We arrived in Melbourne mid-afternoon on April 28 and checked into our room at the Hyatt. It is a very pretty hotel. Our first room was a bit dark, but they quickly moved us to a great room with a view of the cathedral.

We dropped off our stuff and headed out for a little exploration before settling in at The European, a little restaurant across from this region’s Parliament. The cafe was recommended by friends we met on our dive trip, Taryn and Tom. Boy were they spot on! We thought we would just have appi’s but the duck and fig salad and merlot were so good, we then shared incredibly delicate sautéed gnocchi with peas and leeks and then a whole cooked snapper with some Sauvignon Blanc. At this point we were totally satiated and totally exhausted. We came back to our room and found the bed was so comfortable we read and soon fell asleep.

This morning, April 29, we woke to a glorious sunrise and I quickly threw on some clothes to take some photos. I wasn’t able to capture it in all its glory, but the photos of the glow on the cathedral came out pretty well.

We walked to a local cafe for a quick breakfast before being picked up by Jeff Barnard for our tour. Jeff shared a wealth of information and local history. We went everywhere from the expansive sports facilities (were we got a great lesson on the rules of “Australian Rules” football) to the impressive war memorial (where we got a heartfelt tour from a local “digger” – an older veteran) and then to Federation Square and a wonderful walking tour of some of the great little “lanes” or alleyways of Melbourne. This is what I liked the best.

I loved the creativity and ingenuity used to shoehorn all kinds of mini bars, restaurants and shops into these little retail pedestrian only alleyways, which had previously been used to mostly store garbage cans. I thought the Seattle Chamber of Commerce should come see this and incorporate this wonderful aspect of Melbourne in Seattle. Jim said the chamber did come here once and brought back an old trolley car that used to serve the Seattle waterfront before it was retired a few years back. Good grief. I suppose with all our daunting regulations you would need a lot of “out-of-the box thinking” and renewed flexibility to make this work in Seattle.

Jeff took us to his favorite coffee place which is wedged into a tiny space in the first steel skyscraper built in Melbourne (in the early 1930’s). We also tasted a local treat Lamingtons and learned the saying “fair dincum” which means absolute truth. This building also had Australia’s first escalator, although at that time it was called “magic stairs” and the stair steps were made of wood.

We walked some more past some fun street art, where the city has designated pro tagging areas and a really fun water sculpture that people decorate with leaves.

We ended our tour by stopping at a tiny opal shop (95% of the world’s opal comes from Australia and opal is the Australia’s national gemstone). The store represents the Lightening Mine. We met the son of the founder and he also has a collection of snakes, lizards and spiders. Quite interesting.

Then Jeff dropped us of at the Melbourne Museum. I wasn’t that interested but Jim wanted to go and I’m glad we did. We arrived just in time for a tour and it was very well done. They have the real bones of a Pygmy Blue Whale that washed up on shore in the 1990’s and a fantastic brain exhibit as well as many others.

Unfortunately, the threatened storm arrived in full force as we made our way back to the hotel. We walked a bit and then grabbed a cab. We are resting and drying off before dinner. Next we are going to head out for some Greek food at a restaurant that Jeff suggested. Apparently, Melbourne has a the third most Greek citizens of any city in the world. Greeks who live in Australia enjoy duel citizenship, can vote in both nations and even have their own Greek Senator that lives right here in Melbourne. Those crazy Greeks!

As I write this the cathedral bells have been ringing for almost 90 minutes. we assume they are either testing the bells or that it had something to do with the film crew that is parked on the street between our hotel and the cathedral. They are filming the locally popular TV show “House Husbands of Melbourne”. When I laughed at the name, one of the crew told me “it’s a very good show in it’s third season!”

Correction, the front desks says this is a regular Tuesday afternoon event where they practice ringing the bells from 5 to 6:30. It’s a lot of bell ringing!

History note for the day: On this day, April 29, 1770 British Capt. James Cook landed in Botany Bay, near Sydney, “discovering” Australia. 250 years later, it’s evolved into a modern nation full of creative, friendly people.

Well done Captain Cook!

