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AUSTRALIA, CONTINUED...
6 years ago
Prepare to suffer another of Rigel's little ramblings! So, before I continue where I left of, there's one more general observation I want to put here.
Normally, I'm fairly decent at directions, at least outside. That is to say, I have some idea of where north and south (and thus east and west) are, even if very roughly. But here it's messed up. And I'm pretty sure it's because here the sun travels across the northern sky, from the right to the left. I already thought about this before leaving home, even mentioned it to some people, but I was half joking. Turns out I rely on that a bit more than I realised.
So anyway, back to going from day to day:
SATURDAY
In my expections I was sure Oz Comic-Con would be larger than Dutch Comic-Con. It wasn't. It was smaller, in fact. Overall I wouldn't call a Comic-Con something that's very specific to Australia... Because it isn't. But there were still a few fun things to notice. We could tell that Avengers: Endgame offered some interesting cosplay options. Or, well, one at least. There were quite a few fat Thors walking around. I also learned that "Where's Wally" is quite popular in Australia. We found a few.
At the stands with swords and other sharp equipment. Galener bought a few knives for himself and a friend. I myself bought a letter opener based on the Master Sword from the Legend of Zelda series. When you buy an item like this you fill out a form, and take that to the entrance later to pick up your item. Even something as blunt as a letter opener. When we later picked them up, of the two of us I was asked to show some ID. I guess the name and phone number I entered on the form were a bit strange.
An interesting thing about Oz Comic-Con is the location: the Olympic Park. So I actually got to see where the Olympics were held. But you can also tell that it's already been a while again. Galener wanted to walk me around the place and show a few items of interest (like a statue), but these items turned out to be gone.
In the evening we went to the arcade again. I did pretty well on some games. 4-in-a-row with basketballs is fun! I could only play by using Galener's card, and then, before we left, because I had won quite a bit, he let me use some of his points to pick a prize, which was a mini-drone.
SUNDAY
Sunday was the second Comic-Con day. Some of the dealer stands had changed up a bit what they were offering, and I actually found a Transformer I was still after, but otherwise there wasn't really anything new. So we took everything a bit slow.
In the evening we just hung out in the hotel, and pack up our stuff to be ready to check out early in the morning.
MONDAY
We got up early to catch the train for an 8-hour trip to Macksville. I enjoyed views of mountains, hill sides, some villages here and there, and I actually saw a kangaroo in the wild. Nothing special for my Australian friends, but it is for me. Villages are a bit different here, with pretty much all wooden houses that are very flat with only one floor. We got picked up in Macksville at 3 pm by Galener's mother, and went to their house. And, well, we actually didn't do much more for the rest of the day.
TUESDAY
In the morning @Galener, his mother and I went for a walk through Macksville. This is one of villages like I mentioned before, and it's quite the contrast with Sydney. It's larger than my first impressions though, because the flat buildings are easily hidden by the hills here.
We found that there was an event held at the river for owners of old hot rod cars. So it was busier there than expected, with many of these cars parked around. There was also some sort of costumed river jump contest or something going on. Fun to watch, but it took a bit too long.
In the afternoon we took a short drive to a nearby village called Nambucca Heads, which is located at the coast. Some nice beaches with sand banks from the low tide, and a few nice high up lookout point over the sea.
WEDNESDAY
We went a bit further this day, to Dorrigo mountain. This included your typical twisty and turny road up the mountain, which I won't find back home. Once up, suddenly we were in a large area with hills again. We went through the village of Dorrigo, and ended up at the Dangar Falls. For me the falls were pretty impressive, but this area has been suffering from a drought for some time now, and it was not nearly as impressive as it would normally be. Still, now you could actually see the rock wall behind the falls, which would normally not be possible.
After that we went to the Dorrigo Nature Reserve. First we checked out the skywalk there, from which you get a good view of the nearby mountains and valleys. After that we went down a bit into the rainforest. Being quite a bit more up north, it was both similar to and different from the rainforest at the Blue Mountains. Hard to describe.
Back home, we went to the Macksville Ex-Services Club, which is where Galener works, for dinner. Galener then looked up the rules for snooker, and we played a bit. A bit different from pool, which I'm used to, but fun.
Back home again I wanted to stay out for a bit, because there is very little light pollution here, and the view of the sky was clear. Amongst a few other stars and constellations, we identified the Southern Cross, which is not visible back home, and which serves a purpose similar the Pole Star.
