Good to be home

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

It was sure great to get home and get hugs from Laura. It was also so good to be in our own bed last night. What a blessing to have been able to travel to the other side of the world and into the Southern Hemisphere to see God’s wonder and creation.

We want to thank everyone who helped make this travel opportunity possible. The doctors and staff of Raymond Animal Hospital did a great job holding down the fort while we are gone so we had no worries!

Our hosts in Australia, David, Carolyn, and Margaret provided us with great places to stay as well as transportation, acted as tour guides, fed us and transport to and from the airport. We are very thankful for their hospitality and friendship and also for our dear friends, Kevin and Gail for making sure we made it back to Concord after spending time with them in Sydney. Thanks to Andy, Pastor Bryan, and Bryan the younger for airport transport to and from Logan. And thank you to our family and friends who kept us in their prayers during our trip.

As we try to get our feet back on the ground and recover from jet lag, we reflect on our trip. People ask us what was most memorable or our favorite part of the trip. Of course, it was great to catch up with our friends in Australia but it was also wonderful to be able to spend time together.

One of the most memorable activities was the flight over Mount Aspiring National Park to Milford Sound. It turned out we had a private tour guide and flight as well as a gorgeous day. The fiord cruise at Milford Sound was amazing along with it. The paragliding over Queenstown will also be a great memory. We have dvds of us sailing over the town. Being able to get up close and personal with some of the wildlife: koalas, kangaroos,fur seals, kookaburras, butcher birds, parrots, and much more is also a fond memory. We will put one more slideshow up of our favorite sights.

Groundhog Day for us

Wednesday March 17th, 2010

We took the train in from Roma Station to the airport. As we got our bags in a gentlemen with a suit and name tag, Marco, helped me with my bag onto train. He asked if we were flying internationally and he told us which stop to get off on. At first we thought he was a businessman and was really helpful. He boarded the plane behind us and walked away. I had noticed he had a tie tack with a train on it and wondered if he worked for the city or something. He came back and talked to us. He is one of 12 customer service reps that work on the trains to help people and cleans us newspapers, etc left behind. It is a new initiative for the city and they plan to add 12 more positions. He is one of three that were on this train.

Our flight was on time. It was weird leaving Australia at 11 am on Wednesday, 3/17 and arriving to the States at 6:45 am on Wednesday, 3/17. Neither of us were able to sleep much on the plane so pretty exhausted. We thought about going into the city to Chinatown for lunch but decided to head to our domestic terminal and see if we could catch an earlier flight. Our ticketed flight was to leave at 3 pm and arrive Boston through Chicago O’Hare at 1 am. Long, long 24 hours.

After a long wait to get through security, we headed to AA customer service. The lady said that since we didn’t have our luggage it would be hard to get us on another flight since domestically we needed to travel with our luggage. We explained to her that someone at the gate said she could transfer our luggage. So she looked us up in the computer and saw that Steve was gold priority plus and then started asking us what our luggage looked like. (He received an email right before our trip that he was in the million mile club even because of 20 some years of using our business credit card not flying a million miles : ) This also helped us catch that flight to San Francisco as well. What a blessing! ) She put us on standby for a direct flight to Boston leaving at 1 pm and arriving at 9 pm. So we prayed that we could get on the flight.

A quick breakfast and then trying to nap, stay awake, and watch the standby list. No wireless available at the airport. Fortunately several people requested upgrades to first class so Steve and I made the flight even though we didn’t sit together. We were just happy to be on a 5 1/4 hour flight rather than waiting 2 more hours and then 10 more hours of flying and airports.

Waiting at the Wellington Airport

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

We have made it to the airport and have to wait for 1 1/2 hours for our flight. We had to do a bit of reorganizing to avoid paying $180 overage for luggage weight. They allow you so much weight in total rather than number of luggage pieces. We also found out that we had to pay $25 each in taxes. Everything else went well. Deb did have to have her bags checked for explosive material and get scanned. We will relax and play some cards while we wait to board. Then a quick overnighter in Brisbane. It looks like the hurricane will not be heading that direction but still could cause us some problems with the flight path back to the states.