Gazi, the Greek Restaurant, was hopping and we sat at the communal table. We got to do some ouzo tasting and settled on the Plomari. First, we got to chat with one of the employees, Petro, who was having dinner on his day off. He was a delightful young man and one of the many young, enterprising Europeans who have had to leave Europe to find work. He’s from Greece. Everywhere you go in Australia you meet 20 somethings from France, Italy, Spain, Greece and England who are working here and lament the economic mess in Europe.

Then we shared some really fun conversation with two lovely young ladies from England who turned out to be young physicians doing their residencies in Melbourne. It’s gotten to that point in our lives where we couldn’t believe they were old enough to be doctors. But we talked, laughed and chatted about the world, travel, scuba diving and the crazy Melbourne “hook turn”. Yes, here in Melbourne (and apparently only in Melbourne) because the trollies use both center lanes of every major street, to make a right turn across oncoming traffic you have to first cue all the way over in the far left lane and then wait for the light to turn red and the special “hook-turn light” to illuminate before turning right across all lanes of traffic where the oncoming traffic is supposed to yield. I’m not making this up. The ladies also pointed out that Gazi’s celebrity chef George Calombaris was in the house. They were quite excited about it.

Yesterday’s rain has turned to showers this morning (April 30) and is supposed to taper off. Today we are going to do more walking and exploring especially on the promenade along the “south bank” of the Yarra River which runs through downtown Melbourne.

The Adventure Continues!

The Great Barrier Reef is always listed as one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World and as a diver it is one of the “bucket list” diving experiences.

When Jim and I were planning the trip to Australia we weighed our different scuba diving options (an Island Resort near the outer reef or a live-aboard diving boat). It became clear that an “authentic” reef experience required one of those two options because the best coral reefs are many miles off shore.

We thought hard about Lizard Island, but it was very expensive and it would limit our possible dive sites. As it turns out this was a good decision for many reasons. While we were in New Zealand a category 5 typhoon came through the area and directly hit Lizard Island. So, it would not have been an option. We got to see he damage yesterday because we flew back to Cairns from Lizard Island and, although the small airstrip was open, the resort itself was heavily damaged and will not open again for at least 6 months, probably more.

Regardless, we had such a fantastic experience on the Spirit of Freedom (a 120 ‘ long, 250 ton displacement dive boat) and now having seen both options we would have chosen it, especially for a pure scuba diving experience.

Our excursion began on Monday at noon. Once on board we were introduced to the crew, the other passengers and our room. We knew ahead of time that we didn’t have a great room. It was low and didn’t have any windows. We would soon learn it was actually a good choice.

The plan for the first day eat lunch, gather equipment, dive briefing and check out dive about here hours from Cairns, then dinner and bed while sailing overnight (12 hours to the reef). Sounded good at the time. But, when we left the protection of the inner waters the waves began.

The Spirit of Freedom is a beautiful 120 foot ship, but it’s narrow and although it has stabilizers to reduce rocking, it was a little rocky. I was not excited about going inside for the dive briefing. Jim had no problem, but I rallied and got through the briefing and the first dive pretty well. We learned how to use the “safety sausage” to attract attention at the surface if we had to come up early and also how to use the emergency radio all the divers carried in our pockets. We were checked in when we got on the boat had to sign ourselves back on board on the dive log. After that there was a final head count before the boat moved. No one was going to be left behind, which was reassuring.

But the waves and wind were getting worse and I was really beginning to feel sick. So I took one and then two sea sickness pills. The memories of childhood motion sickness and he icky effects of Dramamine quickly overcame me and I really got sick.

Dinner was a no go for me. I huddled in a ball on the back dive deck and tried to leave my body. I suggested that Jim go in for dinner. As his point I was thinking 3 things: “OMG what have I gotten us into, how am I going to survive 3 days of this, and this boat has lousy stabilizers!”

Meanwhile, I learned later that dinner was quite the adventure. Dishes, food and people were flying around and other passengers were joining me on the back deck. It turns out that earlier when we had briefly lost power that the stabilizers had turned off at the fuse even though the indicator lights at the ship’s helm told the captain, incorrectly, that the stabilizers were working.

