Have List, Will Travel

Adventures Down Under - Australia and New Zealand

October - November 2015

Tuesday   13 October

Having a  glass of champaigne
in business class

All great adventures start with the first step in the desired direction.  Our adventure started with a stumble.  We left for the airport at 1:30 pm with no problems; the hounds from heck were in the capable hands of our dog sitter Sally.  A neighbor drove us to the airport with no difficulties but when it came time for the plane to depart, all hell broke loose.  It appears that gremlins had loosened a wire somewhere near where the external air-conditioning system hooks up to the plane and we could not leave until it was repaired, log books were filled out and approval was given by higher powers.  We sat in the plane for an hour and fifteen minutes waiting for that to happen.  The plane was then able to depart.  We made good time to San Francisco and when the plane landed the pilot requested those of us who did not have immediate departure times to remain seated to allow those who had to catch their flights a chance to get off first.  That worked really well, it seemed that almost everyone decided that they had immediate flights.

We did have Business Class seats from San Francisco so we were able to make use of the First Class lounge.  We were not impressed; it was not as good as previous visits in other airports.  No cookies and no M&M’s.  I’m sorry but Skittles just don’t make it.

When we went to board the Air New Zealand flight; the gate attendant asked for our luggage receipts saying that she had to do something to make sure our bags would get on the plane and she would give the corrected luggage tags to the flight crew to return to us.  The plane took off and we did not have the receipts.  This did create some concern because if our luggage didn't arrive we had nothing to prove we had luggage.              

The flight from San Francisco was just a hair over 12 hours to Auckland, New Zealand.  We left San Francisco at 9 PM on Tuesday and landed at 9:30 AM on Thursday but then we had to correct the time to 5:30 AM local.  What happened to Wednesday?  Darn that International Date Line; it cost us a day of vacation.  We visited the First Class Lounge in Auckland and it was much nicer but the food was a little strange.  Almost raw bacon, cocktail wieners and vegemite were a few of the items that wrinkled our brows.  They were cooking a full breakfast also.  We took off for Melbourne at 10 am and landed at 12:30 but that was adjusted to 10:30 local time. 

Upon landing the specter of the luggage manifested itself.  We stood next to the carousal watching the bags go by and the longer we stood, the fewer bags were going past.  We were getting quite concerned.  What if our bags did not make it on the plane, how could we prove that we had bags?  Fortunately among the last bags off the plane were ours so everything was just great.  We had clean clothing and a fresh spirit of adventure.

Fitzroy Gardens

We were met by our shuttle service and taken to the Rendezvous Hotel which was about a 40 minute drive from the airport.  There was lots of traffic on the roads.  Our hotel was pleasant and located right on one of the main roads and right on the tramway.  That was great because there was a free city circle tram that stopped about a half block from the hotel.  It took about 45 minutes to make the circuit so after we were settled in the hotel, it was the first thing that we did. 

After making the circuit we rode several stops past the hotel to the Parliament House and then started to walk back in the general direction of the hotel.  We visited Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, the Treasury Gardens and the Fitzroy Gardens, it was very pleasant and enjoyable to stretch our legs after the long plane rides. In the Fitzroy Gardens we saw Captain Cooks parents’ home, we visited the Conservatory which was filled with a vast variety of blooming plants, we saw a model Tudor Village (David Winter Cottages were nicer), and visited the Fairy Tree which turned out to really be a Fairy stump.  A local female author wrote a children’s book and went and carved elves and fairies on this old red gum stump in the Garden and dedicated to the children.   

I liked the mix of old and modern
in Federation Square

We also wandered around Federation Square which contains a large number of museums, shops and restaurants.  The architectural style of the buildings in the Square is unique.  It was very interesting to wander through the area.         

We had thought about taking the tram back down to the Docklands and to have dinner on the harbor there but we realized that our energy levels were dropping to critical levels.  So we opted to walk back under the train station and cross the river to have dinner along the riverside.  Dinner was good and by 7 PM we were back at the hotel and getting ready to call it quits for the day. 

Friday 16 Oct

The Melbourne skyline

After a good night’s sleep, we arose, repacked and ventured out in search of breakfast.  We struck off into virgin territory rather than going up the street past shops we had already seen.  Laura asked a woman at a street corner while we were waiting to cross the street where there might be a place to eat.  She directed us to the other side of the river, so we crossed and wandered about until we found a bakery café that made us a very nice fried egg and ham sandwich.  Refueled, we returned to the hotel to await our shuttle back to the airport and our flight to Tasmania.

While our stay in Melbourne was short; the impression of the city was very favorable.  It is a very busy town, the architecture is a mix of very old, well preserved buildings and new modern office buildings.  There are many green spaces around the city and it seemed that many of the tourist venues were offering free admission.

Tasmania from the air

Back to the airport to catch the Qantas flight from Melbourne to Devonport, Tasmania.  There we will rent a car to drive to Penguin. Be still, my heart!

We arrived at the Devonport Airport at 12:30 PM.  It is a very small airport so we were able to check out our rental car while waiting for our suitcases.  The drive into Devonport is about 6 miles so it was a good test of my driving skills.  Fortunately there were few cars on the road and the signage was very good; but my biggest problem was coming too close to the curb on the left hand side.  When I pulled over in town, Laura thought I was going to take out a row of parking meters as I had gotten up on the sidewalk.  I thought that Avis should have put a large warning sign on the back of the car “Danger, American Driver”. 

At the Anvers Chocolate Factory

After locating our hotel and unloading the car; we headed out exploring.  First on the list was the Anvers Chocolate Factory just outside Latrobe.  That was a nice stop; they had a small viewing area to watch as they made their chocolates and a tasting room/sales floor.  There was also a café, but since they had fed us a snack on the plane we decided to save ourselves for the chocolate samples.                  

After the Chocolate Factory, we toured the countryside on the other side of Latrobe trying to find the Platypus viewing area.  After a few wrong turns, we finally did locate it but there was not a platypus to be found.  A woman who was walking her dog there said that she had seen one earlier. 

George in Penquin

On that note we decided to drive to Penguin to see the large Penguin statue and to see if we could watch the penguins come ashore at the end of the day.  We got to Penguin with no problem, took the photo of George and the Penguin and then took a walk on the beach.  Laura was looking for agates and I was looking for sea-glass.  While we were beachcombing, Laura met a woman and her dogs.  As they were talking she informed Laura that the Penguins do not come into the beach anymore so we shifted to Plan “B” which was to see them at the Lillico Beach Conservation Area.

It was still early so we returned to the hotel to get our jackets and then walked down the street to Molly Malones Irish Pub for dinner.  Laura had Fish and Chips; I had Beef and Guinness Pie.  We washed down our dinner with a Strongbow Cider.  We then got back into the car and returned to Lillico Beach Conservation Area.  We had been told to be at the Beach at 7 PM but soon after we arrived several rangers started to set up for the evenings viewing. They told us that the penguins would not be coming ashore until after 8:30 PM.  We were glad that we had gotten our coats because as the sun went down the temperature dropped to the point that even with our coats on it was chilly. 