We arrived in Brisbane fine and took the train to our hotel which was downtown. We settled in and then walked down to the South Bank for dinner. This area is very artsy and has a university in the midst of it. The World Expo was there a few years ago so there has been development with arbor walkways, a huge ferris wheel, a large pagoda which was closed. the arts center, and many restaurants and shops. We ate on the patio by the river. The bridges are all lit and there are many flowering trees. As we walked we also passed a manmade pool that had sandy beaches put in around it. There were several pools which were divided by walkways and foot bridges. A beautiful evening.

Touring Wellington

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Wellington

Today we went to Te Papa Museum which was free to all. Nau mai, haere mai which means “come and explore” the diverse strands from which the natural and cultural heritage of New Zealand is woven. This museum had 6 levels: Welcome and cafe, Our Unique Environment, Shaping the Landscape, Journeys Through History, Art in New Zealand, Sculptures. There was also a special exhibit about Anne Frank and A Day in Pompeii,

We went to A Day In Pompeii first since we visited there about 6 years ago with Jesse Remington High School It was a very good exhibit with hands on as well as a 3D movie about the the volcanic eruption and casts of bodies, frescoes, treasures, etc. There were also computer stations with a map of Pompeii today that you could select spots and see actual pictures 360 degree. It was great and we were able to see some of the spots that we had visited: the forum remains, the fountain, the bakery, etc...

We spent our whole day there and saw the whole museum. It could be a two day visit and take more time at each exhibit area. There are several other museums here free to view as well.

Back at the hotel, we checked out email and then went back to the harbor to The Loaded Hog for dinner. It is hard to believe that our time in New Zealand is coming to an end. Tomorrow morning we will be packing up for our flight to Brisbane, Australia.

Heading to Wellington

Sunday, March 14, 2010

On board the Interislander Ferry, Arahura (Pathway to Dawn)

We packed our bags and headed over to a open market for breakfast. We shared an omelet that had fresh tomatoes, onions, spinach, parsley, and cheese. The market was small and had vendors with fruit, veggies, baked goods, flowers and plants, and a variety of homemade products like jams and jellies.

Had enough time to tour Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre featuring the Knights of the Sky which are Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) private collection of planes of the Great War (WWI). Some were originals and others were copies of the originals. Since Jackson was involved, the detail of the scenes were amazing. Stories came to life in a theatrical way and captivated scenes depicting the aircraft in context, some recreating actual events. There was rare memorabilia and ranged from beautifully crafted “french art” to personal items belonging to the famous Red Baron himself.

There were many interesting aspects of how they fought from the air. They of course started bombing with hand grenades dropped from the plane. They also used lancets which were basically steel darts that when dropped 1500 feet they would go right through the body of a horse. They would sometimes drop them en masse.

One scene depicted a plane that crashed into a tree while several soldiers were looking on. The snow was actual soft, theatrical snow and not hardened plastic. The Red Baron Scene was terrific with the baron laying on the ground with a bloody face while soldiers stripped the German crosses from his plane and stole his famous fur boots as souvenirs. They determined a while after the war that he was actually killed by a lucky shot from an Aussie, probably from the ground. Outside we saw 2 WWII planes, a British spitfire and a bomber.

We then headed to Picton which was about 30 minutes away. We arrived and got in line to drive the car onto the ferry. We slowly made our way through the islands for about an hour and now are traveling over Cook Strait in the Pacific. We will land Wellington Harbor after 3 hours onboard. The first hour through the islands was slow and easy and we are now in moderate swells but it is fine once you sit down and do something.

Kaikoura to Bleinheim

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Today our motel hosts encouraged us to consider doing a whale watch by air. He showed us pictures from one he and his wife had been on so we headed to the airport for a 11 am flight. Steve saw a brief glimpse but then the whale went deep. We were able to see hundreds of dolphins that were surrounding dolphin encounter boats.

