Saturday, December 24th, 2005
Well, after a lot of time in airports and airplanes, we finally made it home and were reunited with our puppies. We had a lot of fun, but it was really nice walking into our house after all of that time. We're going to get ready for Christmas and probably crash soon, so we'll be doing some updates and stuff throughout the week as we fight jet lag. Keep checking because I do plan to post some photos and stuff now that I have a real internet connection again.
Greg
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Friday, December 23, 2005
Homeward bound
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Last night was great, we went to Melody and Anthony's in which Melody cooked a wonderful spagetti and meatballs dinner. It was so great to have a home cooked meal, and it was nice to be at someone's house rather than at a restaurant. We played a card game called billionaire after dinner, that was extremely fun, we are going to have to get it.
Again, thanks to Melody and Anthony for having us over and for showing us around, we enjoyed it so much.
Today we were up early, waiting for the shuttle at 6:30 this morning. We got to the airport without any problems and are currently waiting for our first flight, which is to Auckland.
Merry Christmas Eve.
Tami & Greg
Last night was great, we went to Melody and Anthony's in which Melody cooked a wonderful spagetti and meatballs dinner. It was so great to have a home cooked meal, and it was nice to be at someone's house rather than at a restaurant. We played a card game called billionaire after dinner, that was extremely fun, we are going to have to get it.
Again, thanks to Melody and Anthony for having us over and for showing us around, we enjoyed it so much.
Today we were up early, waiting for the shuttle at 6:30 this morning. We got to the airport without any problems and are currently waiting for our first flight, which is to Auckland.
Merry Christmas Eve.
Tami & Greg
Adventures in Public Transportation
Friday, December 23, 2005
Today started off pretty lazy as we slept in later than we have the entire trip. We didn't have anything urgent that we just had to see, so we figured we'd take it easy before we started back and just pop around Sydney and do the stuff that we wanted to do. We grabbed breakfast at a little cafe near our hotel and caught the bus into Sydney, back to Circular Quay which is the main harbour for all of the Ferries. We caught the "Rivercat" over to Sydney Olympic Park. That ended up being a relaxing 50 minute trip, but when we got to the location of the Olympics, it was like a ghost town. There didn't appear to be too much there, so we got a few pics and then hit the train back into town. We made it back around lunchtime. We had wanted to find Harry's Cafe de Wheels to have their famous meat pies, but we were ready to eat and didn't feel like we had time to go searching in Woolloomooloo for it, so we just hit a cafe close to the harbour and found some pretty good meat pies. I personally think that the Australian Bakery in Marietta is better.
After lunch, we headed over to Luna Park to ride a few rides. It's kind of like Coney Island in New York. We rode bumper cars, the roller coaster, and a few carnival rides. After we rode the Ferry back to Circular Quay, we caught the train to head over to the Australia museum. We're not huge on museums, but they had a pretty cool exhibit on animitronics and movie monsters. It was interesting, but not big enough. They also had an exhibit on wildlife photography which was really nice. We finished up in enough time to catch the bus back to our hotel and grab a quick shower before Anthony and Melody picked us up for supper at their place. Our plan is to go back to the hotel afterwards and get everything packed up to prepare for our trip back to the states. We'll be seeing everyone soon.
Greg
Today started off pretty lazy as we slept in later than we have the entire trip. We didn't have anything urgent that we just had to see, so we figured we'd take it easy before we started back and just pop around Sydney and do the stuff that we wanted to do. We grabbed breakfast at a little cafe near our hotel and caught the bus into Sydney, back to Circular Quay which is the main harbour for all of the Ferries. We caught the "Rivercat" over to Sydney Olympic Park. That ended up being a relaxing 50 minute trip, but when we got to the location of the Olympics, it was like a ghost town. There didn't appear to be too much there, so we got a few pics and then hit the train back into town. We made it back around lunchtime. We had wanted to find Harry's Cafe de Wheels to have their famous meat pies, but we were ready to eat and didn't feel like we had time to go searching in Woolloomooloo for it, so we just hit a cafe close to the harbour and found some pretty good meat pies. I personally think that the Australian Bakery in Marietta is better.
After lunch, we headed over to Luna Park to ride a few rides. It's kind of like Coney Island in New York. We rode bumper cars, the roller coaster, and a few carnival rides. After we rode the Ferry back to Circular Quay, we caught the train to head over to the Australia museum. We're not huge on museums, but they had a pretty cool exhibit on animitronics and movie monsters. It was interesting, but not big enough. They also had an exhibit on wildlife photography which was really nice. We finished up in enough time to catch the bus back to our hotel and grab a quick shower before Anthony and Melody picked us up for supper at their place. Our plan is to go back to the hotel afterwards and get everything packed up to prepare for our trip back to the states. We'll be seeing everyone soon.
Greg
Thursday, December 22, 2005
I can't hear you
Thursday, December 22
Today we started early since Tami was up already coughing up a storm. She still didn't have a voice, so I got some peace and quiet (just kidding). We walked into town and grabbed brekkie at a little cafe close to town. Then we walked the rest of the way into town passing by a lot of nice statues and parks such as Hyde park. We then hit Pitt Street again and did some shopping in the arcades off of the street. We finally ended up at a photo shop where Tami had left all of the pictures to be developed the day before. The total of digital shots that she ended up having developed was 1201 (which doesn't include anything from Sydney), so you might want to think carefully before you ask to see pictures! It could take days. She also got a bunch of photo albums to put the pictures in, which meant that we had a lot of heavy stuff to lug around all day. (When I say we, I mean me). We ended up buying a cheap duffle bag to carry it around with since it'd be easier. It was still pretty heavy.
With our new burden, we headed over to get a close up of the Sydney Opera house. We had thought about walking up the Sydney bridge, but it ended up being rather expensive and neither of us felt it would be worth it. The Opera House was very nice though, and we ended up eating lunch at the Opera Bar underneath it which had a great view of the harbour, and great food also. We had a very relaxing lunch.
After lunch, we caught the ferry over to the Sydney Aquarium and saw tons of sharks, penguins, seals, coral fish and even a couple more platypus. We then grabbed some ice cream and caught the ferry back to Circular Quay and then the ferry out to Manly which was a nice 30 minute ride. We walked around Manly Beach a bit, but after seeing Bondi Beach, Manly was rather disappointing, so we caught the Ferry back to Circular Quay. By this time, Tami still didn't have a voice and she was starting to get tired, so we caught the bus back to the hotel (that's one good thing about our hotel, the bus stop is right in front.) After that, we walked around outside of our hotel to try and find something for supper. That's when we found out what exactly was next to our hotel. Just around the corner on Darlinghurst street, it was filled with bum, prostitutes, strip clubs, adult stores, the works. It was definitely the red light district. We ended up walking back to our hotel really fast and going to a pretty nice place right next door called Hugo's Bar Pizza. It was a trendy little bar that served a great Margurita Pizza and an even better Chocolate/Banana Pizza for dessert. However, it was a bit too trendy for our tastes and we were waaaaay underdressed, so we took off right after eating and headed back to our hotel for some rest. We were doing good until about 3:00 am when a coughing fit woke us up and we heard that the party was still going on and getting louder. Finally we were able to get back to sleep.
Greg
Today we started early since Tami was up already coughing up a storm. She still didn't have a voice, so I got some peace and quiet (just kidding). We walked into town and grabbed brekkie at a little cafe close to town. Then we walked the rest of the way into town passing by a lot of nice statues and parks such as Hyde park. We then hit Pitt Street again and did some shopping in the arcades off of the street. We finally ended up at a photo shop where Tami had left all of the pictures to be developed the day before. The total of digital shots that she ended up having developed was 1201 (which doesn't include anything from Sydney), so you might want to think carefully before you ask to see pictures! It could take days. She also got a bunch of photo albums to put the pictures in, which meant that we had a lot of heavy stuff to lug around all day. (When I say we, I mean me). We ended up buying a cheap duffle bag to carry it around with since it'd be easier. It was still pretty heavy.
With our new burden, we headed over to get a close up of the Sydney Opera house. We had thought about walking up the Sydney bridge, but it ended up being rather expensive and neither of us felt it would be worth it. The Opera House was very nice though, and we ended up eating lunch at the Opera Bar underneath it which had a great view of the harbour, and great food also. We had a very relaxing lunch.
After lunch, we caught the ferry over to the Sydney Aquarium and saw tons of sharks, penguins, seals, coral fish and even a couple more platypus. We then grabbed some ice cream and caught the ferry back to Circular Quay and then the ferry out to Manly which was a nice 30 minute ride. We walked around Manly Beach a bit, but after seeing Bondi Beach, Manly was rather disappointing, so we caught the Ferry back to Circular Quay. By this time, Tami still didn't have a voice and she was starting to get tired, so we caught the bus back to the hotel (that's one good thing about our hotel, the bus stop is right in front.) After that, we walked around outside of our hotel to try and find something for supper. That's when we found out what exactly was next to our hotel. Just around the corner on Darlinghurst street, it was filled with bum, prostitutes, strip clubs, adult stores, the works. It was definitely the red light district. We ended up walking back to our hotel really fast and going to a pretty nice place right next door called Hugo's Bar Pizza. It was a trendy little bar that served a great Margurita Pizza and an even better Chocolate/Banana Pizza for dessert. However, it was a bit too trendy for our tastes and we were waaaaay underdressed, so we took off right after eating and headed back to our hotel for some rest. We were doing good until about 3:00 am when a coughing fit woke us up and we heard that the party was still going on and getting louder. Finally we were able to get back to sleep.
