Happy holidays!

Ow there guys, it has been a while since I got back to you about my doing and don't-ing, so I'm going to try and make this worthwhile!
A lot has happened since the last entry. I got back to Australia after my New Zealand-trip and started working again, but to be honest I didn't get the feel of Sydney anymore - a feeling that was already manifesting itself even before going to NZ. I was wondering more and more what I was actually doing there and tried to sort some priorities out.
- I wasn't 100% happy in Sydney
- I didn't make enough money to cover my expenses anyway
- I had seen most of the city and wasn't too curious about the rest anymore
- I missed Alex like crazy
Suddenly it dawned on me that "Hey, I am a traveler! I have no one to take into account and I have all the freedom in the world to go where I want and to do what I want." So already after a few days the decision was made: let's not waste any more time sitting here and wondering what to do, let's just move on.
So I gave up my apartment (not without any trouble), Alex booked me another flight to NZ and I told the manager in the Belgian Beer Cafe that I wasn't coming back after that week. I finished my shifts, made some more money and off I was again, 20 december, to New Zealand, to be once again greeted by Alex and the Great White Truck. This time the visit would last for 10 days, since I was going to meet up with sister and crew in Sydney for New Year's - a reunion that I couldn't and wouldn't give up.
Time with Alex was a blast, as always. After wandering around in Christchurch (and buying Christmas presents) and going running and all that for a few days, we headed up once again to Mt Algidus Station, since we were going to spend Christmas Smiley style.
Unfortunately -ahemmmm- the Wilberforce river, which we have to cross to get to the station, was severely swollen due to a lot of rain in the north, so we couldn't cross it with the Great White ... A helicopter was our only solution. Now, you know me, I try to stay calm but somehow that doesn't always work, so of course I got my camera out so all my homies could witness this uber-cool event :-). I love helicopters, I should seriously think about the pilot exam! The ride was very short but cool, and we landed on the other side to be greeted by Alex' father.
The time on the station consisted of exploring a lot, witnessing a hovercraft being launched (with some slight defects, unfortunately), doing some walks, attempting to get the logs out of the hydrowaters so we could go kayaking once more (but since the water was so high, there was no getting to the logs - again no kayak :-( ), having a delicious Christmas Eve-dinner, and an even more delicious Christmas dinner (courtesy to Alex' mum). And not to forget the presents of course! As you can see, I had a great time again.
Back in Christchurch (after a jetboat ride on the Wilberforce, because too many helicopter rides would get boring I think ... :-) ) we got home to a dirty, dusty floor, open drawers and bottles on the floor - another earthquake! Luckily it wasn't that hard (as we read later) but we did feel some aftershocks in the days following. A pretty bizarre feeling, out of nowhere the house starts to shake, windows rattle and there's a very loud grumbling, and after a few seconds it all passes. Especially when you're falling asleep, the experience is scary!
The days back in Christchurch were filled with a very funny movie in the cinema (Four Lions - wuhahaha), feeding the ducklings who always come back to the lawn, going to Sumner for a run (Alex), a walk (me) and a picnic (both), going to Lyttleton to have dinner (which we didn't have in the end, but ah well), a brunch on the balcony, some runs in Hagley Park (Alex), a gym visit ... and so on and so on. A glorious time! Once again saying goodbye proved very hard, and it is pretty unsure when we will meet again. But that's traveling for you, we try to go with the flow and we see where we go!
Now it's back in Sydney where I spent New Years Eve with my sister and friends. The reunion was very very nice, it had been about 4 months since we had seen each other. We wandered around town and ended up at 5 below Harbour Bridge, where we conquered the crowds and got a good spot to view the fireworks at midnight. The waiting time was long but didn't seem that way, we filled it with eating and playing small games, haha :-). Crazy Belgians on the loose.
At midnight the fireworks started (even though there was no countdown...?!) and these were truly very impressive. Harbour Bridge and the Opera House seemed to be on fire. Whoever said that the Berlin Fireworks were the most impressive in the world - they were wrong!
1st January was spent on Bondi Beach and afterwards Inge, Veerle, Caroline and me went for the Bridge Climb on Harbour Bridge. Yet again a wonderful experience! The walk gives you amazing views over the city, the heat was very doable, the walk was really calm and easy and as a plus we got an amazing sunset. Recommended to everyone!
Now I'm spending my last day in Sydney by going to Coogee Beach for a farewell party, and tomorrow I'm flying to Cairns to rejoin the Belgian crew for a few days. Diving and snorkeling are the main goals. After that we split up once more (I have learned quite quickly that traveling is all about saying hello but more painfully saying goodbye too many times ...) and my road continues down the east coast to Melbourne. Let's see how that turns out!
Happy New Year to everyone, I hope you all had a good time :-). See you later alligator!

ps: of course a lot of pictures have been added of this crazy few weeks, they can be found on Facebook. Cheers mates!