As the night progressed, and the stabilizers came back online and the crew and Jim helped me make my way from the back dive deck to the dining room benches and finally to our room. I slept through the night and woke up a new person at our first dive site ready for breakfast and a new day.

We would soon learn the pattern of the live aboard routine. Wake up at 6:30 am and eat first breakfast ( yogurt, cereal, fruit juice and coffee); 1st dive and come up to the smells of 2nd “brekky”, bacons other meats, eggs, toast, veggie choices and more coffee and juice, 3rd dive followed by a hearty lunch; rest a bit and move the boat to another dive site followed by a 4th dive, and then a shower and dinner, followed by a night dive for those who were interested. The great part of diving other than the experience is that you burn a billion calories and can eat anything without gaining weight.

The crew were amazingly calm, knowledgeable and supportive. We experienced so much over our 8 dives in two days. The sites and experiences were almost too much to take in. I used my GoPro and the crew took fantastic pictures for us with great cameras. Everyone worked so hard.

Kaz our fantastic chef. She cooked amazing meals for 26 guests and 15 crew with unbelievable variety in a very small galley. By he end of the night everyone collapsed in bed by 10, except for Captain Sam, who guided the ship through the reefs to our next destination.

Our favorite dive the first day was Pinnacle Reef. A small pinnacle of coral that attracted all sorts of sea life, had great visibility and very pretty coral. It was also a simple dive around the pinnacle with no need for underwater navigation. So on our second dive Jim and I went on our own, instead of following a dive master. We went at our own pace and felt a great accomplishment and freedom.

It’s important to know that the safety steps and rules are very strict on the Spirit Freedom. Dive Masters are always in the water even if we aren’t following them. There are two lookouts from the boat tracing our bubbles and a tender in the water on all dives as well as very strict rules for decompression safety stops and depths.

By the second day we were ready for another great 4 dives beginning with the famous Cod Hole dive. This was why we came on the boat. There are only 2 boats that come out here. At Code Hole the water is clear, the coral lovely and you get to swim with the giant, gentle cod. We did two dives at Cod Hole and they were both amazing.

The next two dives were a bit different. First we did a drift dive which we usually enjoy a lot. But this was a tough one. We were dropped off by tender at the beginning of the dive in groups. Instead of our usual stepping off the dive platform, six of us set on the edge of the tender and on the count of three we tumbled back into the water navy seal style. It worked perfectly.

Once in the water we descended following a dive master, the reef on our left as we rode the current to a rope that then led us to the boat. The current was inconsistent as we swam pass the coral wall. It made it hard to get a rhythm and it was hard work making it back to the boat on the rope while fighting the current.

Unfortunately, this area had been effected by the typhoon. Most of the delicate coral had been destroyed by the storm, but of of course the fish were still there.

The moved once again for our final dive of the trip, Snake Pit. I wasn’t sure if I was going to do the last dive. It was getting late and Jim decided to pass. But Nick the lead diver said I should do it. The coral and sea life were spectacular and this was a very unusual spot to dive. So, on the final dive Nick and I paired up with Tom. His wife, Taryn stayed behind as well. We dove with them quite a bit on he trip and we knew our air consumption was about the same.

Snake Pit is in the middle of the ocean between the outer reefs and Lizard Island. It’s a deep pinnacle, so Nick suspected it was safe from the effects of the typhoon. When we got to the dive spot the stern of the boat and the platform faced the waves. It was a bit unnerving watching the waves crash on the back of the boat, but the crew were calm and positive. They were safety first people, so I figured I should just go for it!

Tom and I got to dive with Nick. For most of he trip Nick was busy doing a million things and he doesn’t lead many dives. I felt privileged to get the opportunity to dive with him. The sea is Nick’s sanctuary, much like our leader Hamish in the Hollyford Track. Nick was a calm, wonderful dive guide. Entering the water was pretty easy and we descended quickly. Nick led us through the ocean down to the pinnacle. There was no current so the visibility wasn’t as good, but the swimming was easy. Nick was right — the coral was diverse (fan, antler and others) and the sea life amazing (turtles, big angle fish, white tipped shark). We even saw a sea snake at the end of the dive.