The penguins finally came ashore and some of the chicks came out of the burrows to meet them.  You could not take flash photos or use a regular flashlight.  The rangers had large flashlights with red lenses with which they tried to spotlight the various penguins. It was difficult to get a good picture but considering everything, I think Laura did quite well.

Stuffy

Penguin coming home
for the night

The picture above is that of a stuffed penguin the Rangers named “Stuffy” and the other picture is that of a real live penguin making his or her way up the rocks.   After that the cold got the best of us and we headed back to the hotel to retire for the night.

Saturday   17 October

G’Day, Mates.  It’s terrible, three days in Australia and I’m speaking like an Aussie. 

Devonport Lighthouse

After arising and eating breakfast, we loaded up the car and drove out to the Mersey River mouth.  We visited the local lighthouse and watched the ferry depart for the mainland.  Then it was time to head to the airport.   

Our flight from Devonport to Melbourne was short, only a little over an hour but it was a small plane with just two seats on either side of the aisle.  We had seats in the next to the last row of the plane so we were the last to receive the snack pack or drinks.  Once we arrived in Melbourne we had to change planes to get to Sydney.  It was a larger plane with a little more room and our seats were about in the middle of the plane.  So life was good.

Syney

On the bridge in Sydney

We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel – Holiday Inn in Old Sydney. We have a room on the sixth floor which if you lean the right way; we can see the Sydney Opera House and the harbor.  After we unpacked the bare minimums, we headed out exploring.  One of the things that we wanted to do was to walk out onto the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  Just walk out on the level of the autos and trains not climb up to the top of the bridge.  That’s just a little too much for old knees.  The problem was, we could see the bridge but did not have any idea how to get up to the level that the bridge was on.  We wandered around occasionally asking directions until we finally found some signs that pointed in the correct direction.  The correct direction included climbing a large number of stairs but we persevered and finally were up on the bridge.  It was a nice view and now it is off the bucket list.

View of the Opera House from the bridge

We continued walking up and down the streets looking in shops and also looking for a place to eat dinner later.  There were lots of shops, pubs, restaurants and other activities on the street.  We found several open air markets were vendors were selling crafts and touristy junk. 

We did find a restaurant with seating on the street just two blocks down George Street from our hotel.  We had a good dinner, enjoyed watching all the foot traffic and then returned to the hotel to prepare for the next day’s adventure.

Sunday   18 October

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Before I get into the events of the day, I should talk about the weather. Whether you have good or bad, you will always have weather.  When we landed in Melbourne it was sunny in the mid 90’s with a moderate breeze.  The locals said whenever they get a north wind; it makes for a hot day.  When we got to Devonport, it was mostly sunny and the temperature was in the 80’s.  The time we have spent in Sydney, it has been overcast for the most part and the temperature was in the 70’s.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring.



Royal Botanical Gardens

We started off the day by backtracking to find a bakery restaurant that we had spotted the night before.  Laura ordered pancakes with strawberries.  It came with vanilla ice-cream on top.  We thought that was a little strange.  I ordered a ham omelet.  It was also a little strange.  I guess you would call it an open-faced omelet as it was a flat piece of blended egg with pieces of ham on top of it.  While they were strange breakfasts, they were both delicious.

Afterwards, we walked down the Circular Quay in the direction of the Opera House.   We found a line that compared to the line for the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.  It could have been over a mile long.  We found out that it was Open Day for Opera House when visitors can have access to a lot of spaces which they would not see on a normal tour.  We did not think that we wanted to struggle with the long line or the crowds of tourists so we walked around the building and into the Royal Botanical Garden.    

Bondi Beach

We wandered through several areas and then decided that we would go catch the Hop On – Hop Off bus to tour the city and Bondi Beach.  The two tours took a little over three hours and while enjoyable it was a challenge to get any pictures because of the movement of the bus and things like buildings, trees and other buses getting in the way of your picture.  We finally got off the bus at the Darling Harbor and walked up the pier to the King Street Wharf.  That is where we had to meet the Captain Cook Sunset Dinner Cruise at 4:30PM. 

Dinner was nice on the cruise, although there seemed to be a jinx on my table.  Everyone was served bread, I was not. I had food left on my plate and the waiter tried to clear the table. When the dessert came, everyone had strawberries on the side of the plate but not me.   The biggest disappointment was that it was advertised as a Sunset dinner cruise and we returned to the wharf an hour before the sunset.  The food was good but the cruise could have been better.

Sydney Opera House at night

We did make it back to the hotel; Laura went down to the landing to take a picture of the Opera House after dark, while I returned to the room to start work on this trip report.  While we were getting ready to retire for the night, there was a loud bang outside the hotel.  We wondered what it was and opened the shades and were treated to our own fireworks show.  It was quite a sight.

Monday   19 October

We awoke to gray skies and a rain but by the time we had finished breakfast, the rain had stopped.  We ventured out to take one last photo then returned to the hotel to catch the airport shuttle.  For the second time in Sydney, we spotted a sulfur cockatoo hanging out with the sea gulls and pigeons on the street.  It’s sad to see such a pretty bird living on the streets like that. 



Kangaroo statue in Brisbane

Then it was off to the airport in the shuttle with the driver attempting to imitate Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  We did arrive safely and settled in to await our flight.  It is interesting that passengers here do not follow the instructions of the gate attendants very well.  They asked to board the people in rows 13 to 29 first.  We were in row 21 and the people in front of us were in rows 5, 7 and 13.  Also I noted that a large number of Economy passengers were using the Business Class and Priority boarding lanes to get on quicker.  It didn’t really matter as we all got on the plane and took off together for Brisbane.



Metal Sphere in Brisbane

 We landed and caught a taxi to the Mercure Hotel on Quay Road.  After a quick unpacking and a failed attempt to get signed on the internet, we headed out to see the sights.  Our plan was to walk up to the Queen Street Mall, walk through the Botanical Gardens and then walk up the river to the Eagle Street Pier in hopes of finding a place for dinner before returning to the hotel.  One of the first things that we saw was several kangaroo statues constructed from pieces of metal scrap.  We then visited the square facing the Treasury Building and the Public Library.  It has a number of metal spheres spread out over the area.  Some younger people were climbing on them and while it might have been an excellent photo opportunity, Laura declined to climb up one.

Botanical Gardens

The Queen Street Mall was a large pedestrian mall that went up several city blocks.  It was filled with shops, snack bars, regular bars, girly shows and souvenir shops.  The only place that we stopped for any length of time was a chocolate shop.




Courting Bench

We walked through the Botanical Garden and saw a great number of Ibis which a local man described as “garbage birds”.  We also spotted several Iguanas among the garden area.  There were not a lot of flowers since it is still early spring for them.  But they did have some very attractive beds of petunias and geraniums.   As we were almost out of the Garden, we came across a bronze “Courting Bench”; at least that is what I think it is called.  The seats on the bench face opposite directions.  On the armrest between the two seats was the figure of a platypus. 