Greg
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Ummmmmm Chocolate - Sydney
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
We got up early at 6 am to wait for our shuttle this morning. I did not think we were ever going to make it to the airport. The shuttle picked us up, went to pick up another couple who had not even checked out of their hotel yet so we had to wait on them for about 15 minutes and then picked up a third couple. We finally made it and got to our gate. Once we got on our plane and were ready for take off a woman got sick and had to get off of the plane. They also had to search through all of the luggage to find hers. We ended up leaving almost 30 minutes late. We finally left and made it to Sydney, where Melody (a friend of ours from school) and her husband Anthony were waiting for us.
First, thank you to both of them for showing us around town and picking us up. We had a great day and it was nice to see a familiar face.
Our fist stop was to their house, which is a beautiful old house, where they both live and Melody also works. We then headed off to the Italian Forum for some lunch. Greg had an awesome Hawaiian pizza and I had some penne pasta. Next we went to Darling harbour where we picked up the monorail and rode it half way around the city. We then got off and walked through a shopping area which is very large. We got onto a ferry and rode that through the harbour back to Darling Harbour. It was amazing, the views of the Sydney Opera House and Bridges were spectacular, probably the best way to get pictures.
Walking back to the car we were able to see old ships, submarines, and even a replica of Captain cooks ship that had been moored in the harbour. Then we were off to Harbourside Mall so Anthony could buy a jersey of his favorite team.
Next we went down to Bondi Beach and Bondi Junction, this was the most beautiful beach, it is world renowned and I can definitely see why, white sands, blue water, lots of surfers and sun bathers. We also walked around some of the shops, mostly surfer shops and cafes but they also had a little market set up that we walked around as well. That was very fun and relaxing, we even got some french fries, oops I mean chips, to munch on.
We left there and went to a very large mall, 5 stories, that was cool. You know me and shopping. Then it was time for dinner. We went to Max Brenners, a restaurant where everything is chocolate, yummy yummy. Greg and I split a dome, a chocolate mousse cake with creme brulee in the center, very rich. Greg also had a suckao (milk over a burner that you put your own chocolate morsels in to get to your own consistency) and I had a hot chocolate with magic waffle balls (they aren't really magical according to the waitress). Wow was that a nutritious and delicious dinner.
After we left there Melody and Anthony brought us to our hotel. Thanks so much Trudy, we know what you like to do now(we will explain later). The hotel is in a very dodgy area. We got to our room to find that the air conditioning was making a horrific noise that made it sound like a cat was dying inside of it. We went and asked for another room. The other two rooms that they showed us were very small and I did not feel safe in them at all, they were in the back portion of the hotel that had a fire exit to the alley in it, I also was not feeling real good at this point. So, we stayed in the dying cat room. About 15 minutes later they called us and said they had another room we could look at. We went down to it, it was bigger than the one we were in but was in the front of the hotel, so you could hear everything going on on the street. We took it, we figured music and cars were much better to listen to than a dying cat. It is not the best room but it should work for now.
I lost my voice somewhere around dinner time, hopefully I will get it back. Didn't sleep too much, since I was up all night coughing.
Tami
We got up early at 6 am to wait for our shuttle this morning. I did not think we were ever going to make it to the airport. The shuttle picked us up, went to pick up another couple who had not even checked out of their hotel yet so we had to wait on them for about 15 minutes and then picked up a third couple. We finally made it and got to our gate. Once we got on our plane and were ready for take off a woman got sick and had to get off of the plane. They also had to search through all of the luggage to find hers. We ended up leaving almost 30 minutes late. We finally left and made it to Sydney, where Melody (a friend of ours from school) and her husband Anthony were waiting for us.
First, thank you to both of them for showing us around town and picking us up. We had a great day and it was nice to see a familiar face.
Our fist stop was to their house, which is a beautiful old house, where they both live and Melody also works. We then headed off to the Italian Forum for some lunch. Greg had an awesome Hawaiian pizza and I had some penne pasta. Next we went to Darling harbour where we picked up the monorail and rode it half way around the city. We then got off and walked through a shopping area which is very large. We got onto a ferry and rode that through the harbour back to Darling Harbour. It was amazing, the views of the Sydney Opera House and Bridges were spectacular, probably the best way to get pictures.
Walking back to the car we were able to see old ships, submarines, and even a replica of Captain cooks ship that had been moored in the harbour. Then we were off to Harbourside Mall so Anthony could buy a jersey of his favorite team.
Next we went down to Bondi Beach and Bondi Junction, this was the most beautiful beach, it is world renowned and I can definitely see why, white sands, blue water, lots of surfers and sun bathers. We also walked around some of the shops, mostly surfer shops and cafes but they also had a little market set up that we walked around as well. That was very fun and relaxing, we even got some french fries, oops I mean chips, to munch on.
We left there and went to a very large mall, 5 stories, that was cool. You know me and shopping. Then it was time for dinner. We went to Max Brenners, a restaurant where everything is chocolate, yummy yummy. Greg and I split a dome, a chocolate mousse cake with creme brulee in the center, very rich. Greg also had a suckao (milk over a burner that you put your own chocolate morsels in to get to your own consistency) and I had a hot chocolate with magic waffle balls (they aren't really magical according to the waitress). Wow was that a nutritious and delicious dinner.
After we left there Melody and Anthony brought us to our hotel. Thanks so much Trudy, we know what you like to do now(we will explain later). The hotel is in a very dodgy area. We got to our room to find that the air conditioning was making a horrific noise that made it sound like a cat was dying inside of it. We went and asked for another room. The other two rooms that they showed us were very small and I did not feel safe in them at all, they were in the back portion of the hotel that had a fire exit to the alley in it, I also was not feeling real good at this point. So, we stayed in the dying cat room. About 15 minutes later they called us and said they had another room we could look at. We went down to it, it was bigger than the one we were in but was in the front of the hotel, so you could hear everything going on on the street. We took it, we figured music and cars were much better to listen to than a dying cat. It is not the best room but it should work for now.
I lost my voice somewhere around dinner time, hopefully I will get it back. Didn't sleep too much, since I was up all night coughing.
Tami
Penguins on Parade - Melbourne
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Today was a great day. It started out with us riding the tram into downtown Melbourne and grabbing breakfast at a local bagel place. We then walked over to the aquarium where we saw lots of fish, including the only giant squid to have ever been caught. It was from Antartica and was encased in a large block of ice, the thing was massive. We got to see lots of fish and sting rays as well being fed.
After the aquarium we walked into town to grab some lunch at Pepperoni's, much different than our Pepperoni's. We then caught the tram back to our hotel to get ready for our shuttle to pick us up. Once the shuttle picked us up we were on our way, our first stop was Warrook Farm where we had scones and tea. We then walked around and fed kangaroos, wallabies, a very rude and pushy goat and tried to feed a sheep that only wanted to eat fingers or watches, it will never eat that way.
We then left Warrook Farm and continued on down the road, our next stop was the Koala Sanctary on Phillips Island, here they housed several Victoria koalas, they are more brown and larger than the gray ones that you are used to. They were very cute. Here we also ran into lots of flies, oh well.
Next we stopped in Cowes for a bite to eat at a local italian restaurant, went shopping, walked to the pier to watch fishermen, and then got back on the bus. We made our way to our final destination, the Penguin Parade. We got to see thousands of burrows before going to our seats, we paid for the upgrade seats and it was well worth it. Around 9 pm the fun began. Thousands of penguins stormed onto shore and then walked up through the hills into their homes to meet their babies. It was spectacular to watch. This was defintely the best thing in Australia that we have done and second best to the dolphin swim on the entire trip.
After the penguins we got back on the bus for a long 2 hour ride home where we pretty much slept, we made it back around midnight or so.
Tami
Today was a great day. It started out with us riding the tram into downtown Melbourne and grabbing breakfast at a local bagel place. We then walked over to the aquarium where we saw lots of fish, including the only giant squid to have ever been caught. It was from Antartica and was encased in a large block of ice, the thing was massive. We got to see lots of fish and sting rays as well being fed.
After the aquarium we walked into town to grab some lunch at Pepperoni's, much different than our Pepperoni's. We then caught the tram back to our hotel to get ready for our shuttle to pick us up. Once the shuttle picked us up we were on our way, our first stop was Warrook Farm where we had scones and tea. We then walked around and fed kangaroos, wallabies, a very rude and pushy goat and tried to feed a sheep that only wanted to eat fingers or watches, it will never eat that way.
We then left Warrook Farm and continued on down the road, our next stop was the Koala Sanctary on Phillips Island, here they housed several Victoria koalas, they are more brown and larger than the gray ones that you are used to. They were very cute. Here we also ran into lots of flies, oh well.
