Today is the 9th and we woke up to a nice cool, but sunny day. Took the city bus into the downtown area and are planning a ful day of exploring the city. Cable car, Botanical Gardens, TePupa Museum plus a bit of shopping. We are staying in a camperpark in the city of Hutt, about a 30 minute bus ride away. This is where we will drop the campervan off tomorrow morning and then head back down to the harbor and take the ferry across to the south island.
Yesterday we had a full day of driving going from Hastings to Hutt. We saw beautiful countryside and went through a major mountan range - Quite the experience driving on the narrow roads in our campervan! We both were a bit tense as we wove our way through the mountain road. Along the way we did see several general locations where scenes from the Lord of the Rings occured. Very cool to see. Also enroute we made a stop at the Tui Brewery. Dave really enjoyed tasting some of the local brew. We grabbed a bite to eat there, too. Last night we took a evening walk along the Hutt River - It was unique, in that a good part of the walk went right through a golf course! We walked on a raised walkway, and had to watch out for the golfers!. Fortunately, there were only a few out on the course.
We are finding that the "locals" are generally very friendly and most helpful to us, especially as they find out we are touring from the states.
That's about it for now - hope all is well back in the states!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Rotorua and Napier
Hi everyone-
It is Sunday afternoon here in napier NZ. Napier is an "Art Deco" city having many buildings restored to the age of the 1930's.
Backtracking on yesterday. We started off the day with a visit to the Kiwi Encounter, which was very cool. There is a major effort going on to save the Kiwi's. They have many predators and in danger of becoming extinct within the next few decades if nothing is done. We then went to a geothermal site, saw a gyeser, mud pools, and hot thermal springs. This site also had an active Maori meeting house and is a center for teaching the ancient maori arts of wood carving and weaving. In the evening we went to a Maori "Hangi" dinner and performance. Very educational and entertaining, plus the food was great!. Over 13 different countries were there. We met some folks from Minnesota and got sat with some people from Finland who invited us to come visit them. We have their email address so beware that may be the next place we are off to.
Drove down through the mountains today with a quick stop for lunch at a cafe in the middle of the mountain range. Now in Napier. The weather has been good. Only the little rain that we started with in the beginning of our stay here in NZ. It was very difficult for Dave to drive our big motorhome in the driving rain, on the left side of the road, with all the curvy roads, and oncoming traffic, but he now is a pro. The countryside is amazing with sheep and cows grazing on grassy hillsides.
Here are the pics you have been waiting for: well, I have to figure out how to do these so, look for a new post......
It is Sunday afternoon here in napier NZ. Napier is an "Art Deco" city having many buildings restored to the age of the 1930's.
Backtracking on yesterday. We started off the day with a visit to the Kiwi Encounter, which was very cool. There is a major effort going on to save the Kiwi's. They have many predators and in danger of becoming extinct within the next few decades if nothing is done. We then went to a geothermal site, saw a gyeser, mud pools, and hot thermal springs. This site also had an active Maori meeting house and is a center for teaching the ancient maori arts of wood carving and weaving. In the evening we went to a Maori "Hangi" dinner and performance. Very educational and entertaining, plus the food was great!. Over 13 different countries were there. We met some folks from Minnesota and got sat with some people from Finland who invited us to come visit them. We have their email address so beware that may be the next place we are off to.
Drove down through the mountains today with a quick stop for lunch at a cafe in the middle of the mountain range. Now in Napier. The weather has been good. Only the little rain that we started with in the beginning of our stay here in NZ. It was very difficult for Dave to drive our big motorhome in the driving rain, on the left side of the road, with all the curvy roads, and oncoming traffic, but he now is a pro. The countryside is amazing with sheep and cows grazing on grassy hillsides.
Here are the pics you have been waiting for: well, I have to figure out how to do these so, look for a new post......
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Rotorua, New Zealand
I know-it has been a long time since we posted last. Let me say that "Twlfth Night" at the Sydney Opera House was great. We did not get to see the actual opera house but we did get up to the lobby area and enjoyed the views of the harbor. Our play was on a smaller stage which we very much prefered. There were only eight actors who switched roles on occasion. That made the play confusing at times but overall we did follow it along enjoying many of the takeoffs they did off the Shakespearan play.
