“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
Terry Pratchett
And Now Our Next Adventure
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| Koala |
As soon as I finish one trip I start planning my next. And as I have gotten older I have started pushing them closer together. I know I only have so many good travel years ahead. I have to do the more adventurous trips now, and I can do the more sedentary excursions later in life. The cruises, or tours, in my older age. So what do I have planned next?
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| Snorkeling the GBR |
On my list is - snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef. I also have New Zealand on my list, so many things to see and do there. So off we go again. The trip is planned, booked, paid for - except for traveling expenses and the house/dog sitter is scheduled. We are again going on our own, but everything is pre-booked, so we just have to get from place to place.
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| Fairy Penguins in Tasmania |
We fly into Melbourne, Australia as our first stop. I was planning on visiting the penguins on Philip Island while there, but read more about it and discovered its really a touristy place with an average of a thousand visitors a night. Did not want to sit in a grandstand to see the penguins. So instead we are only staying there for one night, and the next day we take a flight to Devonport, Tasmania. We pick up a rental car there and drive to the town of Penguin, which is aptly named for the penguins that come ashore each night, to a small crowd of onlookers. Much less touristy and I think more fun.
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| Sydney Harbor |
From Devonport we fly to Sydney for a few nights, where we will sightsee on our own. We do have a dinner cruise on a boat set up for one evening.
Then we fly to Brisbane for 3 nights. While there we will visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, where we will be able to feed kangaroos by hand, and cuddle a koala. We also have booked an all day trip to Moreton Island to relax on the beach, snorkel, and explore. We may even go sand dune sledding - sounds like fun!
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| sand dune sledding |
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| Green Island |
From there we fly to Cairns, where we will be picked up and taken to a ferry that will take us out to our island. We will spend 3 nights at a resort on an island in the Barrier Reef. The island is Green Island, and it is the only coral surrounded reef with a rain forest on it. While there we will be able to use all their equipment - kayaks, snorkel gear, rides on their glass-bottom boat, etc. We also have a one day boat trip further out into the reef for a day of snorkeling. The island is touristy during the day, as the ferry brings out day-trippers, but in the evening when they leave we will have the island mostly to ourselves, as the resort is fairly small and is the only one on the island.
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| Snorkeling off Green Island |
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| Cairns |
After 3 nights on our island we will spend one night in Cairns, and we do have a tour set up for the evening. It is the Tjapukai by Night Tour which includes a native Aussie dinner and dancing.
Then we fly off to Christchurch, New Zealand; We will spend 3 nights there, and one of the days we will drive down to the French town of Akaroa. My husband spent several months in New Zealand when he was in the navy. He was in Christchurch prior to his deployment to a year in the Antarctic. So he wants to show me some of the places he visited when he was there.
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| Christchurch, New Zealand |
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| TranzAlpine Train in Arthurs Pass |
When we leave Christchurch we are going by the TranzAlpine Train. This train trip sounds really great. It goes through Arthur's Pass and ends in Greymouth. We will pick up a car there and drive to the Franz Josef Glacier where we will spend that night. The next day we have set up a flightseeing trip by helicopter. We will actually land on the glacier and walk around for awhile.
Then we drive to Queenstown for 3 nights. We will do a day trip over to where some of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies were shot. And we plan to take the gondola to the Skyline Tower which is above the town, and then luge downhill from there. Sounds like a lot of fun for an old lady.
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| Luge downhill at Queenstrown |
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| Steampunkers in Oamaru |
From Queenstown we drive to Oamaru, which is known for its Victorian style homes and for Steam Punk, which is why we are going. My husband is into the Steam Punk culture and wanted to see this town. We are staying in a really nice B&B there, and we will also see penguins there, as they come into shore each night.
Then it is back to Christchurch for one night. We then fly to the north island and to Rotorua. We will enjoy the mud baths at Hell's Gate and explore the geysers and other sulfur areas. We will also probably spend some time in the Polynesian Spa, just relaxing. We have an evening dinner with the Maori's which includes dancing and other entertainment, and a visit to glowworm caves.
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| Hobbiton |
Then back in the car for the drive to Auckland. But on the way, we will stop at Hobbiton, to see where the Hobbits lived in the movie.
From Auckland, we fly home. Time to start planning our next adventure.
I know that we are very lucky to be able to travel as much as we do. I wish everyone could travel to the places they dream about. This year alone we have taken a Caribbean cruise, visited Costa Rica and Brazil, spent a month on the road visiting our cabin in Washington and going up to Canada, and now this trip. Eventually our money will run out. I am spending our retirement funds on travel, and when we are too old to travel, we will have to stay home. And hopefully we will do okay. Until then I plan to see as much of the world as possible.
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