When it was time to head back Nick expertly navigated us back through the open ocean to the boat. We did our decompression safety stop on the swim back (5 minutes at 5 meters) and he deposited Tom and me on a rope while we waited our turn to use the swim ladder at the back of the boat between the big waves that crashed against it. Nick wrote us a note on his underwater pad, “timing is very important”. Then he gently took my hand and positioned me I front of the ladder. He got a sense of the waves, counted to three with his fingers and then deposited me calmly on the bottom of the ladder and made sure my fins were safely in place as I climbed up. Piece of cake! Thank you Nick!

Taryn and Jim were waiting as we ascended on the ladder.

We all showered and did our final count before moving the boat to Lizard Island. The sky cleared and the stars came out as we waited for dinner. Jim and I headed to the bow of the boat and spent time with the captain as he and the crew set the heavy chain anchor with a 7-1 scope.

Our final night on the boat was a feast with prawns, kangaroo, other proteins and yummy salads. We shared stories and drank wine before some final briefings. Everyone was anxious to see the typhoon’s impact on Lizard Island and the resort in daylight. The day ended with us collapsing into bed by 10.

The next morning the early schedule was maintained even though we weren’t diving. We were to be packed and ready to go ashore by 7:00. We gathered for breakfast at 6:30 and the crew gathered our bags for transfer by tender to Lizard Island.

The effects of the typhoon were dramatic. The buildings were intact but heavily damaged. The trees were broken and stripped bare. Captain Sam had worked on the Island for two years and was shocked by the change.

We were all transferred to the Island by tender. Half of our group were leaving and half were staying on for three more days of diving and the boat trip back to Cairns.

Although the resort was closed, the park boardwalk was open and Nick led us through a tour explaining the history of the early settlers and the aborigines.

We walked along the beach as we waited for our small, 8-seated plane to arrive at the small airstrip. The plane was delivering new passengers and some new crew for the dive boat as well as flying us back to Cairns.

It’s hard to believe we have only been in Sydney for 2 days. We arrived pretty late on Thursday night after an easy flight from Christchurch. We are staying at a hotel across the street from the gardens with a view of the Harbour east towards the Pacific. We dropped off our bags and headed out to the Circle Quay ( Pronounced “key” not “quay”, go figure) to take in the quintessential Sydney Harbor view at night and grab a late snack. It was beautiful, and romantic.

Friday morning we took another walk on the Quay for some breakfast at one of the many sidewalk cafes. No need for Starbucks here. The coffee was yummy and we were entertained by wild parakeets. We had no idea there were wild parakeets in Sydney! Then we headed to the truly phenomenal Royal Botanical Gardens. They are more than gardens, they are a museum of plants and flowers from all over the world with gardening tips for locals, beautiful views, interesting birds and a welcoming sign that says “hug the trees, smell the flowers and please walk on the grass”.

After our morning walk we were picked up by Bob from a local sightseeing company and swept off on a whirlwind car tour of Sydney. There is no way we could have seen everything ourselves. It’s such a beautiful and interesting city. Those who arrived in 1788 on the “First Fleet” of English settlers and convicts (sentenced to 7 years of labor in Australia for nonviolent property crimes such as theft or forgery) struggled to eke out an existence in the sandstone quarries (now the trendy “Rocks” district next to Circle Quay) . 60 years later, the population in Australia was only 400,000. But when gold was discovered in 1850, the population tripled in 10 years. Today, over 5 million live in Sydney alone, a beautiful, modern, expensive city with 1/5 the population of all of Australia. Sydney is a nice combination of San Francisco & Los Angeles, with warm sunny weather, a large lovely harbor (with 200 miles of coastline inside the harbor) and both surfer grunge inland and multi-million dollar mansions overlooking the water.

After our tour we took one of the many inner harbor ferries to the local favorite beach at Manly, for a walk on the 2-mile long sandy beach there. Unfortunately, the Royal couple (who followed us here from New Zealand) had the same idea. The beach was beautiful but it was just too crowded. So we escaped the crowds and after walking up the beach tried a different route to get back to the ferry. We definitely left the crowds behind as we wandered, got lost and turned around in the residential areas of Manly (which is on a narrow spit of land between the ocean and Sydney Harbor, near the north side of the harbor entrance).