We then moved on up the coast. At Ohau, there was a fur seal colony that was spread out all around the rocks. There were many sizes including little ones. There was a small pool in the rocks that we called the “kiddy pool” since a bunch of youngsters were frolicking like crazy. We have a lot of great pics.

Across the road a few hundred meters was a short walk to a beautiful waterfall. It reminded us of some of our favorite sites in the White Mountains.

From there we motored up the coast and of course saw more great scenery. We stopped for lunch at the Montana winery. This is the largest winery in NZ and has won worldwide attention for their products. I had an excellent pinot gris with lunch. We then did some tasting of selection of their wines. We still liked the Pinot Gris the best and would have brought it home. They sell their wines in the US under the Bancott label.

We ended our day at another Bella Vista hotel in Blenheim. We had dinner at the Marlborough Sports Club. This is a facility with 10,000 members and it is attached to the local convention center. We were able to sign in as guests and get a great meal for pretty cheap money. It was also interesting that when they built the facility they included a room for their RSA group. I believe RSA stands for Returned Service Association which is something like our VFW. We went in and viewed a sort of military museum with plaques of local veterans. The New Zealanders were with us in most of the wars we have been in. They were instrumental in the battle of Monte Casino in Italy in WWII.

So a nice relaxed pace today.

Arrived Kaikoura

March 12, 2010

I have posted some pictures of our journey to Kaikoura. We passed through a number of pasturelands as they call it here. It was noticeably drier as we drove and a lot more irrigation going on. We did take the shortcut recommended and it was a skinnier road but not as travelled. One spot was a bit tricky as the map showed that we should catch another short cut. So true to the Puderbaugh spirit, we went straight on a gravel road on an adventure. This led through pastures and we were hoping to hit the next road but as it turned out the gravel roads do not run like they do in Iowa. So many mountains, so little fields. We turned around but felt it was worth the short bit of time and gas for the experience. We did find out next real shortcut and continued on our way. The map was a little off, really!

One of the things that has been interesting is the one way bridges. I took pictures and posted them before but I posted what is written on the roads. You have to slow down to prepare to yield to oncoming traffic and if none you shoot across. In some cases we have travelled over two to three attached one way bridges with yield sections in them because you can't see that far. Cool, huh?

I took over driving and the road was pretty twisty with speed limits of 25 km at some points in the trip. We arrived in Kaikoura and went to the I site which is information and booking. We were interested in some possible boat cruises to view albatross or kayaking with the seals but today there was a high seasick warning. So we decided to head down to the peninsula to see if we could spot the seal colony. We were able to see them on the rocks in the ocean. We hike out on the shore which is rocky as far as possible and took a few pics and looked through the binoculars. Then we headed back down the road to an oceanside outdoor grill for a quick lunch. We had scallop sandwich and prawn patty sandwich, both were tasty. We shared a table with a couple from the UK and exchanged travel stories. They mentioned going back to see the seals as the tide was coming in.

After finishing our lunch, we headed back to the point. Well, there they were ashore. Some laying on the banks, some still out to sea on rocks, some in the water, and some up in the grassy area. There are some shots of a black seal who was enjoying posing for the cameras. He kept scratching himself and turning his head upside down. A real clown.

It started to cloud up and a few sprinkles began to fall so we headed to the car. Steve called Krista and we chatted for a few minutes. The rain started to come down harder so we began the drive to find our hotel. Well, it really came in and began to hail really heavy. The roads and lawns were covered and it was difficult to see. A bit slippery too. I have some pictures attached. It is still raining but not as hard so we will stay in for awhile longer and relax.

We did end up going out to eat at White Morph Restaurant which was recommended by our hosts. I had a nice salmon dish and Steve had ruffy fish. Then we went for a ride and found an overlook but was pretty breezy. The rain has stopped but is suppose to be in the 40's tonight! Brrrr! We won't complain because this is really the first day of weather that put a stop to outdoor activity. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Fox Glacier up the West coast then heading East

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Deb is blogging while Steve drives east on highway 7. The bush here is a bit different than other areas we have travelled. Still some ferns but more beech trees and lots of shrubs and conifers with tree-covered mountains. Evening traffic here is virtually non-existent.