We then continued to walk the path along the river taking time to dodge bicyclists as they charged through the pedestrians.  We looked at the boats moored in the river and the variety of watercraft that was travelling up and down the river.  Finally, we decided that we needed refreshment so we stopped in a bar called the Riverside and ordered a “Dirty Granny” which was a hard cider.  It was quite refreshing.  We then started looking for a place for dinner.  The riverfront restaurants were quite overpriced and when we walked back up to the street level the choices were not really to our liking.  Either there were not seats available or the place was full of drinkers and smokers. 
We ended up finding a place back on the Queen Street Mall on the second floor.  It was not anything too special but we were hungry so we ordered a burger and some fries.  It was better than what we expected.

After dinner, we returned to the hotel and the battle of the internet.  We could sign in while we were in the lobby but in the room we had no connection.  So that is a battle that we will have to wage tomorrow as we are both tired.

Tuesday   20 October

Walking along the river in Brisbane

Me with Beck the Koala

Today was our trip up the river to the Koala Sanctuary.  Laura was getting really excited because she was going to cuddle a Koala and feed a kangaroo.  So after breakfast, we headed out to cross the river to meet the boat which was taking us to the Sanctuary.  It was a 90 minute boat trip up the river passing by many beautiful homes.  So if you include the return trip, we were on a 3 hour tour.  But don’t worry; the boat was not called the Mermaid & they got us there safely.

Feeding a Kangaroo

The first creature we saw upon entering the park was a Water Dragon.  I think he was the official greeter.  Then Laura joined the queue to cuddle the Koala.  She got to hold “Beck”.  The Koalas work 30 minutes a day for four days in a row.  They then get a day off.  They must have a very strong union to get benefits like that.  Afterwards, we wandered up to the enclosure where the kangaroos were running free along with several emus.  It took awhile to find a kangaroo that had not already eaten their fill but Laura found an old man who almost climbed into her lap to get to the food.  We also wandered up through an area which had many caged birds.   We saw a kookaburra, gulahs and a Cassowary, which is a large flightless bird, with large feet and a blue face.  They are the largest birds in Australia.   We also found the dingo enclosure and a wombat wandering about in his enclosure.  The hardest animal to photograph was the platypus.  It was in a tank in a dimly lit room.  It did not help that he rocketed through the water.  The camera could not record the picture in the time he was visible.  Too soon we had to board the boat for our return trip to town.

The house shown above was built in the 1880’s in another town and then moved in 9 pieces to its present location.  It is one of the best examples of Queensland architecture along the river.

Statue in Brisbane

When we landed, we decided to walk up the shoreline in the opposite direction from which we had arrived.  We then walked into the State Library Gift Shop and the Museum of Modern Art Gift Shop before crossing the river to return to our hotel. 

One of the funny things that we spotted along the river was this statue.  I think it proves that you need to give installers complete, understandable and easy to follow directions.

Thus ended another day’s adventure; tomorrow is a day at a beach resort.

Wednesday   20 October
Today we have a day trip planned to Moreton Island.  It was through a tour operator. We were picked up at the hotel and driven to the Transit Terminal where we would be divided up depending on our destination.  We ended up in a bus with 10 Japanese visitors and a very talkative bus driver.  Dave could not speak Japanese so he spent the entire trip to the boat terminal talking to us almost none stop.

They loaded us on a large passenger catamaran for the trip to the island.  It was a little over an hours journey.  Smooth seas with bright sunshiny skies.    It was a perfect day.   

We were greeted on
Moreton Island by this
Pelican

When we got to the island, we realized that it did not live up to the travel brochure.  It was a beautiful beach but everything came with an additional cost.  If you wanted a chair it was $30 for the day, slide down the dunes would be an additional $78 per person.  There was not a place to change your clothing and the only showers were out in the open.  We walked about a mile up the beach to a place where they had sunk several ships to make an artificial reef.  We donned our snorkeling gear and headed out.  Laura wanted to test her new underwater camera.  A guy in a little runabout gave us a ride to the wrecks since there was quite a current going between them and the beach.

That was a good thing because after about a half hour of snorkeling around the wrecks, we had enough fun and when we tried to swim to shore we were having difficulty.  Another nice man came by in a kayak and gave us a tow back to where we could touch bottom and walk ashore. 

Wrecks on Moreton Island

Underwater view

 We walked back down the beach to the main resort area, turned in our voucher for lunch.  Laura had prawns and chips while I had a mediocre Hawaiian pizza.  It was getting close to the time to return to the mainland.  We ducked into the resort store and Laura found a package of TimTams which were a chocolate caramel cookie.  They were very good.  Of course how can you go wrong with chocolate and caramel?

Upon returning to the hotel, we found that they were having a Welcome Party with champagne, wine, beer and cheese plates.  So since we had eaten lunch late, that became our dinner. 

Now it is off to pack everything because we have a 4:15 wake up call to catch the plane to Cairns and then to a boat to go to Green Island for the next part of our adventure. But as they say, that’s another story for another day. 

Thursday    22 October

Arriving at Green Island

By van, plane, van and finally boat we finally arrived at Green Island.  We were lucky in that the van got us to the wharf earlier than we expected so we were able to take the 10:30 boat instead of waiting for the 1:30 boat which we were scheduled to go on.  Of course for every good thing there is a down side.  Once we got on the island we had to wait an hour before our room was ready.  So we bought an ice cream cone and walked around the resort checking out what was available

Lagoon String Ray

After a minimal unpacking, we headed for the beach.  I was beat, getting up at 4:15 in the morning is for the birds, so I found a place on the beach to nap in the shade while Laura snorkeled.   When we first arrived at the beach it was closed for about 40 minutes because they had spotted a hammerhead shark swimming through the area.  As soon as it was reopened Laura headed for the water.  She had a good swim and saw lots of fish, including a white tipped reef shark and a lagoon sting ray. 

At 5PM, we ventured out onto the pier where they were feeding the fish and then afterwards to Sunset Beach for Welcoming drinks.  Both events were a feeding frenzy.   Afterwards, it was back to the cottage to get cleaned up for dinner and an early night.

Friday    23 October

Pontoon in the Great Barrier Reef

Today was the big day; Laura got to cross off another thing from her bucket list.  We boarded the Reef King for the 55 minute ride to Nelson Reef on the Great Barrier Reef.  Great Adventures has a permanently moored pontoon structure just off the reef.  The boat tied up there and we all went off the boat to the pontoon where we could check out snorkel gear and sign up for a number of activities.  We planned on snorkeling and then signed up to take the Scuba-Doo ride.  That is an underwater device that has a bubble where you have your head and you sit on the device and it powers you around.  The nice thing was that Laura could wear her glasses so she could maybe see a little better than when she is snorkeling.  The water was crystal clear and there were many, many fish in the area.  There were also a great variety of corals to view.  It was a great time.  Laura said it was the best snorkeling that she has ever done.  

George and I in the Scuba Doo's

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words.  I don’t know if that is true but I think the pictures can tell you more about what we did than my poor words.

We returned to Green Island tired but happy.  Got cleaned up and went to the beach for the Welcome drinks.  You don’t pass up free drinks in a resort.  If our strength holds out we will take the night nature walk.

