face with great Australian animals such as the Kangaroos and Koalas. I set off on a really enjoyable ferry ride, which gave great views of Sydney Harbor and the Sydney Opera House. The Zoo was packed and on a hot warm day it didn't make for a happy crowd but I was really looking forward to the experience. Upon entering I was able to sign up for a Koala experience, this would give me the chance to come face to face with one of Australia's most iconic animals.
The Koala experience was really special and I was able to get some amazing pictures, for such cute creatures they have very deadly claws. I also got the chance to see many other great animals including a Brown Bear, Snow Leopards, Red Pandas, Kangaroos, Lions and Tigers. I will say that nothing will beat the experience of watching a Tiger relaxing in the water then in a split second jump out and run straight up to the screening window. Then repeatedly march up and down, a true display of animal dominance and territorial instincts.
If you ever get the chance, visit Toranga Zoo, a really great experience and I'll see you on Day 5.....
Day 3 in Australia
G'day,
Today I would meet the first organisation on my trip and could not wait. Up bright and early, all prepared having bought a bus ticket the day before and traced my route, I was ready. Following my map to catch the bus, the further I walked the more I started to doubt my sense of direction. I asked a friendly local who then to my disappointment pointed me back in the direction I had come from. I had left enough time but after the first 2 days the last thing I wanted was more walking. I made it to the bus stop with plenty of time to spare. Hopefully the bus will arrive on time but if its anything like England, none will come for ages then two will come together.
The bus did indeed arrive on time and I asked the driver if he could advise me where to get off, he of course did not know either which again had me worried, luckily a local was at hand to help. I made it to Mosman Council, which I met Bernard De Broglio, who was very helpful, friendly and made my stay at Mosman a great experience.
At Mosman I learned a lot about Web 2.0 and the benefits such as using Twitter and Facebook to promote events, something my own organisation doesn't take advantage of. This is definitely something I will take home. I also had the pleasure of joining people from the Council, the Mosman Library and the Rangers in their friendly game of lunch time Soccer (Football to everyone else). A really great experience and a great bunch at Mosman. To finish with we went for a few beers after work and the rest they say is history. Roll on Day 4.....
Today I would meet the first organisation on my trip and could not wait. Up bright and early, all prepared having bought a bus ticket the day before and traced my route, I was ready. Following my map to catch the bus, the further I walked the more I started to doubt my sense of direction. I asked a friendly local who then to my disappointment pointed me back in the direction I had come from. I had left enough time but after the first 2 days the last thing I wanted was more walking. I made it to the bus stop with plenty of time to spare. Hopefully the bus will arrive on time but if its anything like England, none will come for ages then two will come together.
The bus did indeed arrive on time and I asked the driver if he could advise me where to get off, he of course did not know either which again had me worried, luckily a local was at hand to help. I made it to Mosman Council, which I met Bernard De Broglio, who was very helpful, friendly and made my stay at Mosman a great experience.
At Mosman I learned a lot about Web 2.0 and the benefits such as using Twitter and Facebook to promote events, something my own organisation doesn't take advantage of. This is definitely something I will take home. I also had the pleasure of joining people from the Council, the Mosman Library and the Rangers in their friendly game of lunch time Soccer (Football to everyone else). A really great experience and a great bunch at Mosman. To finish with we went for a few beers after work and the rest they say is history. Roll on Day 4.....
Day 2 in Australia
G'day,
Well after a tiresome day 1 I quickly moved into day 2. Having remembered my way around from day 1 I decided to go visit a few spots I missed the first time. Heading towards a beautiful spot called Darling Harbor I stumbled across the Sydney Harbor Bridge climb.
After a friendly chat with the guy behind the counter and a look around I'd signed up with little idea of what to expect but I figured I probably wont get the chance to do it again so what the heck. I gave my ticket in, was told to sign the terms and conditions, was breathalysed and made to walk through a metal detector, at this point I really did wonder what I had let myself in for. Then followed a few quick training runs on a 'mini bridge' and we were off.