This morning we headed to Franz Josef to get breakfast and made a stop to pick up a few souvenirs. We decided since it was overcast and we had seen Fox Glacier yesterday we would press on. We were happy that the forecasted rin for today came during the night instead. We travelled up the West coast and then cut over to the East coast. Decided to stop at Ross which is an old gold mining town. There was a short walk showing the history of the Ross Gold Mining Company. It was amazing what they did to the land back then with no regards to the impact on the ecology of the area. There is still gold in them there hills, about 300 million worth but probably hard to get to because nothing is going on. So Deb saw this billy goat laying in front of a garage and of course was a perfect picture. There was a jadesmith next door so we popped into see his work and have a chat. He was an interesting kiwi and very talented.

Our next stop was Hokitika, which is known for their jade work. We visited several shops and saw a decorative piece for $72,000. We stopped at a glassblower and watched them create a penguin. There was a glass chess set made of penguins/

We drove on and kept trying to get over to the beach. Finally we found an access road to Cameron’s Beach, the home of blue penguins. We made sandwiches and walked the beach. The surf was amazing but no penguins at that time of day.

It is 6:15 pm and we are driving east and have gone through farm country, caribou, beef, dairy, , alpaca, sheep.... It is now started to rains we travel through another mountain pass. Today has seen the greatest number of twist and turns requiring Steve to focus on the road. We have traveled over countless one lane bridges and through Lewis Pass.

Recommendation for anyone who does this type of trip: bring music as there is no radio stations in the mountains. Our car is Nissan Sunny with a tape player only. It does force you to talk to one another : ).

We still are not sure where we will lay our head tonight. Always an adventure!

We made it Hammer Springs and found lodging at a Bella Vista Motel. There are hot springs here so we will see how the weather is in the morning and may check them out. Our host here told us about a shortcut to Kaikoura and he said he could book us ahead there and receive a 10% discount so we are considering it since we may stay two nights there. Had dinner at a local pub. I had a chicken burger and Steve had a double burger. It was huge and they put sliced beets, caramelized onions (which they call fried onion rings), lettuce, tomato on a huge bun.

Good night!

Leaving Wanaka

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

We decided to leave Wanaka a day early and head to the glaciers. We travelled on Route 6 with a quick detour to a pottery and wool studio. There was a lot of things on display as well as wool to purchase. There is a big fair this weekend in Wanaka and the potter was working to complete pieces for that.

As we travelled by Lake Hawea we were in awe of the beauty of the Caribbean blue color as well as absolutely no homes built around it. Even stranger was that there was NO ONE on the lake. We then entered Mount Apiring National Park and had Lake Wanaka on our right, another beautiful huge lake of which we spent some time on earlier this week.

Our first stop was the Blue Pools which we have posted some pictures. It was a short 30 minute tramp just north of Muddy Creek which led us through silver beach to a viewing platform overlooking the pools at the mouth of the Blue River. We were able to ee large brown and rainbow trout.

We travelled through Haast Pass which had a one lane bridge over a beautiful river. We stopped to take some pictures and moved on to view Fantail Falls only a 5 minute bush walk. This fall was a beautiful fan-tailed shape at the foot of the Fantail Creek. Down the round a few km was Thunder Creek Falls, another 5 minute bush walk through kamahi and silver beach to the 28 m fall. There were huge, old trees which reminded us of the forest trees in LOTR.

Before we knew it we were along the Tasman Sea. We stopped at Knights Point to make sandwiches for lunch. It was a beautiful overlook. Continuing north, we stopped at Bruce Bay and walked along the beach. Steve found a white rock and wrote on it and put it on some driftwood. The picture is in the slideshow. There were hundreds of monuments built along the beach.