We decided to order room service rather than going to the restaurant which is a bit pricy.  So instead we had two hamburgers and steak fries for $58 AU. 

The night nature walk was sort of a waste of time.  The young lady took us out in front of the hotel and talked about the Strangler Figs and then walked us down the pier.  Even though we had large flashlights, you really could not see anything in the water because of the wind chop and wave action.  She then returned us to the hotel and showed us an empty bird’s nest that belongs to a little bird that has been hanging out around the restaurant and will drink from glasses of orange juice that people are not watching.  So on that sad note, we retired for the night.

Saturday   24 October

Me, snorkeling

This is our last day on Green Island so after breakfast we went to the beach next to the pier and snorkeled out to the end of the pier.  We saw many more fish, lots of colorful coral and anemones.  Laura finally got a good picture of one of the Green Sea Turtles.  She followed it for quite a ways.  She even took video of it on her new camera

Green Sea Turtle

We then went over to the other beach and laid out on the lounge chairs.  We had a soft drink and shared a bag of chips.  Laura went out snorkeling once again.  The tide was almost at its lowest so we returned to the pier side beach and did a little more snorkeling.  Because the tide was low, Laura did not clear a clump of coral and scraped her knee.  She did not think much about it at the time.

 For our last night’s dinner, we returned to the restaurant.  It was a great meal but I was stuffed.  I got into a hiccupping jag that lasted about 30 minutes.  Laura though it was funny but I was sore by the time they quit.

Sunday   25 October

Up early this morning, got packed and turned our luggage into the hotel to be loaded on the 9:30 AM boat before we went to breakfast.  After breakfast we had about an hour to kill so we walked down to the beach to say goodbye to all the fishes. 

Mossman Gorge

We had decided to take the earlier boat so that we would have some time to do something in Cairns before we had dinner reservations for a special Aboriginal Dinner Theatre.  We checked into the hotel which was right across the street from the boat landing and then went out and rented a car to drive up past Port Douglas.  The purpose of the trip was to see if we could locate any wild life.  We first went to a park in the Mossman Gorge.  We took a portion of the nature walk through the wet land rain forest.  We saw a very nice little river running down from the mountains but we were disappointed not to see any wildlife with the exception of a very small lizard. 

St. Mary's by the Sea

We drove down to Port Douglas and started walking about when Laura complained that her knee was swollen, red and itchy.  Port Douglas was a quaint little town.  It had many shops for the tourists and at the end of the street through town was a park.  In the park they had an open air market which was in the process of breaking down when we arrived but we also walked over to a little church that was built in the 1880’s.  It had the most interesting stained glass windows.  They were very appropriate for a church by the sea shore.

On the road returning to Cairns, we saw a sign warning us to watch for kangaroos.  Just a minute later, off in a field to our left was a herd of about 100 kangaroos having their evening meal.  I took the next turn off and wound back to the general area which ended being the parking lot of the local Lion’s Club.  We got out and walked back behind the building and there were a portion of the herd.  Laura was tickled pink to be able to see some in the wild.  The only thing that would have topped that would have been if we had found a Cassowary.  

We then returned to the hotel.  Since Laura’s knee was beginning to be a concern, we asked where the nearest medical facility was located.  There was a 24 hour clinic just a few blocks away.  So off we went.  When we got there we learned that there was a several hour wait so we chose to return to the hotel with the plan that if it was not better in the morning, we would return for treatment.  In the meantime, once we got back to the room, I started to play doctor once again.  I scrubbed the knee with alcohol pads and attempted to pick out any coral debris with a sewing needle.  Laura also started a course of Cipro as prevention against cellulitis.

Aboriginal Show

We then were picked up and taken to the Dinner Theatre.  They met us with welcoming drinks of champagne or juice and small bites.  We ate a sample of Emu and another of Kangaroo; both were very good.  We then started the show by having our faces painted by the aboriginal performers.  Laura and I were painted in a mustard and reddish paint which represented the dry season.  Others were painted with white and black marks which represented the wet season.  Now when the aborigines came of age and went to marry they could not marry someone with the same colors.  That was considered like marrying your cousin and you might be banished from the tribe or killed.  Since Laura and I were the same colors, I guess we were banished.

After the face painting, they lead us to a stage area where they demonstrated some of the “play” dances for us.  I was sitting there minding my own business and the head aborigine came down and pulled me up to the stage and directed me to follow the dance steps that the young man that was standing next to me.  He then went and selected a woman from the other side of the audience to do the same with a young aboriginal woman. 

George taking part in show

After the dance was over, he presented me with a story rock.  My rock was yellow with a red lizard which I guess was appropriate.

The next place they lead us to was a fire making ceremony.  Laura volunteered to be one of the fire makers.  She learned that having a Bic lighter is a lot easier than rubbing two sticks together.
We then had a buffet dinner which was nice but nothing strange on the menu.  We got back to the hotel at 10 PM and after some sorting and packing turned in for the night.

Monday    26 October

Today is a travel day or maybe better described as a day of sitting around in airports.  We flew to Brisbane from Cairns.  From here we will fly to Christchurch, New Zealand to start the second half of our trip.  But for now, we are sitting in the Brisbane Airport for almost 5 hours before that flight takes off.   Laura’s knee seems to be improving.  One good thing is that Laura was able to spend all our Australian money so we will not have any left.  Speaking of Australian money, they do it funny.  A $2 coin is smaller than a $1 coin and a 50 cent coin is huge where the 20 cent coin is half its size

Tuesday    27 October

George Bear from the George Hotel

Our flight from Brisbane landed at 12:30 AM.  We took a taxi to The George Hotel.  When we got to our room we had a small bear sitting on our bed.  It was a George bear and the note on it said for us to take it with us on our travels.  So we now have a new travel companion.

It was good to get into bed at 1:30 AM, and we could have slept in, but somehow we ended up and about at 8:00 AM.  We had breakfast at the hotel and then ventured out towards the center of the city.  Last night when we came in from the airport, I had tried to recognize some of the areas from when I was here in 1974.  Nothing looked familiar; it is surprising what 40 years and a major earthquake does to a town.

Christchurch Cathedral
was destroyed in the earthquake

We found the tram stop for the Hop on – Hop off trolley and purchased a ticket to take a guided tour of the city center.  The driver said that 70% of the buildings were destroyed or condemned as a result of the 2011 quake which resulted in 185 deaths.  Everywhere we looked we could see the results; either a damaged building or new construction.  We saw what they called the ReStart area where they took shipping containers and turned them into stores so businesses could still operate.       

 It was a cold drizzly morning so one of the first stops we made from the trolley was to purchase warmer coats to wear.  We wandered around looking in various shops including the big department store that had just reopened.  We stopped at a hot cookie shop to purchase a cookie and a hot drink for ourselves.  That certainly hit the spot.    