And also, wednesday is today, and I'm cought up again. I'm here for only a few more days, so next time will probably the last time.
TO BE CONCLUDED...
Normally, I'm fairly decent at directions, at least outside. That is to say, I have some idea of where north and south (and thus east and west) are, even if very roughly. But here it's messed up. And I'm pretty sure it's because here the sun travels across the northern sky, from the right to the left. I already thought about this before leaving home, even mentioned it to some people, but I was half joking. Turns out I rely on that a bit more than I realised.
So anyway, back to going from day to day:
SATURDAY
In my expections I was sure Oz Comic-Con would be larger than Dutch Comic-Con. It wasn't. It was smaller, in fact. Overall I wouldn't call a Comic-Con something that's very specific to Australia... Because it isn't. But there were still a few fun things to notice. We could tell that Avengers: Endgame offered some interesting cosplay options. Or, well, one at least. There were quite a few fat Thors walking around. I also learned that "Where's Wally" is quite popular in Australia. We found a few.
At the stands with swords and other sharp equipment. Galener bought a few knives for himself and a friend. I myself bought a letter opener based on the Master Sword from the Legend of Zelda series. When you buy an item like this you fill out a form, and take that to the entrance later to pick up your item. Even something as blunt as a letter opener. When we later picked them up, of the two of us I was asked to show some ID. I guess the name and phone number I entered on the form were a bit strange.
An interesting thing about Oz Comic-Con is the location: the Olympic Park. So I actually got to see where the Olympics were held. But you can also tell that it's already been a while again. Galener wanted to walk me around the place and show a few items of interest (like a statue), but these items turned out to be gone.
In the evening we went to the arcade again. I did pretty well on some games. 4-in-a-row with basketballs is fun! I could only play by using Galener's card, and then, before we left, because I had won quite a bit, he let me use some of his points to pick a prize, which was a mini-drone.
SUNDAY
Sunday was the second Comic-Con day. Some of the dealer stands had changed up a bit what they were offering, and I actually found a Transformer I was still after, but otherwise there wasn't really anything new. So we took everything a bit slow.
In the evening we just hung out in the hotel, and pack up our stuff to be ready to check out early in the morning.
MONDAY
We got up early to catch the train for an 8-hour trip to Macksville. I enjoyed views of mountains, hill sides, some villages here and there, and I actually saw a kangaroo in the wild. Nothing special for my Australian friends, but it is for me. Villages are a bit different here, with pretty much all wooden houses that are very flat with only one floor. We got picked up in Macksville at 3 pm by Galener's mother, and went to their house. And, well, we actually didn't do much more for the rest of the day.
TUESDAY
In the morning @Galener, his mother and I went for a walk through Macksville. This is one of villages like I mentioned before, and it's quite the contrast with Sydney. It's larger than my first impressions though, because the flat buildings are easily hidden by the hills here.
We found that there was an event held at the river for owners of old hot rod cars. So it was busier there than expected, with many of these cars parked around. There was also some sort of costumed river jump contest or something going on. Fun to watch, but it took a bit too long.
In the afternoon we took a short drive to a nearby village called Nambucca Heads, which is located at the coast. Some nice beaches with sand banks from the low tide, and a few nice high up lookout point over the sea.
WEDNESDAY
We went a bit further this day, to Dorrigo mountain. This included your typical twisty and turny road up the mountain, which I won't find back home. Once up, suddenly we were in a large area with hills again. We went through the village of Dorrigo, and ended up at the Dangar Falls. For me the falls were pretty impressive, but this area has been suffering from a drought for some time now, and it was not nearly as impressive as it would normally be. Still, now you could actually see the rock wall behind the falls, which would normally not be possible.
After that we went to the Dorrigo Nature Reserve. First we checked out the skywalk there, from which you get a good view of the nearby mountains and valleys. After that we went down a bit into the rainforest. Being quite a bit more up north, it was both similar to and different from the rainforest at the Blue Mountains. Hard to describe.
Back home, we went to the Macksville Ex-Services Club, which is where Galener works, for dinner. Galener then looked up the rules for snooker, and we played a bit. A bit different from pool, which I'm used to, but fun.
Back home again I wanted to stay out for a bit, because there is very little light pollution here, and the view of the sky was clear. Amongst a few other stars and constellations, we identified the Southern Cross, which is not visible back home, and which serves a purpose similar the Pole Star.
And also, wednesday is today, and I'm cought up again. I'm here for only a few more days, so next time will probably the last time.
TO BE CONCLUDED...