It seemed like no time and we were at Fox Glacier. We arrived around 4:30 pm so decided to head right up to the glacier to check it out. There was no visitor center just a path marked with stakes and ropes to get a viewing of the glacier. No one is allowed off the path or onto the glacier without a certified guide. We decided to do the hike which was about one hour since the forecast for the next day was rain. As we walked we could see the river flowing which was contributing to the glacier formation. The top of the mountain was cloud covered but we were able to see quite a bit of the glacier. The ice is white and blue with black streaks in some of it.

We were pleased to get fairly close and get some great pictures. As we turned to head back to the car the clouds broke and we were able to see all the way to the top of the mountain. It was beautiful. We had felt we made a good decision to leave Wanaka a day early.

We found a fairly new, reasonably priced motel called the High Peaks Motel which has a view of Mount Cook. Unfortunately it was clouded over and began to sprinkle as we arrived. Went out to dinner at the Cook Saddle Cafe and Saloon. Steve had ribs and I had grilled king prawns. Back to the motel to get on the internet and a good nights sleep.

Trip To Queenstown

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

We got up early at 7 and headed south to Queenstown. Queenstown has a reputation for both its natural beauty and its being the adventure capital of NZ. Things like bungy jumping originated here.

We followed the Crown Ridge Road south and made a brief stop for a photo of the historic Cadrona Hotel. It is the oldest surviving building in the area. Of course this area has only been settled for a little over 150 years. Upon arrival we stopped at the I stop which handles info and bookings. I had talked Deb into trying a lower level white water rafting trip but there wasn't enough people to book it. So the second choice was to try ziplining.

We booked for noon so we had some time to explore the waterfront and get some breakfast. At 11 we headed for the gondola to take us up the mountain. It was of course a beautiful view rising up over the lake and town with the gorgeous Remarkables mountain range rising on the other side of the lake. At the top we went to the zipline station. It turned out that this is a new business that just opened 3 months ago. It is an eco tour so it includes ecology related talks between zips.

So we were equipped with our harnesses and helmets and hooked up with our guides Morgan and Tom. We started on our first trip off a platform high in the Douglas Furs on the side of the mountain. We then zip across a cable to the next platform. It was quite safe but pretty exciting to shoot through the trees. We did this 5 times with eco talks in between. I managed to turn upside down on one of them (yes it was intentional). On the last trip, the trees were opened for a better view of the lake so I took a video that is posted here on the blog. So our first adventure was great fun and we would recommend it.

After some ice cream we decided to try another adventure so we signed up for paragliding. We had to wait for an hour so did 2 luging trips down the mountain on wheeled luge carts. After taking another ski lift higher on the mountain you took these luge sleds down a concrete track with a brake control. We had done this in NH years ago but it was fun.

We headed over to meet our paragliding our pilots Thomas and Brady at the starting point. We got on a ski lift to take us part way to the top of the mountain. We then found out we had to hike up the rest of the way which was a bit of a challenge. When we reached the top it was a beautiful view out over the valley. Our pilots then set up their paragliders which are basically a rectangular parachute with control ropes. We then got set up with a tandem harness with our pilot. Our instructions were to run off the edge of what I thought was a perfectly good mountain and not to sit down (which is what you want to do as you go down off the edge). Deb went off first with Thomas and lost her footing as she took off but her pilot didn't have any problem getting them off. Brady and I followed and got off pretty well too. It was a fantastic experience soaring out over the town and the lake, catching wind currents to take us back and forth over the area. Our pilots also took cameras to take photos which were included and videos which they sold for $20. So they made a great souvenir to remember a great experience.

We headed back towards Wanaka with a stop for dinner in Arrowtown. This was an old gold mining town with some quaint old buildings and of course tourist stuff. We had dinner at a restaurant developed in an old horse stable. We then took the longer route back to check out the town of Cromwell and some of the local wine country. This area does have an international reputation for their wine. A veterinary consultant that I use gave me a rundown on some of their wines before we came. Cromwell is apparently the fruit capitol of the area since they have a huge statue of fruit at the entrance of town. The other interesting observation was that we could drive the highway in the evening and not see another car for miles (kilometers) at a time.

So it was a very full day of adventures.