Millennium Chalice

The picture  is of the Millennium Chalice that shows the leaves of the various native plants from New Zealand.  The day was getting late so we decided to catch the free shuttle to the Antarctic Center which was out next to the airport.  We got out there and I saw a new hotel near the airport so I went in to ask them if it was a remodel of an older hotel.  The manager said it was and I asked what the name was at that time.  He said it was the White Heron.  I said you mean the Dirty Duck and he laughed.  The Dirty Duck was where the officers attached to Operation Deep Freeze would hang out for drinks and other social activities.  We then went into the Antarctic Center.   It was fun to see the pictures and displays of things that I had seen and to have Laura experience some of the things that I did, such as going out in -1 degree Fahrenheit weather. 

George the Explorer at the Antarctic Center

They had Little Blue Penguins on display.  They are the smallest of the penguins but in Australia they called them Little Penguins or Fairy Penguins.  It got a little confusing.  We were also allowed into a refrigerated room to simulate the weather in Antarctica.  They dressed us in parkas.  I still could not get a red parka like the civilians wore on the Ice; I had to wear a green one like all the military wore.  The temperature in the room was a balmy 17 degrees Fahrenheit but it dropped to -1 degrees when they turned the storm on so we could experience that feeling.

We spent about 2 hours in the Center and then went to the Airport to rent a car for our trips around the Banks Peninsula tomorrow.  We found our way back to the hotel thanks to my trusty copilot.  We threw a load of clothes in the hotel’s laundry and then headed for dinner.  Still need to make it an early night but see that it is sneaking up on 10 PM.  Time flies when you are having fun.

Note of Explanation for my blog readers.  My husband George spent a year in the Antarctic as part of the support team back in 1974.  Before going to the Antarctic he spent almost 2 months in Christchurch, so he was looking for familiar things around Christchurch, but partly because of the earthquake in 2011 so much was different. The Antarctic Center was a kick for him, because it did remind him of his time there. 

Wednesday    28 October

Today’s adventure was to drive to the port town of Lyttelton and then over to the early French settlement called Akaroa.  We hit the road at 9 AM to make sure that we had time to visit both areas and get the rental car back to the airport within the 24 hour limit.

Lyttelton
 

It was interesting trying to drive through the city center of Christchurch as many of the streets are still being repaired.  We did make it out of town with just a few zigs and zags.  The town of Lyttelton is built on the inside wall of a volcano that blew out and the center of the volcano became the harbor. 

In everyone’s life a little rain must fall and today it was our turn.  It was cold, gray and misty in the morning which by afternoon had changed to a light rain.  Thank goodness that we had purchased the warmer jackets yesterday.  We walked down what might have been the main street of Lyttelton.  It was for certain the business district but many of the buildings were gone from the street.  They had put up signs with a picture of what had been there prior to the earthquake. 

Silo Hotel

We then drove back up out of the crater and down the other side heading for Akaroa.  It was estimated to be a 90 minute drive from Christchurch.  The drive was enjoyable though the road was twisty with lots of greenery and flowers. 

We passed through a wide spot in the road called Little River.  We stopped there to look at an Art Gallery.  On our way out, we noticed that they had constructed a motel out of silos.  This is not the first time we have seen repurposed things used for housing or business. 

Pukeko

We found a cheese factory so we pulled off for a tasting.  While we were in the parking lot, Laura spotted a Pukeko, also called an Australasian swamp hen which is a bird with a bright blue chest and an orange beak.  They say there are lots of them around the island but that we will be lucky to see a Kiwi in the wild as they are nocturnal and becoming fairly rare.

One of the original French homes in Akaroa

We finally arrived in Akaroa and walked up the street checking out the various shops.  We walked down to the memorial for the WW1 dead and then to the beach.  We went over to see the museum but it was under repair so nothing was on exhibit.   We were able to take a picture of one of the original houses built by the French settlers in the early 1840’s.  We watched a short video about the founding of Akaroa by the Maori and later by the French.  We then drove to the other end of town to see the lighthouse and to drive down to a bunch of shops and restaurants along the harbor.  It was pleasant but the rain was increasing so we headed back to Christchurch. 

Again the road construction made life interesting; even more interesting when I turned left down the street and found that the lane was only for buses.  There were a few shaky moments hoping that a traffic officer would not come by before I could get out of there.  We were heading back to the airport to turn in the rental car and hopefully catch a free shuttle back into town to near our hotel.  The shuttle left from the area of the airport at 4:30 PM, at 4:30 PM, we were still trying to find a gas station to top off the tank in the rental.  We twisted and turned looking for a gas station when we found one it was almost 5 PM.  We did make it to the rental office before the 24 hours had expired.  Having missed the free shuttle, we enquired about rides back to the hotel.  We found that we could catch the city bus that was leaving in 3 minutes for only $8 NZ apiece compared to $45 NZ for a taxi. 

So we had a nice bus ride, the driver dropped us off at a stop just a couple of blocks from the hotel.  Since it was dinner time, we found a public house and stopped to have dinner.  It was a good meal but I found it funny that every meal we have had in New Zealand has been stacked.  Dinner was chicken with asparagus and leeks stacked on a puddle of runny mashed potatoes.  For dessert, we returned to the hotel and purchased two of Ollie’s cookies and a Latte to take to the room.

Right now, Laura is busily repacking our bags to prepare for the next leg of our trip.  We have to be at the train station at 7:15 AM so it should be an early night and an even earlier morning.

Thursday    29 October 

Tranz Alpine Train leaving Christchurch

Today was another travel day.  We travelled first by taxi to the train station; then boarding the TranzAlpine Train that went from Christchurch to Greymouth and finally by rental car to Franz Joseph and the Scenic Hotel.

View from the train on the way to Greymouth

The train ride was very pleasant; we were in nicely furnished coaches with very large windows.  Laura had requested that we be seated on the right side of the coach nearest to the viewing platform and that worked out just fine.  The coach had a taped commentary that came on from time to time to tell you what you were seeing so that was very helpful.  The train ride was about 3 ½ hours plus the time we spent stopped at several stations to let off travelers.  The weather has not been cooperating with us.  It was raining in Christchurch when we left and continued until we reached Arthur’s Pass.  Then we were above the clouds but as we started to descend towards Greymouth, the clouds and misty rain returned.

Getting off the train, we faced the battle of getting the rental car.  Getting the car was not the problem, it was the fact that the station was very small and the desks for the rental cars were between the main area and the toilets.  People were banging into you, pushing and shoving to reach the toilets.  With a minimum of bruises, we got the car and headed out of town.  We stopped in a little town of Hokitika for lunch and a little shopping.  There were a lot of jade shops.  Jade, or Greenstone as it is called here, is used by the Maori's for carving.  Laura bought a necklace that was carved in the hook pattern which means prosperity and good health for the wearer, and it also represents strength and determination as well as promising safe passage over water.

It was about a 4 hour drive which was fairly easy.  No really twisty roads to add to the drama of the trip.  The New Zealand roads are narrow and they do not have much of a shoulder on them.  Laura flinched every time I hit the gravel.  There are also lots of little bridges that are only one lane, so you have to wait if someone is coming across in your direction.  We did have to contend with a on again off again rain which made the sightseeing a little more difficult. 