Next we stopped in Cowes for a bite to eat at a local italian restaurant, went shopping, walked to the pier to watch fishermen, and then got back on the bus. We made our way to our final destination, the Penguin Parade. We got to see thousands of burrows before going to our seats, we paid for the upgrade seats and it was well worth it. Around 9 pm the fun began. Thousands of penguins stormed onto shore and then walked up through the hills into their homes to meet their babies. It was spectacular to watch. This was defintely the best thing in Australia that we have done and second best to the dolphin swim on the entire trip.
After the penguins we got back on the bus for a long 2 hour ride home where we pretty much slept, we made it back around midnight or so.
Tami
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Lord of the Flies
Monday, December 19, 2005
Happy Anniversary!
Today we were up early for a shuttle at 7:40 am. We travelled up through the Dandenongs blue forest where we stopped for some billy tea. While there, we fed the birds, some atoos, rosellas and a few other birds. That was quite interesting and a lot of fun. We were then back on the bus. We stopped in a small town to ride their steam train, the Puffing Billy, it was fun but kind of boring compared to the other train that we had ridden in Kuranda. Once the 30 minute train ride was over we were back on the bus again.
We stopped at Fergusson's winery for lunch, wonderful food. They had an actual spit roast with the best roast beef that I have had, next to mom's. We then went down to sample a few wines and then back on the bus again. This time we headed Healesville Animal Sanctuary where we saw a lot of native Australian animals, including the platypus, they are so cute but so much smaller than I had ever expected. This is where we were attacked by thousands of flies. They say there is on average 110,000 flies to every 1 person but they are in a swarm right now and it is closer to 150,000 for every person. Drives me crazy!
Once back on the bus we headed back to the hotel. We got back to the hotel and headed back into downtown. It is about a 10 minute walk, at least, just to get to the edge of town. We walked through town to the Yarra River where we enjoyed a very nice dinner at the Waterfront where I had a grouper that was larger than my plate, too much for me to eat but it was delicious. We then had some hot chocolate and headed back to the hotel.
When we arrived back at the room they had put a bottle of wine in our room for our anniversary. It was very thoughtful. At that point it was back to bed.
Tami
Happy Anniversary!
Today we were up early for a shuttle at 7:40 am. We travelled up through the Dandenongs blue forest where we stopped for some billy tea. While there, we fed the birds, some atoos, rosellas and a few other birds. That was quite interesting and a lot of fun. We were then back on the bus. We stopped in a small town to ride their steam train, the Puffing Billy, it was fun but kind of boring compared to the other train that we had ridden in Kuranda. Once the 30 minute train ride was over we were back on the bus again.
We stopped at Fergusson's winery for lunch, wonderful food. They had an actual spit roast with the best roast beef that I have had, next to mom's. We then went down to sample a few wines and then back on the bus again. This time we headed Healesville Animal Sanctuary where we saw a lot of native Australian animals, including the platypus, they are so cute but so much smaller than I had ever expected. This is where we were attacked by thousands of flies. They say there is on average 110,000 flies to every 1 person but they are in a swarm right now and it is closer to 150,000 for every person. Drives me crazy!
Once back on the bus we headed back to the hotel. We got back to the hotel and headed back into downtown. It is about a 10 minute walk, at least, just to get to the edge of town. We walked through town to the Yarra River where we enjoyed a very nice dinner at the Waterfront where I had a grouper that was larger than my plate, too much for me to eat but it was delicious. We then had some hot chocolate and headed back to the hotel.
When we arrived back at the room they had put a bottle of wine in our room for our anniversary. It was very thoughtful. At that point it was back to bed.
Tami
Easy day
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Today was a fairly laid back kind of day. We traveled from Cairns to Melbourne without any problems. It was however a long, late flight and we also lost 1 hour. We did not arrive at the hotel until 6:30 pm, not much time to do anything. We did walk downtown and had a bite to eat at a little pizza place, near their China town. Afterwards it was back to the hotel for bed.
Not much else to report for Sunday.
Tami
Today was a fairly laid back kind of day. We traveled from Cairns to Melbourne without any problems. It was however a long, late flight and we also lost 1 hour. We did not arrive at the hotel until 6:30 pm, not much time to do anything. We did walk downtown and had a bite to eat at a little pizza place, near their China town. Afterwards it was back to the hotel for bed.
Not much else to report for Sunday.
Tami
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Day filled with snorkeling
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Today started out early again as we got up to take a shuttle into downtown Cairns for our trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. The company that the hotel recommended was called Reef Magic Marineworld and he suggested it because they have you stay out in the water about 5 hours, which is 2 hours more than Quicksilver, one of the major companies down here. Once we got to the marina, we paid for our trip and got ready for a 90 minute boat ride out to Marineworld, the huge floating pontoon right next to the reef that we were going to snorkel around. We had intended to do the introductory dive since Tami isn't certified yet, but we found out that you only stay in the water for 20 minutes and you have to lock arms with the dive master. That really seemed like a waste of time and money, so we figured we'd just snorkel instead. Once we got out to Moore Reef, we got our snorkel gear and headed out to the water. It was amazing. All of the different coral and fish that surrounded you. wow. We stayed out for over an hour and came back in to dry off and take a tour on the glass bottom boat where we saw a sea turtle, tons of fish, and some HUGE giant clams.
After the boat ride, we came back in for a nice lunch (where Tami wouldn't eat the prawns again since they were staring at her). After we ate, it was time for the fish. They brought out food for the fish and the fish got really close. We jumped in with our snorkel gear and got really close to them. Their featured fish was Wally, a huge colorful fish that doesn't mind people petting him. Unfortunately, there were too many people around and we didn't get a chance to touch him. oh well.
After the feeding, we headed out for a guided tour of the reef. We saw a lot of things including another sea turtle. Tami even saw a shark, but I missed it. The tour was only supposed to last 50 minutes, but it ended up going 1 hour and 20 minutes instead. Which meant that everyone had already loaded onto the boat to go home and they were waiting for us.... ooops. We quickly got everything packed up and got back on the boat for the 90 minute ride back to Cairns.
After we got back to Cairns, we were pretty tired, so we had the bus drop us off at a shopping center close to our hotel and stopped at one of the cafe's to get supper. We then walked it back to the room and ate there. Then, since we had a handy washer and dryer in the room, we went ahead and did our (hopefully) last load of laundry for the trip. While that was going, we watched a movie and then headed for bed. Tomorrow promises to be relaxing with a late flight to Melbourne.
Greg
Today started out early again as we got up to take a shuttle into downtown Cairns for our trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. The company that the hotel recommended was called Reef Magic Marineworld and he suggested it because they have you stay out in the water about 5 hours, which is 2 hours more than Quicksilver, one of the major companies down here. Once we got to the marina, we paid for our trip and got ready for a 90 minute boat ride out to Marineworld, the huge floating pontoon right next to the reef that we were going to snorkel around. We had intended to do the introductory dive since Tami isn't certified yet, but we found out that you only stay in the water for 20 minutes and you have to lock arms with the dive master. That really seemed like a waste of time and money, so we figured we'd just snorkel instead. Once we got out to Moore Reef, we got our snorkel gear and headed out to the water. It was amazing. All of the different coral and fish that surrounded you. wow. We stayed out for over an hour and came back in to dry off and take a tour on the glass bottom boat where we saw a sea turtle, tons of fish, and some HUGE giant clams.
After the boat ride, we came back in for a nice lunch (where Tami wouldn't eat the prawns again since they were staring at her). After we ate, it was time for the fish. They brought out food for the fish and the fish got really close. We jumped in with our snorkel gear and got really close to them. Their featured fish was Wally, a huge colorful fish that doesn't mind people petting him. Unfortunately, there were too many people around and we didn't get a chance to touch him. oh well.
After the feeding, we headed out for a guided tour of the reef. We saw a lot of things including another sea turtle. Tami even saw a shark, but I missed it. The tour was only supposed to last 50 minutes, but it ended up going 1 hour and 20 minutes instead. Which meant that everyone had already loaded onto the boat to go home and they were waiting for us.... ooops. We quickly got everything packed up and got back on the boat for the 90 minute ride back to Cairns.
After we got back to Cairns, we were pretty tired, so we had the bus drop us off at a shopping center close to our hotel and stopped at one of the cafe's to get supper. We then walked it back to the room and ate there. Then, since we had a handy washer and dryer in the room, we went ahead and did our (hopefully) last load of laundry for the trip. While that was going, we watched a movie and then headed for bed. Tomorrow promises to be relaxing with a late flight to Melbourne.
Greg
Feelin' Hot Hot Hot
Friday, December 16, 2005
Appears that the airport is the best internet spot, oh well.
Today started out with a 9 am flight to Cairns, which was very uneventful. We got to the airport and took a shuttle to the hotel. This was a very nice hotel, we had our own suite, with a washer and dryer and full kitchen. We also had our own private walkway to the pool. The receptionist at the hotel was the first nice Aussie that we had met our entire trip, turns out he is a Kiwi, along with his wife. Go figure!
He made all of our reservations for us, his wife even took us to our first stop, Skyrail to Kuranda. We took this 5+ km sky rail to a small hippie town. The first stop on the skyrail was to walk through the rainforest, then the second stop was at a waterfall, stunning. We then made it up to the top with enough time to do a little shopping, not much but it was still fun. It is so hot in Cairns that I feel like we are melting. We decided to get a banana smoothie for the trip back but their smoothies are absolutely disgusting, we threw them away. Instead, we got ice cream. We headed back to town on a train, through some tunnels and over bridges, very nice views, and very relaxing.