Steve

Playing in Wanaka

Monday, March 8th, 2010

This morning we took a river jet boat tour of Lake Wanaka and the Clutha River. Matt was our pilot and tour guide. These boats suck in massive amounts of water underneath the boat and put it out through a small pipe in the back of the boat. They are very maneuverable and skip on top of the water. He also sent the boat into sharp 360’s which was lots of fun. We were on the boat with a a husband/wife and their wee boy (18 months). He fell asleep!! When he woke up after we were on shore he was wondering what happened to the boat. The lake and river is a beautiful blue-green because of the mica and silicates. We could see to the bottom in the shallow parts. Spotted a few fish. Also, saw a bird similar to a comarant.

We ran home for lunch and then packed up for tramping on Mt. Iron. This is a moderate trail and not too much like the trail back in NH. It was so sunny and hot but we did make it the summit. We had a stunning 360 view of the area. The way down was steep but much more shady with a bit of a breeze.

We hit the pool and then grilled steaks for supper. We are trying to catch up on all our blogging as well as emails. We had to buy our internet so hopefully we will have a good connection! Tomorrow we are planning to head to Queenstown.

The Fiordland

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

The Fiordland

We headed to the Wanaka Airport to fly with Southern Alps Air to the Fiordaland, Milford. The Southwest New Zealand World Heritage Area is one of the most significant wilderness areas of the Southern Hemisphere and is known to the Maori as Te Wahipounamu (the place of greenstone). This area includes Araki/Mt. Cook, Westalnd/Tai Poutini, Fiordland, and Mount Aspiring National Parks, covering 2.6 million hectares.

Our pilots name was Dean and we were very fortunate that no one had signed on to this particular flight. We took off at 10 am and headed over Mount Aspiring National Park. Mt. Aspiring itself is 3027 m and is flanked by glaciers. We could also see Mt. Cook in the distance. The scenery was breathtaking! Dean was an excellent pilot as well as our tour guide.

We headed into the Fiordland World heritage National Park area. Again breathtaking with glaciers all around. We landed and headed towards the docks to catch our ride onto Milford Sound. Milford runs 15 km inland from the Tasman Seas and is surround by sheer rock faces that rise 1200 m or more on either side. Lush rain forests cling to the cliffs and many waterfalls can be seen. Only two are permanent while others form during rainfall. The mean annual rainfall here is 6813 mm on 182 days a year which places it as one of the wettest in the world. Rainfall can reach 350mm during a span of 24 hours.

As we pulled out we saw our first falls, Bowen Falls (Lady Bowen Fall) named after the wife of Sir George Bowen, one of NZ’s early governor’s in the 1870‘s. This is one of the two permanent falls and drops 160 m.

Sinbad Gully was next and is a u-shaped. Next to it is Mitre peak 1, 692 m (5,560 ft) and is one of the highest mountain in the world that rise directly from the ocean floor. So named because its shape resembles that of a Bishop’s mitre, or hat.

We then passed Copper point so named because of the presence of coper in the rock and is the narrowest point. We saw seals here!!! And a new pup as well. Bridal Veil Falls came in to view and is a semi-permanent fall.

The boat made it to the out to the Tasman and then turned back. The trip back was as beautiful. We pushed into the Stirling Falls so got a bit wet but was beautiful This is the other permanent fall dropping 146 m from a beautiful u-shaped hanging valley. Mt. Kimberly also known as Lion Mountain, rises to a height of 1302 m and resembles a crouching lion.

We passed Harrison’s Cove which is home to the Milford Underwater Observatory. We passed Mt. Pembroke which has a glacier that helped carve out Milford Sound. Then it was back to the dock and back in the air. Steve sat in the co-pilot seat on the return to Wanaka. More glaciers, rivers, lakes, and stunning views of the mountains.

We went to a craftsman market across from the lake and then grabbed some take away fish and ate along the lake, We headed back to our room and had a swim then grilled some chicken and relaxed for the evening.