We finally found someone to ask for directions, turned around and headed off in the right direction. It was certainly the path less traveled. After our unexpected hike around the suburbs of Manly we grabbed some pizza before taking the ferry back. It was quite a day.

We chose a more leisurely day Saturday and walked around the gardens some more, and visited the Provincial library which had a great exhibit on the early drawings documenting the local wildlife by the artists among the First Fleet convicts. They are beautiful pieces of art, although many are anonymous. Then we wandered back down to the Rocks district to peruse the Saturday arts & crafts market and enjoy a lovely lunch by the water.

We took a break this afternoon, before heading out for a tour of the Sydney Opera house and the evening ballet .

We saw the Manon Ballet which was really quite good. It was Jim’s first ballet (other than the nutcracker). It was a romantic tragedy set in the same time period as Les Miserables. The ballet was composed in 1974 so the choreography, although classical, has some modern twists and some humor, before the tragic ending. The leads were extremely good. We both agreed to go to the ballet more often when we return to Seattle.

Flying to Cairns on Easter Sunday

It’s already Easter Sunday here on the other side of the world and we are flying to Cairns in a plane filled with parents and children. Tomorrow we’ll board a “live aboard” scuba diving boat and head out for 3 days of scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.

We really haven’t bought much of anything, but for some unknown reason it’s getting progressively more challenging to close our suite cases. So far, the zippers are holding, but if they ever break we will be in big trouble,

This trip has been great, but we have learned as we enter our travel phase of life that we won’t travel again during Passover and Easter. I miss gathering with the kids and of course little James.

Being that it is Easter and a vacation week for school children here, our plane is full of adorable children. And our Quantas flight has an IPad for entertainment in every seat. The exclamations of glee “look Mom we all get iPads” echoed throughout the cabin when we boarded.

We send everyone our love and best wishes for a wonderful Passover week and Easter Sunday. We are deeply grateful for God’s many blessings, particularly our dear family & friends.

As Jim and I sit eating a late breakfast today in Queenstown I’m trying to form into words the amazing experience we had the last 3 days.

It’s truly hard to know which was most special – the location or the people. The food and trail lodges were amazing as well as you will see In the photos.

As I said it’s too hard to blog about it all, so I’ll post it in a few separate categories: the people, the area, ,the weather,the lodges and food, and the exit through Millford Sound.

The People:

We would soon learn that the Hollyford track and the surrounding Fjordlands were Hamish’s Temple and we we’re being led by it’s spiritual guide. His love of he area, knowledge of the history and flora and calm, joyful nature would guide us through an amazing experience.

Jock our second guide was young enough to be our son, but mature beyond his years and equally calm and helpful. He is a future Fjordland Shaman. We hope to see Jock when he makes his way to the States to run a rope course at a camp in Durango, Co this summer.

We shared the experience with eight other people: a lovely family, formally from Zimbabwe who currently live in Christchurch – Bruce, Michelle and their 2 children Jackie Lynn and Daniel; two couples from Auckland – Mike & Tracy who are also boaters, and Martin & Jackie.

The other characters in our journey were the hosts of our lodges and Chris, the jet boat Jedi master. But more on these people later.

The trip wouldn’t have been the same without all of these wonderful people who we now consider friends.

The Area:

We began our adventure at 6:30 in the morning where we met up with the rest of our fellow trackers and one of our guides (Jock) at the hotel across the street. We put our packs in the bus and were off on our drive led by our astute driver Errol. We stopped in Teanua, where we picked up Hamish, our lead guide and we were treated to some yummy lattes to wake us up. It’s quite a long drive to trailhead of the Hollyford Track.

Our first stop was at Davey Gunn’s homestead for a pit atop, snacks and the beginning of our tramp.

Davey Gunn was the Daniel Boone or Davey Crocket of this area. We would learn of his adventures and heroic stories as we went through our experience all beautifully told by Hamish. His 2 young daughters are very lucky to have such a great story-teller as a Dad.