Once we made it back to the ground we took a shuttle back to the hotel and then we were off to the beach. It was about a two block walk where we picked up some supper and brought it back to the hotel to eat. It was way too hot to eat outside so we wanted to eat in the air conditioning. It is about 33 degrees here, figure out the farenheit. After we ate we sat by the pool for a little while and talked and then headed back in for a little tv and then bed early.
Tami
Appears that the airport is the best internet spot, oh well.
Today started out with a 9 am flight to Cairns, which was very uneventful. We got to the airport and took a shuttle to the hotel. This was a very nice hotel, we had our own suite, with a washer and dryer and full kitchen. We also had our own private walkway to the pool. The receptionist at the hotel was the first nice Aussie that we had met our entire trip, turns out he is a Kiwi, along with his wife. Go figure!
He made all of our reservations for us, his wife even took us to our first stop, Skyrail to Kuranda. We took this 5+ km sky rail to a small hippie town. The first stop on the skyrail was to walk through the rainforest, then the second stop was at a waterfall, stunning. We then made it up to the top with enough time to do a little shopping, not much but it was still fun. It is so hot in Cairns that I feel like we are melting. We decided to get a banana smoothie for the trip back but their smoothies are absolutely disgusting, we threw them away. Instead, we got ice cream. We headed back to town on a train, through some tunnels and over bridges, very nice views, and very relaxing.
Once we made it back to the ground we took a shuttle back to the hotel and then we were off to the beach. It was about a two block walk where we picked up some supper and brought it back to the hotel to eat. It was way too hot to eat outside so we wanted to eat in the air conditioning. It is about 33 degrees here, figure out the farenheit. After we ate we sat by the pool for a little while and talked and then headed back in for a little tv and then bed early.
Tami
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Frustrating Day in Brisbane
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Today started out very early. We were up at 5:30 am for our 6:55 flight. We flew from Christchurch to Auckland, then we were to head out to Brisbane. At first they gave us a hard time and we weren't sure if we were going to get on the plane. We did after a little bit of frustration. The good thing was we finally got on a plane that had the individual movies on the seat. The time difference between NZ and Australia is 3 hours, which we gained, so our flight landed at 11 am. We got down stairs to find out that Brisbane is rather large and the only way to get to the hotel from the airport is by taxi or limosine. We were so annoyed at this point to learn that not only was it nearly impossible for us to get to the city from our hotel, due to the distance, but we also found out that everything we wanted to do closes at 4:30. At this time it was 11:30 so we only had 5 hours in Brisbane to do anything. So annoyed, we ended up renting another car. The women at Hertz made it worse, she was the biggest @#$%^ in world and gave us a hard time about not getting the additional insurance, claiming that they had big hail storms the previous night and we would be liable if there were any more tonight. Oh well, it ended up that there were hail storms in Australia but not in Brisbane. To make things worse we just wanted to get out of the airport and the elevator we were on would not go down. We finally got off the elevator and found an escalator. What a day so far.
We got our car and headed out to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. This made up for most of the frustration earlier in the morning. We saw kangaroos, wallabys, lorikeets, bats, tasmanian devil, koalas, and many more Australian animals. We got to feed the kangaroos and the lorikeets. The best part was that we got to hold a koala named Denzil. He was so cute and I wanted to keep him. We got our picture made with him as well. At the end of the day we also watched a sheep dog demonstration. The dogs in Tignall were much better trained than these dogs, they were too hyper and actually bit one the sheep.
We left the Koala Sanctuary and headed downtown. We were able to get a little bit of shopping in before we headed to the hotel. We checked in and ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut, woo hoo. It was the best pizza I think we have ever had, we were so hungry and tired at this point. We ended up going to sleep before 9 to get ready for the next day.
It has to be better than today.
Tami
Today started out very early. We were up at 5:30 am for our 6:55 flight. We flew from Christchurch to Auckland, then we were to head out to Brisbane. At first they gave us a hard time and we weren't sure if we were going to get on the plane. We did after a little bit of frustration. The good thing was we finally got on a plane that had the individual movies on the seat. The time difference between NZ and Australia is 3 hours, which we gained, so our flight landed at 11 am. We got down stairs to find out that Brisbane is rather large and the only way to get to the hotel from the airport is by taxi or limosine. We were so annoyed at this point to learn that not only was it nearly impossible for us to get to the city from our hotel, due to the distance, but we also found out that everything we wanted to do closes at 4:30. At this time it was 11:30 so we only had 5 hours in Brisbane to do anything. So annoyed, we ended up renting another car. The women at Hertz made it worse, she was the biggest @#$%^ in world and gave us a hard time about not getting the additional insurance, claiming that they had big hail storms the previous night and we would be liable if there were any more tonight. Oh well, it ended up that there were hail storms in Australia but not in Brisbane. To make things worse we just wanted to get out of the airport and the elevator we were on would not go down. We finally got off the elevator and found an escalator. What a day so far.
We got our car and headed out to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. This made up for most of the frustration earlier in the morning. We saw kangaroos, wallabys, lorikeets, bats, tasmanian devil, koalas, and many more Australian animals. We got to feed the kangaroos and the lorikeets. The best part was that we got to hold a koala named Denzil. He was so cute and I wanted to keep him. We got our picture made with him as well. At the end of the day we also watched a sheep dog demonstration. The dogs in Tignall were much better trained than these dogs, they were too hyper and actually bit one the sheep.
We left the Koala Sanctuary and headed downtown. We were able to get a little bit of shopping in before we headed to the hotel. We checked in and ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut, woo hoo. It was the best pizza I think we have ever had, we were so hungry and tired at this point. We ended up going to sleep before 9 to get ready for the next day.
It has to be better than today.
Tami
Drama on the High Sea - Christchurch
Wednesday December 14th
Today ended up being another long, long day, although we didn't realize it when we started out. We got up early again since we had a 6:45 bus to pick us up to take us to the airport. The journey was uneventful and we made it to Christchurch with no problems. We hadn't intended to rent a car since our travel agent assured us that we could make arrangements while we were there.... but I don't think that she ever caught on that we like doing things like seeing native animals more than we like touring historic monuments. Because of that, we decided to rent a car so that we'd have more flexibility in getting out to Akaroa, which is the real reason that we wanted to come to Christchurch.
We dropped our luggage off at our hotel and drove over to Akaroa which was about 80 minutes away over very very curvy roads. Akaroa is a small seaside town that houses the Hector Dolphins which are only found in New Zealand. These are the smallest dolphins in the world and are also the only dolphins that have a rounded dorsal fin. We scheduled a harbor cruise to see them and made it in plenty of time to grab lunch before checking in. However, when we checked in, we were told that there was a little bit of a crisis and that our boat would be delayed. We later found out that the crew on a fishing boat had an with a winch and our boat had to go out to it because they had a vet and a firefighter who was EMT trained that would be able to assist. They also had to transport the rest of the people on board the ship back to land.
After all of that had been sorted out (about 20 minutes later), we were off. The cruise was very nice, we got to see tons of Hector Dolphins playing around the ship. We also saw seals, a penguin and plenty of birds. It was a lot of fun.
After that, we drove back to Christchurch and headed downtown to do some shopping. We finished shopping early to try and do some punting (which is where they ferry you around in the river.... sort of like a gondola in Venice). However, they were closed. So we headed back downtown to do some more shopping. That's when we found out that New Zealand likes to knock off for the day early. All of the stores downtown closed at 5:30! So, we headed down to the Kiwi Encounter which offers evening tours and ate an early dinner. The dining room was adjacent to where they keep all sorts of deer, so between courses, we ran out to feed the deer and get some photos. After that, we got a private tour of the Kiwi encounter which had tons of different wildlife... but the star of the show was the large kiwi house that had 8 kiwi's roaming around. Unlike the other time we saw kiwi, these were very active and we got to be very close to them. It was amazing.
After that, it was still rather early for us, so we looked around to see if we could find anything that was open. We ended up going to a theatre that was showing King Kong at 9:00, so we went in a little late. We had wanted to see King Kong in New Zealand anyway since it was filmed here. The movie didn't get out until 12:30 which was bad since we had to be up at 5:30 to make it to the airport. We didn't get much sleep, but the next day started our Australia leg of the journey, so we were still excited.
Greg
Today ended up being another long, long day, although we didn't realize it when we started out. We got up early again since we had a 6:45 bus to pick us up to take us to the airport. The journey was uneventful and we made it to Christchurch with no problems. We hadn't intended to rent a car since our travel agent assured us that we could make arrangements while we were there.... but I don't think that she ever caught on that we like doing things like seeing native animals more than we like touring historic monuments. Because of that, we decided to rent a car so that we'd have more flexibility in getting out to Akaroa, which is the real reason that we wanted to come to Christchurch.
We dropped our luggage off at our hotel and drove over to Akaroa which was about 80 minutes away over very very curvy roads. Akaroa is a small seaside town that houses the Hector Dolphins which are only found in New Zealand. These are the smallest dolphins in the world and are also the only dolphins that have a rounded dorsal fin. We scheduled a harbor cruise to see them and made it in plenty of time to grab lunch before checking in. However, when we checked in, we were told that there was a little bit of a crisis and that our boat would be delayed. We later found out that the crew on a fishing boat had an with a winch and our boat had to go out to it because they had a vet and a firefighter who was EMT trained that would be able to assist. They also had to transport the rest of the people on board the ship back to land.