We reached Franz Joseph, checked into the hotel and wandered down the street to the Kiwi Exhibit.  When we got there we found that it would cost $60 for us to see 2 spotted kiwis.  We chose not to spend the money.  Now the rain started to get serious, we ran across the road to the Alice May Restaurant.  They served a very good meal after which we retired to our room.  We have both been fighting off a cold, so we medicated ourselves and turned in early.

Friday   30 October

Tasman Mountain with the peak of
Mt. Cook just peaking up from behind
taken from the helicopter

We arose to skies that were mostly clear which was a relief.  We were going to be on a helicopter flight over several glaciers and finally sitting down on the Fox Glacier and allowing us to get out and walk on the glacier.  It was way cool and I mean that both literally and figuratively.  Because of the weather the previous 2 days there had been no flights and our 40 minute flight was changed to a 30 minute flight because the clouds were settling in over one of the glaciers.

The flight was amazing.  Words do not do justice to the severe nature of the mountains and the glaciers.   We just made it back in time for them to shut down flights for the day because of a storm moving in. Visibility was getting poor on the trip back over the mountains.

Us standing on Fox Glacier

Tasman Sea

One lane bridge

We then headed towards Queenstown.  We drove along the Tasman Sea before we turned inland to head towards Queensland.      

Most of the trip was through primeval looking forests and along rushing rivers.  We stopped many times to take pictures and to stretch our legs. Laura thought the one-lane bridges were cool, I was not as happy with them.  We also saw a farm with sheep and deer being raised for food. 


Haast Gate

We stopped at The Gates of Haast to take pictures of the river and rocks below, beautiful.  The Gates of Haast is a lost world that's so spectacular and remote UNESCO designated it a "World Heritage" area.  The elevation there is 1850 feet.  It is a series of rapids and waterfalls, and we spent quite a bit of time exploring that area.


As we got closer to Queenstown, we had to cross several mountain ranges with very twisty roads.  Now the national speed limit is 100 kilometers per hour, some of the turns were suggested to be driven at 35 kilometers per hour.  Check it out on your speedometer, we were not travelling that fast. 

Hundreds of bras hanging on a fence in support of
Breast Cancer Research

Sometimes when you are driving you see something that you just have to turn around and stop to see what it is all about.  It was like that in Northern California when we saw a tree at the side of the road that was covered with shoes.  On the way to Queenstown, we saw a fence covered with bras.  This required further investigation.

We also saw along the road, the most curious buildings so we had to stop there also.  It was a good time to take a bathroom break anyway.

                                                                                We arrived in Queenstown and stopped at an information booth to get directions to our hotel, The Rees.  It turns out that we had passed it on our way into town.  So it was back in the car and we backtracked.  The Rees is quite a fancy place built on the cliff over the Lake Wakatipu.  We were on the 4th floor while the lobby is on the 7th.  The room turned out to be a one bedroom apartment complete with living room with fireplace, dining area and a kitchen.  After putting our things away, we headed back downtown to first have something for dinner and secondly to buy some groceries to use in our kitchen.  We ended up having dinner at Fergburger which is advertised as the “World’s Best Burger”.   I don’t know if it was the world’s best but there were certainly a long line to purchase one. 

Our apartment at the Rees Hotel

Now we are sitting in the apartment, feet up, listening to music and sipping a little wine.  Or at least Laura is; I’m busy composing this report.  A man’s work is never done.  Please pour me some more “Whine”.

Saturday    31 October

Today’s adventure is driving through the area where scenes of the Lord of the Rings were filmed.  Laura took pity on me and chose to book a tour so someone else would be driving and we would have someone explaining what we were seeing. 

We started out in the morning by catching the 9 AM shuttle from the hotel to the downtown area.  Since most of the shops did not open until 10 AM, we popped in to the local Starbucks for a warm drink.  Afterwards we went out to stimulate the local economy until it was time for lunch.  Our LOTR tour did not start until 1:30 PM so we did a little wandering. 

Queenstown is on the shores of Lake Wakipitu

One thing about Queensland, I think, is if you removed the booking agencies, fast food outlets, outdoor athletic equipment stores and tourist souvenir shops; it would be a very, very small town.  This is a place for the young, adventure seeking tourist.  Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of older tourists but it just seems to have a slant towards the young.


As we were walking about, we wandered down by the lakeside and found that there was an arts and crafts sale going on in the area.  It was fun to browse through the area.  Yes, Baxter and Sadie, you have a special gift coming now.

The large tree in front was part of the scene where
the house of the man who turned  into a bear lived

We caught the tour with 2 other couples; we were loaded into a Toyota Land Cruiser.  That is when we learned the roads that we would be travelling on for about half the trip was gravel and we would ford one stream.  We could not have driven there on our own as we could not take the rental off-roading.  The other thing we learned is that there are no signs to tell you that what you are seeing was in one of the LOTR movies.  So our guide who had come here two years previously from China and now spoke with a Kiwi accent explained what we were seeing.  We saw about 5 locations that played parts in the movies including one that was used in an “X-men” movie.

Woods where the Battle of Amonhen took place

We visited the woods where the Battle of Amonhen took place; it was also the place of Boromir’s death.  The guide told us that the scene was shot during the summer and there were not any of the golden colored leaves so the movie crew gathered leaves from the previous fall, saved them until the shoot, spread them on the forest floor and then vacuumed them up to use in other scenes.  The farmer who owns the land was paid $800 a day for 18 months for the use of his land.   I'm sure he was happy to oblige, especially since they only filmed there off and on, but they had to pay even when they weren't filming.

This is where Isengard was

When we returned to town, we looked around for a place to eat dinner.  Since it was Halloween, we saw quite a few young adults dressed in costumes to celebrate in the various clubs.  There were a few children, but they do not trick or treat like it is done in the States.  We ended up in a Vietnamese restaurant and had a chicken mango salad with a Beer 333.  Appetites sated, we returned to the hotel where Laura put me to work documenting the day’s activity.   She did bribe me with apple slices, cheese, chocolate and wine so it was not too difficult. 

Sunday   1 November

TSS Earnslaw

Sunday, the day of rest.  Well that is not true when you are on vacation.  This morning we had breakfast in the apartment and then caught the 9 AM shuttle to downtown so we could meet the TSS Earnslaw for a ride down the lake to the Walter Peak High Country Farm.  The Earnslaw is a Twin Screw Steam vessel; that is where the TSS comes from.  She was built in 1912 and is the last of three vessels that plied the waters of Lake Wakatipu.  It took about 45 minutes to steam up the lake to the farm. 

Sheep shearing demonstation

Once there we watched a sheep shearing, a sheep dog handling demonstration before they took us to have tea.  After tea, we were taken to visit the pens of some red deer, sheep, alpacas, llama and Highland Cows.  The gentleman leading the tour group allowed anyone who wished to feed the various animals an opportunity to do so.  Laura was right up there with the best of them getting slimed while feeding them.

We then boarded the Steamer for the return trip to Queenstown.  Our afternoon was planned with the Skyline Gondola ride to the top of Bob’s Peak.  Once we got to the top, we had a great view of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding mountains. 