It started with a lovely climb all the way to the centre of the Sydney Harbor Bridge which had a brilliant view of the Harbor, surrounding buildings and the Opera House. A great experience I would highly recommend to anyone visiting Sydney. At this point I felt very relieved that I had reached the top, still jet lagged and tired but full of excitement I'd made it, then came the bad news, we had to climb the same distance back down again.....
After another tiring day I managed steak, chips and a beer for tea before collapsing into a deep sleep at the hotel. However I couldn't sleep for long, as Day 3 I visit Mosman Council....
Well after a tiresome day 1 I quickly moved into day 2. Having remembered my way around from day 1 I decided to go visit a few spots I missed the first time. Heading towards a beautiful spot called Darling Harbor I stumbled across the Sydney Harbor Bridge climb.
After a friendly chat with the guy behind the counter and a look around I'd signed up with little idea of what to expect but I figured I probably wont get the chance to do it again so what the heck. I gave my ticket in, was told to sign the terms and conditions, was breathalysed and made to walk through a metal detector, at this point I really did wonder what I had let myself in for. Then followed a few quick training runs on a 'mini bridge' and we were off.
It started with a lovely climb all the way to the centre of the Sydney Harbor Bridge which had a brilliant view of the Harbor, surrounding buildings and the Opera House. A great experience I would highly recommend to anyone visiting Sydney. At this point I felt very relieved that I had reached the top, still jet lagged and tired but full of excitement I'd made it, then came the bad news, we had to climb the same distance back down again.....
After another tiring day I managed steak, chips and a beer for tea before collapsing into a deep sleep at the hotel. However I couldn't sleep for long, as Day 3 I visit Mosman Council....
Day 1 in Australia
G'day,
Firstly some background information for those of you wondering why I have started a blog. Well, I am the winner of the Socitm Graham Williamson travel award which is given to someone just starting out in ICT to learn more about Public and Private organisations as well as creating a life changing experience. With my award I choose to spend 2 weeks in Australia then just over 2 weeks in New Zealand, so with this blog you will follow me on my travels and now for day 1.......
I arrived groggy from my long flight at 8.30am local time and unable to collapse on my bed until check in time at 14.00 so I decided to explore the city. Within 10 minutes I was lost and some how managed to walk all the way to Sydney Harbour Bridge. I eventually stumbled into a Hungry Jacks, that's a Burger King to those of you in the UK, I choose a very exciting Whopper meal as my first meal in Australia. Having found some energy through the jet lag I managed to find my way back to the hotel to watch some Rugby League. I had decided a few beers before bed would help me to sleep but no sooner had I got ready I was asleep at 5.00pm. However thanks to my early exit I was wide awake at 3.00am the next day with nothing but darkness and late night TV, on to Day 2......
Firstly some background information for those of you wondering why I have started a blog. Well, I am the winner of the Socitm Graham Williamson travel award which is given to someone just starting out in ICT to learn more about Public and Private organisations as well as creating a life changing experience. With my award I choose to spend 2 weeks in Australia then just over 2 weeks in New Zealand, so with this blog you will follow me on my travels and now for day 1.......
I arrived groggy from my long flight at 8.30am local time and unable to collapse on my bed until check in time at 14.00 so I decided to explore the city. Within 10 minutes I was lost and some how managed to walk all the way to Sydney Harbour Bridge. I eventually stumbled into a Hungry Jacks, that's a Burger King to those of you in the UK, I choose a very exciting Whopper meal as my first meal in Australia. Having found some energy through the jet lag I managed to find my way back to the hotel to watch some Rugby League. I had decided a few beers before bed would help me to sleep but no sooner had I got ready I was asleep at 5.00pm. However thanks to my early exit I was wide awake at 3.00am the next day with nothing but darkness and late night TV, on to Day 2......
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