After all of that had been sorted out (about 20 minutes later), we were off. The cruise was very nice, we got to see tons of Hector Dolphins playing around the ship. We also saw seals, a penguin and plenty of birds. It was a lot of fun.
After that, we drove back to Christchurch and headed downtown to do some shopping. We finished shopping early to try and do some punting (which is where they ferry you around in the river.... sort of like a gondola in Venice). However, they were closed. So we headed back downtown to do some more shopping. That's when we found out that New Zealand likes to knock off for the day early. All of the stores downtown closed at 5:30! So, we headed down to the Kiwi Encounter which offers evening tours and ate an early dinner. The dining room was adjacent to where they keep all sorts of deer, so between courses, we ran out to feed the deer and get some photos. After that, we got a private tour of the Kiwi encounter which had tons of different wildlife... but the star of the show was the large kiwi house that had 8 kiwi's roaming around. Unlike the other time we saw kiwi, these were very active and we got to be very close to them. It was amazing.
After that, it was still rather early for us, so we looked around to see if we could find anything that was open. We ended up going to a theatre that was showing King Kong at 9:00, so we went in a little late. We had wanted to see King Kong in New Zealand anyway since it was filmed here. The movie didn't get out until 12:30 which was bad since we had to be up at 5:30 to make it to the airport. We didn't get much sleep, but the next day started our Australia leg of the journey, so we were still excited.
Greg
The long day - Milford Sound
First off, sorry for the delay, we have just gotten somewhere where we can use internet.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Today started out very early, up at 6:45 am. It was the longest day. We got up and ready and headed into Queenstown for some breakfast. We went to a bakery, ate and then headed back to the hotel to wait on our bus. Our bus arrived and we were on our way to Milford Sound. We made a couple of stops on the way to take pictures and look at the beautiful scenery. We stopped in Te Anau for a break and picked up lunch. Once back on the bus we made a few more stops before we finally made it to Milford Sound. We arrived at 2:43 in Milford Sound to catch our boat that leaves at 2:45, this due to Frank and his wife who would not pay attention to the time and always got back to the bus late during the stops.
Some of the stops we made were at a picturesque lake, Lake Gunn, where I was able to get the most beautiful picture, can't wait to get it developed. Some other stops along the way included water falls, flowers, etc. There were a total of 6 nationalities on our bus of 17 people, it was very interesting. They included: German, Scottish, Dutch, US, British and Chinese.
Once we got on our boat we went through a marvelous ravine, we saw the tallest peak in the world from sea level, Mitre Peak. We also saw bottlenose dolphins, seals, sea lions, Fiordland crested penguins, waterfalls, glaciers, snow, and so many gorgeous mountains.
Once our boat returned it was back on the bus. We stopped in Te Anau again to eat dinner at The Ranch, this is where Greg and I enjoyed chicken schnitzel in cranberry sauce, yummy! We then stopped at a Bird Sanctuary and headed back home. We got about 30 minutes away from Queenstown and found we had a flat tire. We stopped in Kingston to change the tire where a group of us sat on the rocky beach and skipped stones. It was so interesting to get to talk to all of these other people from other countries. We had a lot of fun doing this.
We finally arrived back at our hotel at 11 pm just to crash for the night
Tami
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Today started out very early, up at 6:45 am. It was the longest day. We got up and ready and headed into Queenstown for some breakfast. We went to a bakery, ate and then headed back to the hotel to wait on our bus. Our bus arrived and we were on our way to Milford Sound. We made a couple of stops on the way to take pictures and look at the beautiful scenery. We stopped in Te Anau for a break and picked up lunch. Once back on the bus we made a few more stops before we finally made it to Milford Sound. We arrived at 2:43 in Milford Sound to catch our boat that leaves at 2:45, this due to Frank and his wife who would not pay attention to the time and always got back to the bus late during the stops.
Some of the stops we made were at a picturesque lake, Lake Gunn, where I was able to get the most beautiful picture, can't wait to get it developed. Some other stops along the way included water falls, flowers, etc. There were a total of 6 nationalities on our bus of 17 people, it was very interesting. They included: German, Scottish, Dutch, US, British and Chinese.
Once we got on our boat we went through a marvelous ravine, we saw the tallest peak in the world from sea level, Mitre Peak. We also saw bottlenose dolphins, seals, sea lions, Fiordland crested penguins, waterfalls, glaciers, snow, and so many gorgeous mountains.
Once our boat returned it was back on the bus. We stopped in Te Anau again to eat dinner at The Ranch, this is where Greg and I enjoyed chicken schnitzel in cranberry sauce, yummy! We then stopped at a Bird Sanctuary and headed back home. We got about 30 minutes away from Queenstown and found we had a flat tire. We stopped in Kingston to change the tire where a group of us sat on the rocky beach and skipped stones. It was so interesting to get to talk to all of these other people from other countries. We had a lot of fun doing this.
We finally arrived back at our hotel at 11 pm just to crash for the night
Tami
Monday, December 12, 2005
Jetting around Queenstown
Today started out looking like a repeat of previous days during out trip. We walked downtown and grabbed a quick breakfast at Starbucks (the first time this trip) , and ate it with the ducks at a little park close by. We then went in search of Internet access to post our belated entry from yesterday. We found a couple of places, but had to wait about 20 minutes before they opened. Once we posted our updates, we walked back to the Skyline Gondola and rode it up to the top. We then sped down both of the Luge tracks that they have (just like in Rotorua). I liked Rotorua better, but the advanced course here in Queenstown was much faster.
After we rode the Gondola back down, we went back into town and did a little souvenir shopping for everyone. We finished up in enough time to grab a little snack (Chicken flavored potato chips.....blah) and head back to the hotel to wait for our pickup.
Around 12:30, the bus for the Queenstown wine trail picked us up and whisked us away to Gibbston's winery and cheesery. We learned a little bit about how they grow the grapes, tasted a few wines in the "wine caves", and then went next door to sample some cheeses. After that, we went to the restaurant for lunch. Tami had the "smoked meats" platter and we both tried all of them. I'm not 100% sure what we were eating all of the time, but we're probably better off not knowing.
After that, we went to another winery, and then it was back into town for today's main attraction..... Jet boating! Imagine flying through the river at 85 kph (if you want to know how many mph that is, go out and look at your speedometer... I have no idea) with rain stinging your face, buzzing the trees and rocks on the bank of the river, and suddenly the boat spins in a complete 360 degree turn. That's what I call fun. The whole trip lasted about 60 minutes and we got quite wet. It's a good thing that we were going so fast because it dried us out a lot. Janeen, Tami wants to know why Stewart didn't try those stunts when he took us out on his boat. He needs to practice for the next time we're down.
After Jetboating was over, we grabbed some coffee and then some sushi at a little Japanese place that had great food and horrible service. Now, we're heading back to the room for some real excitement...... laundry.
Tomorrow, we catch an early bus out to Milford Sound which is part of the Fiordlands National Park.
Greg
After we rode the Gondola back down, we went back into town and did a little souvenir shopping for everyone. We finished up in enough time to grab a little snack (Chicken flavored potato chips.....blah) and head back to the hotel to wait for our pickup.
Around 12:30, the bus for the Queenstown wine trail picked us up and whisked us away to Gibbston's winery and cheesery. We learned a little bit about how they grow the grapes, tasted a few wines in the "wine caves", and then went next door to sample some cheeses. After that, we went to the restaurant for lunch. Tami had the "smoked meats" platter and we both tried all of them. I'm not 100% sure what we were eating all of the time, but we're probably better off not knowing.
After that, we went to another winery, and then it was back into town for today's main attraction..... Jet boating! Imagine flying through the river at 85 kph (if you want to know how many mph that is, go out and look at your speedometer... I have no idea) with rain stinging your face, buzzing the trees and rocks on the bank of the river, and suddenly the boat spins in a complete 360 degree turn. That's what I call fun. The whole trip lasted about 60 minutes and we got quite wet. It's a good thing that we were going so fast because it dried us out a lot. Janeen, Tami wants to know why Stewart didn't try those stunts when he took us out on his boat. He needs to practice for the next time we're down.
After Jetboating was over, we grabbed some coffee and then some sushi at a little Japanese place that had great food and horrible service. Now, we're heading back to the room for some real excitement...... laundry.
Tomorrow, we catch an early bus out to Milford Sound which is part of the Fiordlands National Park.
Greg
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Ice Ice Baby (Queenstown)
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Sorry for the delay, again having to look for a computer to use.
Sunday was fairly uneventful. We got up and checked out of our hotel and visited a couple of wineries after sleeping in late for once. We ate lunch at Twelve Trees Restaurant and then proceeded to the airport. We waited at the airport for our plane and killed the time by playing Skipbo. We then flew from Blenheim to Christchurch and then on to Queenstown. Our lodge (Lomond Lodge) in Queenstown has the most spectacular view of the lake and the mountains. We got out of our room quickly and walked around town. We stopped at a couple of stores, then proceeded to dinner at Monty's Bar. Greg got a sampler of beer that was enormous, he didn't even finish them all. After dinner we walked around the lake and watched the most beautiful sunset. Then we went to Minus 5, an ice bar. It was very neat inside, but not as cold as I expected it to be. Everything in the bar, including the glasses and seats, were made out of ice. You were given big ski jackets to wear inside along with gloves since it is rather cold. Hopefully we will have those pictures up for you soon.