Gondolas, and bungy jumping platform

The other purpose of the trip was to fulfill one of Laura’s death wishes.  She had signed us up for two Luge rides.  The first ride was a training ride; not too steep of a decline, not a great number of turns, certainly just right for beginners.  The second ride was steeper, more twists and turns and to make things a little more interesting a couple of dips and bumps. 

It was a great adventure and not as bad as I had anticipated.  The Luge was like a little tub that you sat in and you steered with a handlebar like a bike.  To slow you just had to pull back on the handlebars and you could come to a complete stop.   
 
 
 



Getting ready to head down the luge track

After we completed our rides, we went to watch others.  We saw one young lady who was having all sorts of problems.  She ran up the wall on one of the turns and was having a problem getting off the wall.  When she did get off the wall, she ran into the next wall.  We yelled down to her that she needed to steer but she ran into the next turn’s wall.  Instead of using the brakes she was trying to stop the luge with her feet and trying to use her arm to keep from hitting the wall.  She had not paid attention during the little class they gave prior to letting you go.  Hope she completed the course without getting hurt.  We were worried that someone would come down after her and not be able to stop without hitting her.

After a refreshing cone of ice cream, we took the gondola back down into town.  We wandered around for a while before we found a bench in the sun to sit and watch the people go by until it was time for dinner.  We found a restaurant right at the landing so we could watch all the tourists coming and going to the various boats.  Laura decided to have the Green Lipped Mussels while I chose a piece of steak. 

Now we are back at the Rees getting ready for our departure in the morning as we head back towards Christchurch via a couple stops.

 Monday   2 November

Today we are on the road to the boulders of Moeraki and the blue penguins of Oamaru.  The weather is cooperating; it is still bright and sunny.  The temperature now that we have dropped from the higher elevations is warmer; it might be in the mid-70. 

Moeraki Boulder

 
When we arrived in Moeraki, we could not see any boulders or the café that we had been told was a good place to eat.  We stopped at the Tavern which advertised food and ordered lunch.  It was quite nice.  After lunch we asked about the boulders and were told that they were another mile down the highway.  We pulled in and there was the café and the every present gift shop.  We walked down to the beach and there sat a dozen or so spherical stone boulders.  It was a very strange sight.   Some of them were broken which was interesting also.

Pen-y-Bryn Lodge

We then drove up the coast to Oamaru.  We arrived at the Pen-y-bryn Lodge at about 3 PM.  It is a beautiful B & B on the hill above the downtown.  It is one of the historical homes and is different as it is the only wooden house on the historical homes list.  All the others are built from the local limestone but the original owner was afraid of earthquakes so he built it of wood.  The biggest problem was that there was no lumber locally as the native people had burnt the forests to hunt the moa. All the lumber was shipped in; including the English walnut paneling on the interior of the house.



The Portal

We then ventured down into the historic Victorian portion of the town.  We located the Steampunk Headquarters and visited it.  It was very strange and amusing.  Lots of rusty metal repurposed into art.  We particularly enjoyed “The Portal” which was a light show taking us into another dimension.    It was such a weird experience so much so that we went through it twice.    

Steampunk Museum

Inside the museum

We had just made it to the headquarters at 4PM and they closed at 5 PM as did much of the town.  We did drive around a little bit more looking at the buildings and such.  Then drove out to where we were going to have dinner and where the Blue Penguin colony lives.  It was a very commercial production.  Covered seating on both sides of the pathway that the penguins would use as they returned from the sea to their nesting boxes.  We had purchased the premium seats so we actually had a chair to sit in while the people in the cheap seats were sitting on a cement bench.  We were also much closer to the penguins than they were.  The area was lit with a pinkish light so we could see the penguins quite well.  The downside was that they did not allow any form of photography and were very attentive to make sure someone did not try to sneak a picture.

The weather has been very nice from the time we arrived in Queenstown and when we arrived in Oamaru.  It was 24 degrees Celsius that afternoon.  

We saw what we thought were penguins out on the end of an abandoned pier.  We wondered how they got up there as the pier was at least 15 feet above the water.  We learned from the waitress at the restaurant that they were not penguins but cormorants, a diving bird.   We also found a park where there was interesting art and they were having a stone cutting contest.          

We returned to the Lodge about 10 PM and headed off to bed.  It had been a full day.


 

Tuesday    3 November

Oh, what a difference a day makes.  Yesterday it was bright and sunshiny.   Today not so much; it is blowing and only 9 degrees Celsius outside.  We had a nice breakfast provided by the hosts which we shared with another couple who were from Northern England.  The breakfast was expansive and much of what was offered they had made themselves.  Homemade muffins and croissants, jams and jellies, fruit from their garden, rhubarb plus if you desired fried eggs and bacon.  We spent a long time talking with the other guests and the hosts before we finally had to say goodbye and go pack out to take in some more of the shops in town before heading to Christchurch.

The drive back to Christchurch was uneventful.  Driving on the wrong side of the road is not so bad with the exception of when I was on a small lane or in a parking lot; I found that I would be driving on the right hand side which fortunately did not result in any problems.

Tomorrow we fly to the North Island to finish up our trip. 

Wednesday   4 November

The weather in Christchurch continued to be grey and gloomy.  We got back to the airport with no difficulty thanks to the young man at the front desk that provided us with a map to the nearest gas station and route to the airport.  We boarded an Air New Zealand flight for Rotorua.  The flight was late getting in because of weather and we were further delayed by a heavy rainstorm when we started to land. 

Hells Gate

The rain slowed down and we hopped into a rental car and headed for our hotel.  We had no difficulty finding it but our room was not ready so we sat in the lobby for about 40 minutes.  We then went up to the room and then waited for our bags to be delivered.  We could not leave because we needed our swimsuits from our luggage.  The bags arrived; we grabbed the swimsuits and headed for “Hells Gate”.  It is a geothermal park with Mud baths and Sulphur pools.  They say that the Mud baths are good for you so Laura and I both got down and dirty.  But first, we took a 45 minute walk through the park looking at all the various features.  It is a little bit like Yellowstone without the geysers.  It certainly smells strongly of sulphur.  The rain had let up so the walk was almost pleasant.    

Falls at Hells Gate

Hells Gate

 

But when we got to the baths, the rain was coming down fairly steadily.  I questioned our sanity of getting undressed and putting on swimsuits to go out into a cold rain.  But once we were in the mud bath at least the parts of us under the water was warm.  We oozed in the mud for about 20 minutes and then washed off and climbed into the sulphur bath. 

George and I enjoying the mud bath

We spent about 15 minutes there before deciding that we had enough.  The shower and changing room was outside and only had a little piece of canvas over the roof.  So it was a challenge to find a dry spot to dress in but you were motivated because it was quite chilly. 

The park was named as the result of a visit by George Bernard Shaw who said “this must be the gateway to Hell”.  The Maori were so taken by him that after his visit they allowed the area to be called in English “Hells Gate”.  While in the park we also were given an opportunity to do a little wood carving.  Laura did an unfurled fern frond and I did a Kiwi bird.