Heading to New Zealand

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

Our flight was at 10:00 am with Air New Zealand. They fed us a nice lunch of Chicken Pot Pie with asparagus, pasta salad, and a brownie. We are getting spoiled with the international air travel. The flight went well and it was amazing flying over the South Alps heading into Queenstown. We got through customs fine. Just a scrub down of my hiking shoes as there was some dried mud on them and they are very careful about what comes in country. The agent that handled that was originally from New Mexico. He came here 7 years ago and decided to stay. We have met several Americans who have stayed. Some with work visas for one year and others made it home. I can understand the interest to do so. Both Australia and New Zealand are beautiful.

We got our rental car and Steve did a great job driving. It is weird to actually drive on the opposite side of the road as well as be behind the steering wheel on the opposite side of the car. Also, when we put the turn signal on it is actually the windshield wiper so that took a bit of getting used to. We explored Queenstown a bit before heading to Wanaka on the Crown Ridge Road.

Checked into our room at the Wyndham Resort. We have a decent sized room with a kitchenette. Also grills outside our room in a courtyard as well as a pool with slide and a hot tub. So we decided to buy groceries at the local market. I drove back to the resort and we arrived safely.

We ended up eating out at the Ale House across from Lake Wanaka. It is huge lake and is well used. Steve had ribs and I had a nice piece of locally caught salmon. Then back to hit the hay as we booked a FCF (Flight, cruise, flight) to Milford Sound in the morning. The temperature today was in the high 70’s.

Sydney with Margaret, Kevin, and Gail

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Sydney

Margaret drove us into Sydney. We went to Mrs. Macquaries’ Chair at the Royal Botanical Gardens which gave us a view into the city from a different perspective. The chair was carved into stone and the Mrs. Macquarie, the governor’s wife, use to go and sit to view the harbor. We didn’t tour the gardens but spent some time in the park in this area. Beautiful old gum trees had twisted trunks and branches.

Next we went into the Sydney Tower which is the tallest building in Sydney (250 m, 850 ft). The views from the observation deck were fantastic and you can see as far as the Blue Mountains, where we had been staying with David and Carolyn, 90 km (56 miles) away. It was a great way to see the city which we had been touring over the past several days.

We then went to Chinatown and to Paddy’s market which has fresh fruit and veggies, flowers, souvenirs, clothes, .... It was a huge market!!!

At 2 pm, we went to Darling Harbor to meet Kevin and Gail Cornford, our friends we met when we toured Europe 2 1/2 years ago. It was so wonderful to see them again. Darling Harbor was opened in 1988 for Australia’s bicentenary. This former port and industrial area is now an entertainment district which has lawns, gardens, palm tree groves, waterways and marinas, and lots of shops and restaurants. The weather changed to a bit of a drizzle but that didn’t dampen our spirits.

We got a quick lunch and then headed to the Powerhouse Museum which houses thousands of items from the vast Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Museum. The exhibits and galleries are on four levels and covers social history, decorative arts, music, technology, design, industry, transport and space exploration. We were able to play with many interactive displays. The highlight was viewing photographs from space of various constellations and planets.

We decided to ride the monorail which travels from the Powerhouse to Darling Harbor and back again. Sydney brought the monorail from Melbourne, where had been used for the Olympics there. There is some controversy about the monorail as some do not like the looks of it running through the city. It seemed well used and we enjoyed our trip back to Darling Harbor.

Steve and I took some time to check out the Sydney Aquarium. Steve wanted me to see a platypus but no luck here either. We feel that the platypus is much more elusive than seeing moose in New Hampshire!!

The four of us dined at Olivo. The food was wonderful and our waiter was from the Kansas City, KS. Our meal was terrific and we were able to visit outside along the water. It was great to catch up and we hope the Kevin and Gail can head our way one of these days! They were kind enough to take us back to Margaret’s home and we have packed our bags for our trip to New Zealand tomorrow.