Tami
Sorry for the delay, again having to look for a computer to use.
Sunday was fairly uneventful. We got up and checked out of our hotel and visited a couple of wineries after sleeping in late for once. We ate lunch at Twelve Trees Restaurant and then proceeded to the airport. We waited at the airport for our plane and killed the time by playing Skipbo. We then flew from Blenheim to Christchurch and then on to Queenstown. Our lodge (Lomond Lodge) in Queenstown has the most spectacular view of the lake and the mountains. We got out of our room quickly and walked around town. We stopped at a couple of stores, then proceeded to dinner at Monty's Bar. Greg got a sampler of beer that was enormous, he didn't even finish them all. After dinner we walked around the lake and watched the most beautiful sunset. Then we went to Minus 5, an ice bar. It was very neat inside, but not as cold as I expected it to be. Everything in the bar, including the glasses and seats, were made out of ice. You were given big ski jackets to wear inside along with gloves since it is rather cold. Hopefully we will have those pictures up for you soon.
Tami
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Seals and Dolphins and Whales, Oh My! (Kaikoura)
Then we did actually finally make it back to Blenheim for dinner and we are now settling into bed for the evening.
Tami
Friday, December 09, 2005
now in technicolor.....
Whew, finally we have pictures. We were able to get wireless access tonight, so we've gone back and updated all (or at least most) of the posts with a few pictures. Check it out. We currently have over 600 pictures (not including video which has highlights of a First Person view ride down the luge and what it looks like when Tami and Greg ride in a hamster ball), which will take hours to show....
Greg
Greg
Don't look at me....... (in Blenheim)
Friday December 9, 2005
Since we had such an action packed day yesterday enjoying everything in Rotorua at breakneck speed, we figured we'd slow things down a bit and enjoy ourselves as we headed to Blenheim. The entire morning was spent in various airports and on progressively smaller airplanes as we left Rotorua, headed to Wellington and finally made it to Blenheim airport which officially qualifies as the smallest airport we've ever seen.
To give you an idea, the luggage carousel was basically the cart that they used to take the luggage off of the plane. They just pulled it to the baggage claim "area" and parked it there.
We picked up our rental car and we were starved. So we headed out to Highfield Estates where we enjoyed lunch and a spectacular view of the vineyard.
From there, we went to several other vineyards and had a great time talking with everyone we met. One of the people suggested that we would enjoy Monkey Bay which inspired a wine that we have enjoyed in the past.
It was a 20 minute drive from Blenheim and we were really glad we did it. The area had spectacular views (I know everyone is tired of hearing that phrase.... I promise we'll get a thesaraus before the trip is over). There were these great natural caves and even black sand beaches (Janeen had told us about these and we were worried that we would be unable to see them). We know this picture is not the sand but the rocks were cool too.
After that, we drove back to the Hotel for some R and R and to grab some supper. Tami got the prawns. It was funny, they came out looking like normal shrimp except that they had two huge, whole prawns sitting on top of the whole dish that still had their heads. That meant that there were four beady eyes staring at Tami before she was able to dig in. Tami and I both feel that having your food watch you before you eat it is unsettling, so they had to go. That's a good tip for all of our friends and family, don't serve us food that stares back at us.
Tomorrow promises to be more fun. We're getting up very early to head down to Kaikoura to swim with the dolphins in the morning and go whale watching in the afternoon.
Greg
Since we had such an action packed day yesterday enjoying everything in Rotorua at breakneck speed, we figured we'd slow things down a bit and enjoy ourselves as we headed to Blenheim. The entire morning was spent in various airports and on progressively smaller airplanes as we left Rotorua, headed to Wellington and finally made it to Blenheim airport which officially qualifies as the smallest airport we've ever seen.
To give you an idea, the luggage carousel was basically the cart that they used to take the luggage off of the plane. They just pulled it to the baggage claim "area" and parked it there.
We picked up our rental car and we were starved. So we headed out to Highfield Estates where we enjoyed lunch and a spectacular view of the vineyard.
From there, we went to several other vineyards and had a great time talking with everyone we met. One of the people suggested that we would enjoy Monkey Bay which inspired a wine that we have enjoyed in the past.
It was a 20 minute drive from Blenheim and we were really glad we did it. The area had spectacular views (I know everyone is tired of hearing that phrase.... I promise we'll get a thesaraus before the trip is over). There were these great natural caves and even black sand beaches (Janeen had told us about these and we were worried that we would be unable to see them). We know this picture is not the sand but the rocks were cool too.
After that, we drove back to the Hotel for some R and R and to grab some supper. Tami got the prawns. It was funny, they came out looking like normal shrimp except that they had two huge, whole prawns sitting on top of the whole dish that still had their heads. That meant that there were four beady eyes staring at Tami before she was able to dig in. Tami and I both feel that having your food watch you before you eat it is unsettling, so they had to go. That's a good tip for all of our friends and family, don't serve us food that stares back at us.
Tomorrow promises to be more fun. We're getting up very early to head down to Kaikoura to swim with the dolphins in the morning and go whale watching in the afternoon.
Greg
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Wheeeee, Ahhhhh, and Awwww from Rotorua
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Wow, what a day. We got up early and drove from Waitomo to Rotorua without any problems. When we arrived in Rotorua, we first started at the Skyline. We rode up the gondola which offerred such a spectacular view. While at the top, we ate breakfast at the cafe and then we were off to the luge.
We did 3 luge rides, what a thrill. That was the first wheeeee of the day. After the ride back down the gondola to enjoy the view some more, we headed off to our next stop: Zorb Rotorua. Wow, that was just amazing. That was the second wheee of the day. We each took our turn in the zorb ball and we went down the zig zag hill. Zorbing is basically getting into a huge rubber hampster ball where they load you in with some water and then off you go down the hill. What a thrill.
After the zorbing we headed into town to find our hotel. Walking into the hotel was a sight. When we saw we had a geyser view we had no idea that it was the largest geyser in Rotorua, Pohutu Geyser. And, it is right outside our back window, literally.
Just amazing. Then we were off to downtown for a bite to eat at the Fat Dog cafe. A recommendation from Janeen and Ray that we both enjoyed a lot. After lunch we were off again on some more adventures.
We drove out to Hell's Gate which is the most active volcanic area in Rotorua. We walked around and saw the thermal geysers and mud pools and such. Can't really describe it, but wait til you see the pictures. But the sulphur smell, you can definitely live without. After walking around we went and had a mud bath, gross but fun. That was the ahhhhhh of the day. We then got into a sulphur spa (I did not break out) and then the hot tub. On the way to the car we were stopped. Uh Oh. A peacock would not let us leave. He wanted to hitch a ride with us. Not something you encounter everyday.
We then headed back to Rotorua and were able to go to the Rainbow Springs Sanctuary. We were able to see a Kiwi digging for food. He was soooo cute, hence the awwww. We then walked around for about an hour or so and looked at all of the other birds and fish and such that they had to offer. Afterwards we headed back downtown for dinner. We ended up eating at the Fat Dog cafe again, it was worth it.
Tomorrow we head off to the South Island, to Blenheim, can't wait.
Tami
Wow, what a day. We got up early and drove from Waitomo to Rotorua without any problems. When we arrived in Rotorua, we first started at the Skyline. We rode up the gondola which offerred such a spectacular view. While at the top, we ate breakfast at the cafe and then we were off to the luge.
We did 3 luge rides, what a thrill. That was the first wheeeee of the day. After the ride back down the gondola to enjoy the view some more, we headed off to our next stop: Zorb Rotorua. Wow, that was just amazing. That was the second wheee of the day. We each took our turn in the zorb ball and we went down the zig zag hill. Zorbing is basically getting into a huge rubber hampster ball where they load you in with some water and then off you go down the hill. What a thrill.
After the zorbing we headed into town to find our hotel. Walking into the hotel was a sight. When we saw we had a geyser view we had no idea that it was the largest geyser in Rotorua, Pohutu Geyser. And, it is right outside our back window, literally.
Just amazing. Then we were off to downtown for a bite to eat at the Fat Dog cafe. A recommendation from Janeen and Ray that we both enjoyed a lot. After lunch we were off again on some more adventures.
We drove out to Hell's Gate which is the most active volcanic area in Rotorua. We walked around and saw the thermal geysers and mud pools and such. Can't really describe it, but wait til you see the pictures. But the sulphur smell, you can definitely live without. After walking around we went and had a mud bath, gross but fun. That was the ahhhhhh of the day. We then got into a sulphur spa (I did not break out) and then the hot tub. On the way to the car we were stopped. Uh Oh. A peacock would not let us leave. He wanted to hitch a ride with us. Not something you encounter everyday.