The Tramp along the river and Lake are split into 1 long day, one medium day and one short day for a total of 24 miles. The first day you carry real packs 12 miles to the lodge. The lodge on the second night is accessible by jet boat so during the second and third days the jet boat carried our heavy packs and we only carried small day packs.

We really lucked out with the weather. One of the group’s favorite Hamish sayings was “the weather is promising”, which in reality it was (although we got the sense he said that regardless of the forecast). Day one was beautifully sunny despite a rainy start in Queenstown. Day 2 was cloudy, but warm and we never got rained on. Day 3 was wet, but intermittently and warm.

We hiked in beautiful terrain with rivers, lakes, waterfalls and rocky cliffs the tallest topped with  glaciers. We experienced the thrill of  a jet boat and helicopters.

The forest here is so different then anything we had experienced. There is no real wildlife. New Zealand had no indigenous mammals other than 2 little bats. No squirrels, beavers, coyote, bear, or marmots. Birds are coming back now that they are trapping the ferret and weasels that stowed away to wreck havoc on the avian population. So the focus is on the trees, the fern, the vines. There really aren’t any deciduos trees. At first the forest looks homogenous. But it is so varied with textures and color. And, with an expert teacher like Hamish we were treated to a wonderful botany lesson. He even pointed out an ancient vine that was probably here at the time of the first plants. We saw the 1000 year old Rori tree amongst other giant specimens on our second day and crossed a number of single file suspension bridges including the longest in Fjordland. We learned about visited the unsuccessful Jamestown settlement which resulted in the successful McKenzie family. In Hamish’s stories there were many tales of the women self-delivering with unsettling regularity. These were tales of hardy westcoasters.

On our second and third days our tramps were enhanced and shortened by the use of the very fun jet boats captained by the enigmatic Chris. They were invented in New Zealand and are capable of navigating very shallow water with great dexterity and power. With a boyish smile Jim said “I could have had a lot of fun with this boat on the lake and creeks back home.”

At the end of our first and longest day we were introduced to our other favorite Hamish phrase coined by Tracy, “the Hamish 20.” It was just another 20 until we reached (fill in the blank) which was very close to lunch or the easy saddle which was “just another 20” to the lodge. The “Hamish 20” was a wee bit of an underestimate. But when we arrived at the first lodge it was an oasis in the wilderness.

The Lodges

Our fist lodge was Pykes Lodge and we were greeted by our hosts Liz and Phillip. They met us out front with the warmest hospitality and showed us to our rooms, offered us barley and lemon water and then hot showers ( which were close to a religious experience) or wine depending on our immediate needs. Settled and showered we all gathered in the great room for an amazing tray of appi’s (shrimp, mussels sushi and dips). A scrumptious venison dinner and lemon tart for dessert followed. It was clear this was not your average backcountry experience. We were all very ready for bed by 8. Our day ended with a briefing and story by Hamish and then a description of first breakfast (continental with fruit and yogurt and porridge) which would be available after our wake-up time of 6:45 and second breakfast (eggs Benedict) which would be served in time for us to push off by 8:10. Hamish runs a gentle but tight ship and we left Pikes lodge on time after hugs with Liz and Phillip. They waved good bye as we headed out for a quick morning hike before heading to the jet boat.

After the fun jet boat ride we were deposited on the shore for our tramp to our lunch spot which was a great surprise. No box lunches here. We arrived at a hut, table set with large sandwiches or gluten free meals for those who needed it, fresh lemonade, tea and coffee. After lunch we continued our hike out of the forest and to the sea. We were picked up by the jet boat and deposited at Martins Lodge where we were once again greeted outside by our hosts Jimmy and Laura with refreshments and the dinner schedule. After the amazing hot showers it was another yummy appie plate and a salmon dinner and yummy dessert. We played some cards, toasted to our last night together and were once again in bed early after our briefing and stories. Here is Hamish’s farewell toast to our group: 13-15 April 2014

Happy Trampings.

The glasses charged, this toast,
Down the Hollyford, to the coast.

The first day the temperature soared,
The sweat from within, out it poured.