Taronga Zoo

Today we took the ferry into Sydney and then over to the Tarongo Zoo. It was an amazing setting which overlooks the city. We spent most of the day and still did not see all the exhibits. Highligts were of course the Gorillas and chimps as well as the Bird Show and Seal show. The one thing that was impressive was takings pictures of the giraffes as we overlooked Sydney. The baby elephant was a cutie. We headed back over to the Circular Quay via ferry for ice cream and then caught the river ferry back to Margaret's. Tonight we went to dinner at the Sydney Rowing Club with Margaret, Roger, Jurgen, Christine, and Dee. They all members of the Concord Rotary Club.

Arrived in Concord

Today we had a quick tour of Glenbrook which is a lovely village. We stopped at the two Olympic sites, the regatta and Penrith Whitewater Stadium. Then we headed to Concord to meet up with Martha who we will be staying with until Saturday. Steve and I took a long walk along the water after lunch. Once Martha came home from work we headed into Sydney. We tried to climb the pylon of the Bridge but it had closed so we walked over to the Opera House. Ate dinner atCaminetto Italian Retaurante situated in the Rocks. Then home for some R & R. Off to the Sydney Zoo tomorrow.

Katoomba and the Rain Forest

On February 28th we traveled to Katoomba. We stopped at Wentworth Falls on the way. There are two sections falling from the top to a ledge half way down and then again to the very bottom of the valley. It there was no break, these falls would be the highest waterfall in the Blue Mountains. This fall was very stunning.

We stopped at Leura, a small town with a picturesque main street with many shops. David bought us meat pies for lunch. They were freshly baked and very tasty.

We headed to Katoomba to view the Three Sisters which are rock formations that are over 3000 feet above sea level. The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe.

These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle.

As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.

We then went to the scenic railway to travel down 415 m ( the steepest incline railway in the world) into a temperate rain forest. We then walked along the pathway. This area was a coal mine and had a lot of information and displays about the mine. We were able to spot lyrebirds which look a lot like pheasants. This was quite a find as they are not easy to spot. The definitely blend into the environment. The flora and fauna were amazing. A lot of gum trees, turpentine trees, tree ferns, termite mound and much more.

We were also able to ride the cableway which travels 545 m and is the steepest cable ride in the Southern Hemisphere into the Jameson Valley.

We headed home to enjoy a barbie with David and Carolyn's son, Richard, and his fiancee Nina, as well as David and Carolyn's friends, Terry and Pat. It was great to sit around the dinner table and talk. A nice evening!

Our jet lag is gone and we have done a lot of walking, a lot of steps, and seen so much beautiful scenery.

Sydney and Manly

Today we took the train into Sydney from Glenbrook. We caught the ferry over to Manly, a suburb of Sydney. The name originated when Captain Arthur Phillip, the first governor of the colony, saw the Aborigines standing on the shore and commented that they had a manly look about them. We stopped at the beach and waded a bit. We walked along the coast, taking pictures and learning about the area. There was a rock pool which is right on the ocean and fills with salt water during high tide. It is a public swimming pool.

We looked at some shops and had lunch at a seafood cafe. Steve and I had prawns. Then we caught the ferry back and spent some times at "The Rocks", which the oldest surviving part of the city. The work done on all the stonework was amazing. Most of the work was done by convicts who were sent to Australia from England after they were sentenced. We plan to do more investigating in this area over the next few days.

Steve is going to a Rotary dinner meeting tonight with David. Carolyn and I will stay home and relax a bit. We have really enjoyed David and Carolyn's hospitality. They are wonderful people.

Featherdale

Yesterday we traveled to Featherdale Wildlife Park. It was an overcast day with a few sprinkles which actually turned out perfect. Many of the animals which sleep during the day were a bit more active. We were able to see many of the native animals.

In the evening we went to the Rotary Alumni Dinner. Steve was able to catch up with many of the people he had met while here two years ago as well as many of his host families. We were able to spend time with the GSE team that traveled to the US as well. It was like we had not been apart these past two years. I forgot to take a picture of all us which is a bit disappointing but memories are good. Hopefully, we will see each other again and between email and facebook it is easy to catch up now and again.

Today we head into Sydney for a bit of sightseeing.