We then headed back to Rotorua and were able to go to the Rainbow Springs Sanctuary. We were able to see a Kiwi digging for food. He was soooo cute, hence the awwww. We then walked around for about an hour or so and looked at all of the other birds and fish and such that they had to offer. Afterwards we headed back downtown for dinner. We ended up eating at the Fat Dog cafe again, it was worth it.
Tomorrow we head off to the South Island, to Blenheim, can't wait.
Tami
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Waitomo Caves
Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Today began like any other day. We got up and enjoyed breakfast with Janeen and Ray. Then it was off on our own. We had a fairly uneventful trip from Howick to Waitomo. It rained off and on the whole way but we did not even get lost once.
Once we arrived in Waitomo we found out how small this city really is. We are staying at a place called Kiwi Paka, which is a Youth Hostel. Kind of weird coming in here with all of the back-packers and we have actual luggage. Oh well, it is for only 1 night.
After we checked in we had pizza in the restaurant at the hostel. We then went to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. We asked for Lynn when we arrived but she has not been working here for 6 or so years. She is now a real estate agent in the next town. The Glowworm Caves were very neat, with the webs and the lights that they put off. It would have been a more pleasant experience if people would learn how to be quiet when told, but it was still a very wonderful experience.
After the Glowworm caves we walked around the Museum of Caves. Not too exciting but nothing else to do until it was time for our 3:30 reservation to go Abseiling and down the Flying Fox. Once 3:30 came we met our tour guides, Chris and Teri. Pretty typical New Zealanders, liking to joke and have a good time. They were great to us. We took our first abseiling trip down 20 meters and then the second abseil was 40 meters. All was good. We then spelunked through the caves for about an hour or so. That is when we got to the best part, the Flying Fox. That was a lot of fun. The Flying Fox was through St. Benedicts Cave, very massive inside.
After we got out of the caves our tour guides decided to play a trick on the other group and hid their bus. Ha Ha Ha. Teri then told us about a walk called the Ruakuri Bushwalk that is a lot of fun and very neat. So we decided to take her advice and went. We walked for about 30 or so minutes through beautiful forests and lots of natural mini caves.
We are now back at the hostel about to go to one of the 2 restaurants in town for dinner. Tomorrow we will be off to Rotorua for another fun-filled, action packed day.
Tami & Greg
Today began like any other day. We got up and enjoyed breakfast with Janeen and Ray. Then it was off on our own. We had a fairly uneventful trip from Howick to Waitomo. It rained off and on the whole way but we did not even get lost once.
Once we arrived in Waitomo we found out how small this city really is. We are staying at a place called Kiwi Paka, which is a Youth Hostel. Kind of weird coming in here with all of the back-packers and we have actual luggage. Oh well, it is for only 1 night.
After we checked in we had pizza in the restaurant at the hostel. We then went to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. We asked for Lynn when we arrived but she has not been working here for 6 or so years. She is now a real estate agent in the next town. The Glowworm Caves were very neat, with the webs and the lights that they put off. It would have been a more pleasant experience if people would learn how to be quiet when told, but it was still a very wonderful experience.
After the Glowworm caves we walked around the Museum of Caves. Not too exciting but nothing else to do until it was time for our 3:30 reservation to go Abseiling and down the Flying Fox. Once 3:30 came we met our tour guides, Chris and Teri. Pretty typical New Zealanders, liking to joke and have a good time. They were great to us. We took our first abseiling trip down 20 meters and then the second abseil was 40 meters. All was good. We then spelunked through the caves for about an hour or so. That is when we got to the best part, the Flying Fox. That was a lot of fun. The Flying Fox was through St. Benedicts Cave, very massive inside.
After we got out of the caves our tour guides decided to play a trick on the other group and hid their bus. Ha Ha Ha. Teri then told us about a walk called the Ruakuri Bushwalk that is a lot of fun and very neat. So we decided to take her advice and went. We walked for about 30 or so minutes through beautiful forests and lots of natural mini caves.
We are now back at the hostel about to go to one of the 2 restaurants in town for dinner. Tomorrow we will be off to Rotorua for another fun-filled, action packed day.
Tami & Greg
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
A day in Auckland
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Today was a beautiful day. We started out by driving across the Harbor Bridge and into the North Shore area. We drove up Mount Victoria to see some spectacular views of downtown Auckland and the surrounding suburbs. It was a little chilly on the top of the mountain but it was well worth it. We then drove back across the bridge and into downtown Auckland, stopping at a local café called Portside for a coffee (or in my case, a hot chocolate).
After our drink we began to walk around downtown Auckland. We got to see the harbor, lots of boats, buildings and such. We then walked over to the Sky Tower.
We went up to the 50th floor at first and then continued up to the 60th floor. It was the most wonderful thing to see all of Auckland on a crystal clear day. You could see so far in the distance that it looked like you see forever. While up in the sky tower we also enjoyed watching some people jump off of the building. Although I have sky dived I did not have any desire to jump off of the side of the building.
Here are Janeen and Ray at the Sky Tower:
We continued on toward Mission Bay where we had lunch. We ate at a Belgian place called De Fontaine. The portions were enormous and we could not finish our food. After lunch we drove over to Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World and looked at all of the fish. They had a snowcat that you actually got to ride through the penguin exhibit in. You were so close, and they were so cute.
They have crayfish here that are so much larger than our lobsters. I can't even imagine how much one of those would cost for dinner. One crayfish could feed a family of four and they would still have leftovers.
After the aquarium we picked up the car rental. Ray said Greg did an excellent job driving on the left side of the road, but I haven't ridden with him yet so I'm not sure. We came back to Janeen and Ray's house for a few minutes and then we were off again. We met Stewart, Joyce, Karen, Michael, and Jack for dinner at the Buckland Beach Yacht Club for dinner. Lots of food and good company, it was a wonderful end to our day in Auckland.
Here is a picture of us with Stewart and Joyce:
Oh, after dinner we did ride around to a couple of places to look at tacky Christmas lights. Yes, they do have them here as well.
We are now ready to begin our journey on down the road but first we want to say thank you so much to Janeen and Ray for their hospitality. It has been the most wonderful experience staying here with them and getting to know them. We also want to thank Stewart and Joyce for taking us out on the boat along with sharing all of their memories of Granny and the family.
Tami
Today was a beautiful day. We started out by driving across the Harbor Bridge and into the North Shore area. We drove up Mount Victoria to see some spectacular views of downtown Auckland and the surrounding suburbs. It was a little chilly on the top of the mountain but it was well worth it. We then drove back across the bridge and into downtown Auckland, stopping at a local café called Portside for a coffee (or in my case, a hot chocolate).
After our drink we began to walk around downtown Auckland. We got to see the harbor, lots of boats, buildings and such. We then walked over to the Sky Tower.
We went up to the 50th floor at first and then continued up to the 60th floor. It was the most wonderful thing to see all of Auckland on a crystal clear day. You could see so far in the distance that it looked like you see forever. While up in the sky tower we also enjoyed watching some people jump off of the building. Although I have sky dived I did not have any desire to jump off of the side of the building.
Here are Janeen and Ray at the Sky Tower:
We continued on toward Mission Bay where we had lunch. We ate at a Belgian place called De Fontaine. The portions were enormous and we could not finish our food. After lunch we drove over to Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World and looked at all of the fish. They had a snowcat that you actually got to ride through the penguin exhibit in. You were so close, and they were so cute.
They have crayfish here that are so much larger than our lobsters. I can't even imagine how much one of those would cost for dinner. One crayfish could feed a family of four and they would still have leftovers.
After the aquarium we picked up the car rental. Ray said Greg did an excellent job driving on the left side of the road, but I haven't ridden with him yet so I'm not sure. We came back to Janeen and Ray's house for a few minutes and then we were off again. We met Stewart, Joyce, Karen, Michael, and Jack for dinner at the Buckland Beach Yacht Club for dinner. Lots of food and good company, it was a wonderful end to our day in Auckland.
Here is a picture of us with Stewart and Joyce:
Oh, after dinner we did ride around to a couple of places to look at tacky Christmas lights. Yes, they do have them here as well.
We are now ready to begin our journey on down the road but first we want to say thank you so much to Janeen and Ray for their hospitality. It has been the most wonderful experience staying here with them and getting to know them. We also want to thank Stewart and Joyce for taking us out on the boat along with sharing all of their memories of Granny and the family.
Tami
Monday, December 05, 2005
Waiheke Island
Monday Dec 5
Today, Stewart and Joyce (Janeen's parents) took us out on their boat, the Arapoha along with Janeen, Ray, and Janeen's nephews Michael and Jack.
The main point of the trip was to head over to Waiheke island so that we could see one of the places where Granny grew up. Here is what Granny wrote about on Waiheke island
Aunt Daisy and Uncle Dun had a cabin at Awa Awa Roa Bay on Waiheke Island in the Waitanmata harbour and we went every weekend and all holidays. There was no electricity so Uncle Dun put in a generator and we had lights instead of oil lamps. The house was on the edge of the water and when the tide came up the water came to the steps. Uncle Dun made spears for Stewart and me (a stick with a sharp nail on the end).
In the early morning the two of us would go out and walk along the edge of the water and spear flounder for breakfast. We'd clean them and Aunt Daisy would poach them in milk that was milked that morning. Those fish and the potatoes left from the nigh before fried were about as close to mama from heaven as a person could get.