We returned to the hotel and had dinner in the restaurant.  We decided after starting the day off with such a healthy note that we would continue and ordered a clam chowder and Caesar salad.  I won’t tell you what we had for dessert.

Now we are back in the room, resting, writing and reading.  We will see what tomorrow brings as the weather will influence what our plans will be.

Thursday    5 November

Okere Falls

The weather is improving.  It is partly cloudy but most importantly it is not raining.  It is still chilly so we continue to get good use of our fleece hoodies.  We spent the morning walking around the town.  Then in the afternoon, we drove out to find the Okere Falls.  We were able to locate them and then walked out the trails to view the falls.  It was a pleasant afternoon.

We returned to the hotel and were picked up to visit the Mitai Maori Village for a Maori Cultural Experience and Hangi Dinner.  The Cultural Experience was great.  We were treated like a visiting tribe who entered the village.  They had selected one of the guests to be the chief of the tribe. He had to stand there while the Village warriors first demonstrated their fearlessness and then they offered a peace offering to our chief.  He accepted it.  The Village Chief made a speech and then our Chief made one and to support his speech we all sang “Home on the Range”.  The Village Chief then allowed us to enter. 

The Maori Chief

We sat and watched the villagers perform dances, songs and demonstrate the use of the various weapons that the Maori’s would use in battle.  They told us that this area we were in was the scene of many battles between the various tribes because of the rich resources that they had.  The Chief told us of three warriors that were legends of the tribe.  One was a man who was 7 foot tall.  He was very strong and carried 2 spears into battle with which he would impale his victims and lift them up into the air.  The next was a man who was only 5 foot 6 inches tall.  He may have been short but he was very agile and quick in his movements.  The third was a woman who was 7 foot 2 inches tall.  The Chief said that normally women did not go into battle because they carried the future of the tribe in their ability to have children but a 7 foot tall woman makes quite a sight on the battle field.

We then went to dinner.  It was buffet style.  They served pork, chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, stuffing and seafood chowder.  The meats and potatoes had been cooked underground in the manner of their ancestors.  Of course now, they used stainless steel instead of plant leaves to cover the food.

Night walk - spring where the glow worms were

After the dinner, they split us up into smaller groups and led us on a nighttime nature walk.  Our guide told us about the various plants that they used and explained about the houses they built.  We walked down by a spring fed pond and when the lights were turned off, we could see glowworms twinkling along the edge of the pond.  We could also see them in the bushes as we walked back up the trail to our buses.  It was like little fairy lights were shining for us.

We got back to the hotel a little after 10PM because of all the excitement of the day we were tired so we called it a night.

Friday    6 November

George and I visiting the Hobbits

Hobbit House

It is a beautiful day.  The sun is shining brightly, there is no wind to speak of and there is hope that it will warm up before too long.  We were so excited about today, we woke up, got dressed and then realized that it was 7AM not 8 AM.  The reason for the excitement is that we are going to visit the Shire.  Hobbiton is located about an hour’s drive from Rotorua.  So we had a leisurely breakfast and a leisurely drive to the area of Matamata where Hobbiton is located.  We arrived at 10;45AM, since our tour was not scheduled until 12:00 we hoped that we might be able to get in earlier but the ticket office told us that they were all booked up so we would have to wait for our scheduled tour time.  We spent our time looking in the gift shop, taking pictures of the area and having a drink in the café. 

At 11:55AM, they loaded us on a bus and off we went.  It was very interesting to see the scenes from the movies with your own eyes.  Our guide, Peter told us little tidbits about the filming of LOTR and the Hobbit Trilogy.  Again words cannot fully describe what we saw.  We did see all the major hobbit holes and even were able to have a drink in the Green Dragon Inn.  It was a great day.

Sam's House

We then headed down the road to Auckland.  It was about a 3 hours trip which allowed us to enter Auckland at the peak of their evening rush hour.  To make it even better, we did not know where our hotel was located.  We lucked out and spotted it and after making several right and lefts even found the parking garage.  When we went to check in, we found out that we were in the hotel across the street.  So we went back to the car to get our luggage and to go to the other hotel.  Big problem, we could not find our car.  We walked up and down the parking garage but the number where our car was parked was nowhere to be found.  After about 30 minutes of searching and getting more and more frustrated.  We returned to the hotel front desk and asked for help.  They contacted the Parking Manager and he would meet us on the 3rd parking lot entrance.  After a little while, he showed up and together we wandered around looking for the car.  He asked if I had an alarm on the car.  Finally he figured out that we needed to go to the 2nd floor and come down that ramp and sure enough there was the car.  What a stupid way to run a parking garage.  On the 3nd floor the numbers went from the 3000’s to 4516 but on the 2nd floor the numbers went from the 3000’s to past 4524.  After 4524, I didn’t care anymore because that was my lucky number.  We got our luggage and made the trek back up to the elevators and across the street to our hotel.  Check in was a breeze, we took our luggage up to the room, dropped it off and went searching for a place for dinner.  Now having sated our stomachs with food and drink, we are back in the room busily reporting the past two day’s events. 
 Saturday    7 November



Sky Tower

We ventured out for breakfast and then returned to the hotel to pack up our belongings and check out before they charge us for another day.  After loading the car up once again, we thought it was time for a little adventure since we did not have any difficulty locating the car which had been an adventure in its own right.  We went to the Sky Tower to ride to the top and look out over the city.  The Sky Tower is over 1,076 feet tall but we were only allowed to the Sky Deck which was at 722 feet.  The main observation deck was at a mere 636 feet above the street and you could stand on a glass pane and look straight down.  We also watched supposedly sane individuals do a jump from 623 feet.  That target on the ground looked very small and I don’t think there was enough beer in New Zealand for me to do that jump.


View of the  city from the top

The weather cooperated and was bright and sunny so we had a glorious view of the city of Auckland.  That was enough exploring for us.  Our flight was at 7:30 PM but we did not want to do anymore driving in Auckland so we headed for the airport. 
As we entered the area of the airport we crossed John Goulter Drive but it was gone by to quickly to take a photo.  I should explain to the non-immediate family and friends that John Goulter is the name of one of my cousins and a great grandfather.  

When we entered the airport buildings, we were met by one of the large stone statues from the Hobbit movies. 

The flight was long but we were able to catch a few hours’ sleep.  We landed in Los Angeles at 10 AM which was before we took off from New Zealand. It was nice to make up for the day that we lost going to Australia.  We made it through the hassles of Customs and Agriculture Inspection and we off to the car rental offices to make the drive to Chula Vista.  We arrived home about 3:30 PM.  We were licked by the Schnauzers, then unpacked and were ready to get back to the “normal” routine.

It was a good trip; I did better than expected with driving on the wrong side of the road.  Just when I was getting used to having the turn indicator on the right hand side of the steering wheel, we got a “Ford” that had the turn indicator on the left.  We did not exceed our weight limits on our baggage although it was close.  

Thank you for sharing our adventure.  George and Laura