From Pyke Lodge and to the boat,
Ah Madeline, the finest ship afloat.

On leaving Jamestown the feeling was somber,
The feeling of hardship, sure made us ponder.

Then on to the seals, we made our way,
And so ended a magnificent day.

My season on the Hollyford has now come to an end,
Thanks to both the staff and you my friends.

Tomorrow promises some adventure too,
And so to this I say to you.

The glasses charged, this is the toast,
Down the Hollyford, to the coast.

Hamish Angus

After our early awakening we enjoyed another yummy first and second breakfast before another jet boat ride to the sand dune hike. This was our first hike in the rain.

Another hot shower and lunch was shared at the lodge before we said our goodbyes and thankyous and we boarded our “machines” (helicopters) out to Millford Sound.

Exit to Milford Sound

Helicopters make the running of these amazing lodges possible. They are used for all kinds of needs from delivering supplies to moving guests and people. They call them the machines. We were picked up in front of the lodge and swept to our bus home via a spectacular helicopter ride down the coast and into the fjords surrounding Milford Sound.

Although it was raining the day we left the helicopter ride out was spectacular. Most people think the view is best when rain enhances the multitudes of cascading waterfalls all around.

Most of the group had hoped to take a scenic plane or helicopter ride back to Queenstown but because of the weather we had to take the bus. It included a stop for refreshments and snacks. We dropped off Hamish and Jock along the way before we all said our goodbyes in Queenstown.

Off to Sydney

Today we fly to Christchurch before jetting on to Sydney. We will stash our down coats as we leave the chill of fall and head back to warm 70 degree days. New Zealand has gained a special place in our hearts. We love the adventuring warrior spirit of the Mauri, the English culture and the hearty infusion of the Celtic Pioneer of the “westcoasters” of the South Island. From the Seattle-like city in Auckland to the rugged mountains of Fjorland, it’s been a great experience that we hope to do again someday.

Quick update! We didn’t land in Queenstown because of weather. So we flew south and landed in Invercargill. Unfortunately, we are now on a bus driving 2.5 hours back north to Queenstown. Not my favorite form of travel, but it will get us there.

Lots of sheep and farmland so far. It also requires a quick turn around to get ready for our hike tomorrow, which begins at 6:30 am.

Our unlocked phone has come in handy and we made the necessary calls to the travel agent, trekking company and local hiking store

Oh well! Pretty mild I guess as problems go.

Your basic 3 hour trip took 12!

We woke two days ago (3 days for most of you) to the beautiful view of the waterfront in Auckland.  I hope someday the Seattle waterfront is as nice.  We took a long walk, saw some beautiful boats, ate a yummy breakfast and packed up for a tour of Auckland and then our drive to Rotorua.

Colin, our tour guide picked us up and we headed out to learn about Auckland, it’s history and botany.  Colin was a wealth of  knowledge.  We stopped by the University of Auckland and he showed us this very interesting stone perimeter that was built in around 1845 when one tribe of Maori asked the British for protection from another musket toting tribe. He also shared a wonderful knowledge of the trees including the rare Pohutukawa tree which was harvested almost to extinction because of its great height and strength. It grows so slowly that it is very hard to grow back in large numbers. I also personally loved the fern trees and the silver ferns (a NZ icon like the kiwi bird).

The Maori’s strong warrior culture made them a strong ally in times of war and we had the opportunity to see the war museum memorial.  It’s perched on a hill with a great view of the city.

Colin dropped us off at the Sky Tower to get an even better view of Auckland. It’s much smaller than the Space Needle, but gave us a great perspective. Then we head to the north shore (similar to West Seattle) for another lovely view of the city. All along the way we learned and shared great conversations.

We said our goodbyes to Colin as he dropped us off for our rental car where we had a bit of tension before truly experiencing the effects of the time and latitude shift. We were heading out to drive on the left side of the road chanting: “stay left!”

We got the hang of it pretty easily as we drove. The forests we passed as we got closer to Rororua were dense and primeval with their tall ferns trees. Another shift in the space time continuum is that as we drive south we get more fall colors and of course we are entering fall. We skipped spring and summer (which we understand intellectually, but it is still odd).