They leased the house from Mr. and Mrs. Gordon who was quite old when they married. They had three children, one older than me, one my age, and one younger than me. It was so isolated that they went to school at home and got their lessons by mail and over the radio. The mail came twice a week by Ferry. When they reached 10th grade they went to boarding school on the main land. It was a very good life. It was a sheep farm. There were no roads so we all rode horses. If you went to the local store you took the dingy, put on the motor and went around the coast.
We arrived at Awaawaroa Bay after a pleasant 30 minutes ride and took a quick ride on the dingy to shore. We walked around the area a bit and took in the scenery.
Here are the New Zealand "Christmas" trees that Granny always wrote about:
It was easy to imagine what Granny was writing about because it still feels really isolated out there. We met Collin who owns the land now and saw the house that Janeen's grandfather built. We were even able to pet the horses that were there. We didn't get to stay too long because the mild rain that we had all morning was threatening to turn into something more, so we headed back to the beach and waited for Stewart to come back and pick us up in the dingy.
Once back on the boat, we had a nice lunch and sat around talking until it was time to head back to Half Moon Bay Marina.
Tami even got to drive the boat:
Once back at the Marina, we said our goodbyes and went with Janeen and Ray over to grab some coffee at Columbus Coffee and talk some more. The shopping center was very nice, lots of shops and it was called Botany. We then came back to their house where they fixed us a wonderful steak dinner. After dinner, we watched a movie to relax a little (Tami didn't stay awake through the whole thing) and decided that it was time for bed.
Tomorrow we are planning to hit downtown Auckland which should be fun.
Couple of other things. Thanks everyone so much for the comments. We are getting them and enjoy hearing from everyone. Also, I'm sorry that we haven't posted any pictures yet. We have Internet access from Ray's computer, but I don't have the laptop hooked up and I'm too lazy to figure out a way to get the pictures over :) As soon as I get access, I'll update these posts with pictures. Don't worry, we've already gotten plenty of pictures and still plan to post them.
Greg
Today, Stewart and Joyce (Janeen's parents) took us out on their boat, the Arapoha along with Janeen, Ray, and Janeen's nephews Michael and Jack.
The main point of the trip was to head over to Waiheke island so that we could see one of the places where Granny grew up. Here is what Granny wrote about on Waiheke island
Aunt Daisy and Uncle Dun had a cabin at Awa Awa Roa Bay on Waiheke Island in the Waitanmata harbour and we went every weekend and all holidays. There was no electricity so Uncle Dun put in a generator and we had lights instead of oil lamps. The house was on the edge of the water and when the tide came up the water came to the steps. Uncle Dun made spears for Stewart and me (a stick with a sharp nail on the end).
In the early morning the two of us would go out and walk along the edge of the water and spear flounder for breakfast. We'd clean them and Aunt Daisy would poach them in milk that was milked that morning. Those fish and the potatoes left from the nigh before fried were about as close to mama from heaven as a person could get.
They leased the house from Mr. and Mrs. Gordon who was quite old when they married. They had three children, one older than me, one my age, and one younger than me. It was so isolated that they went to school at home and got their lessons by mail and over the radio. The mail came twice a week by Ferry. When they reached 10th grade they went to boarding school on the main land. It was a very good life. It was a sheep farm. There were no roads so we all rode horses. If you went to the local store you took the dingy, put on the motor and went around the coast.
We arrived at Awaawaroa Bay after a pleasant 30 minutes ride and took a quick ride on the dingy to shore. We walked around the area a bit and took in the scenery.
Here are the New Zealand "Christmas" trees that Granny always wrote about:
It was easy to imagine what Granny was writing about because it still feels really isolated out there. We met Collin who owns the land now and saw the house that Janeen's grandfather built. We were even able to pet the horses that were there. We didn't get to stay too long because the mild rain that we had all morning was threatening to turn into something more, so we headed back to the beach and waited for Stewart to come back and pick us up in the dingy.
Once back on the boat, we had a nice lunch and sat around talking until it was time to head back to Half Moon Bay Marina.
Tami even got to drive the boat:
Once back at the Marina, we said our goodbyes and went with Janeen and Ray over to grab some coffee at Columbus Coffee and talk some more. The shopping center was very nice, lots of shops and it was called Botany. We then came back to their house where they fixed us a wonderful steak dinner. After dinner, we watched a movie to relax a little (Tami didn't stay awake through the whole thing) and decided that it was time for bed.
Tomorrow we are planning to hit downtown Auckland which should be fun.
Couple of other things. Thanks everyone so much for the comments. We are getting them and enjoy hearing from everyone. Also, I'm sorry that we haven't posted any pictures yet. We have Internet access from Ray's computer, but I don't have the laptop hooked up and I'm too lazy to figure out a way to get the pictures over :) As soon as I get access, I'll update these posts with pictures. Don't worry, we've already gotten plenty of pictures and still plan to post them.
Greg
Sunday, December 04, 2005
picnic
Sunday Dec 4
Today started early and we did a lot. Janeen and Ray picked us up from the airport at around 6:30 am local time and took us back to their place. We had breakfast and hung out a bit, and then hit the shower since we knew that we had to smell after spending so many hours on the plane. Afterwards, we felt more human and Ray took us around and showed us around Auckland a bit. We walked on one of the local beaches and then went to Musick Point which had a spectacular view.
All of the sightseeing was an excuse to kill time until around noon when we headed to the Cornwell Park and met up with relatives from all over New Zealand. We met a lot of really nice people and had a wonderful picnic. Once that broke up, we headed for the summit of One Tree Hill. While the tree had been chopped down, being up there offered us a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. That view was even more spectacular than the one earlier in the day.
Here is a picture of Aunt Pat at the picnic:
and here is one of the views from One Tree Hill:
After we left One Tree Hill, we headed for Janeen's parents house where we were treated to a wonderful home cooked meal. Adding to the enjoyment was the fact that Janeen's dad, Stewart, had a ton of pictures of my Mom, Aunt Becky, Aunt Pat, and Uncle David when they were really young. Also, there were some other pictures of Mom and Dad when they were younger, even some pictures of what looked like Gina.
After supper, we came home where we plan to crash early and start again tomorrow!
Greg
Today started early and we did a lot. Janeen and Ray picked us up from the airport at around 6:30 am local time and took us back to their place. We had breakfast and hung out a bit, and then hit the shower since we knew that we had to smell after spending so many hours on the plane. Afterwards, we felt more human and Ray took us around and showed us around Auckland a bit. We walked on one of the local beaches and then went to Musick Point which had a spectacular view.
All of the sightseeing was an excuse to kill time until around noon when we headed to the Cornwell Park and met up with relatives from all over New Zealand. We met a lot of really nice people and had a wonderful picnic. Once that broke up, we headed for the summit of One Tree Hill. While the tree had been chopped down, being up there offered us a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. That view was even more spectacular than the one earlier in the day.
Here is a picture of Aunt Pat at the picnic:
and here is one of the views from One Tree Hill:
After we left One Tree Hill, we headed for Janeen's parents house where we were treated to a wonderful home cooked meal. Adding to the enjoyment was the fact that Janeen's dad, Stewart, had a ton of pictures of my Mom, Aunt Becky, Aunt Pat, and Uncle David when they were really young. Also, there were some other pictures of Mom and Dad when they were younger, even some pictures of what looked like Gina.
After supper, we came home where we plan to crash early and start again tomorrow!
Greg
Saturday, December 03, 2005
We're Here
All went well with our trip from LA to Auckland. We left about 45 minutes late but only arrived about 20 minutes late. Did have to deal with a crying child the entire trip but other than that fairly uneventful. We are safe and sound. We managed to sleep a lot on the trip, which has helped out as well.
Here is the sunrise we viewed in the airplane as we arrived in Auckland.
Here is the sunrise we viewed in the airplane as we arrived in Auckland.
Friday, December 02, 2005
First leg of our trip - L.A. Baby
Well all went well with the first leg of our trip. No problems in Atlanta or arriving at LAX. We actually got here and our luggage was already here, what a concept. It got shipped on the earlier flight. We walked from the Delta terminal to the New Zealand terminal and that was when it got weird.
There were cops everywhere and nobody could get into the terminal. Bomb threat or something. The funniest thing was the bomb sniffing dogs kept barking at the cop car, wonder what is going on there. We had to stand outside the building for about 20 minutes or so and then we got to come and check in for the New Zealand flight. We are now sitting at Starbucks waiting on our next flight so we can head down under to the beautiful land.
That's all for now, talk to everyone soon.
There were cops everywhere and nobody could get into the terminal. Bomb threat or something. The funniest thing was the bomb sniffing dogs kept barking at the cop car, wonder what is going on there. We had to stand outside the building for about 20 minutes or so and then we got to come and check in for the New Zealand flight. We are now sitting at Starbucks waiting on our next flight so we can head down under to the beautiful land.
That's all for now, talk to everyone soon.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
1 to go
Tomorrow's the big day that we've been waiting for all year. The day we get to sit in a plane for hours upon hours. We're both very excited, it's going to be hard to sleep tonight. Our flight leaves at 2:10 PM. We'll try to post an update as soon as possible when we land (not sure how quickly it'll be before we find internet access).
Wish us luck!
Greg
Wish us luck!
Greg
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