Thursday was our first bad day of the trip. We had to wake up early to catch our shuttle to the airport (6:00 AM) The driver was at the wrong hotel so we got a late start. He proceeded to pick up more folks-one who was not present, but upon calling in, he turned back to get-resulting in our being late to the airport. Then we mistakenly put the wine that Russ bought us at the wine tour in our carry on, so security took it. Our flight was fine but once in Auckland, we stood in line to go through customs for an hour and a half. Then we grabbed a cab which is what our travel agent told us to do, and proceeded to get totally ripped off by an India taxidriver. Once at the camper place, we found out they had a shuttle!!! Needless to say, by then we were ready to give up. After that, though, things got better. The gal at the camper place was extremely nice and even gave us an awesome map of New Zealand for free ($25 value). We left there with a spanking new, huge traveling trailer equipped with fridge, TV, microwave, king size bed, etc. We have yet to figure some of the things out. After stopping at a grocery store, we finally figured out how to get on the motorway and headed down about a half hour to a RV park (Holiday Park here in NZ) We bought ourselves an extra bottle of wine because we definitely needed it and felt so bad because we were definitely looking forward to the one Russ bought (we had tasted it at the winery-Sorry, Russ :().
This morning greeted us with rain but we felt much better after a decent night's rest. We headed down the coast and stopped at a little town that was full of murals on their buidlings. The "i" center (visitor's center) told us about a Haiku walk that was delightful. Onward we stopped at Kiwi360, where the world's largest supply of kiwis are grown. We went on a grand tour of the orchards and now we will never look at a kiwi the same again! Now we are in Rotorua where we will spend two nights and go to a "hangi" (a Maori dinner and concert) tomorrow night. The scenery and roads are unbelievable-very curvy but lush with all kinds of greenery. Sheep and cows are all grazing on the hillside.
Till later. Now it is time for dinner.
Thursday was our first bad day of the trip. We had to wake up early to catch our shuttle to the airport (6:00 AM) The driver was at the wrong hotel so we got a late start. He proceeded to pick up more folks-one who was not present, but upon calling in, he turned back to get-resulting in our being late to the airport. Then we mistakenly put the wine that Russ bought us at the wine tour in our carry on, so security took it. Our flight was fine but once in Auckland, we stood in line to go through customs for an hour and a half. Then we grabbed a cab which is what our travel agent told us to do, and proceeded to get totally ripped off by an India taxidriver. Once at the camper place, we found out they had a shuttle!!! Needless to say, by then we were ready to give up. After that, though, things got better. The gal at the camper place was extremely nice and even gave us an awesome map of New Zealand for free ($25 value). We left there with a spanking new, huge traveling trailer equipped with fridge, TV, microwave, king size bed, etc. We have yet to figure some of the things out. After stopping at a grocery store, we finally figured out how to get on the motorway and headed down about a half hour to a RV park (Holiday Park here in NZ) We bought ourselves an extra bottle of wine because we definitely needed it and felt so bad because we were definitely looking forward to the one Russ bought (we had tasted it at the winery-Sorry, Russ :().
This morning greeted us with rain but we felt much better after a decent night's rest. We headed down the coast and stopped at a little town that was full of murals on their buidlings. The "i" center (visitor's center) told us about a Haiku walk that was delightful. Onward we stopped at Kiwi360, where the world's largest supply of kiwis are grown. We went on a grand tour of the orchards and now we will never look at a kiwi the same again! Now we are in Rotorua where we will spend two nights and go to a "hangi" (a Maori dinner and concert) tomorrow night. The scenery and roads are unbelievable-very curvy but lush with all kinds of greenery. Sheep and cows are all grazing on the hillside.
Till later. Now it is time for dinner.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Melbourne Cup!
Hey - we forgot to tell you that everyone in town last night was celebrating the horse race. The gals were dressed in heels (many at the 4" height), and were dressed to the nines. The hats were very fashionable in true racing design and Dave enjoyed the "mini" skirts. Couples were everywhere and the celebrations were in high gear for the day and night!!! Fun to see and be a part of.
Mom
Mom
Sydney news
Hi everyone-
Busy day here in Sydney. We are staying in Darling Harbor, so walking is the order of the day. Have been to the fish market, Starbucks in the Circular Quay and the Rocks. Took a ferry to the Tarango Zoo. Jani loved seeing all of the Aussie animals. The "Walkabout" was great! Kangeroos and emus along with Wallabees roaming in the open. Most of the animals were taking their afternoon nap so we did not have a lot of interaction with them-still, it was a great experience! Last night we hiked up to the Opera House to see it at dusk and then had an awesome "Catch of the Day" dinner at a restaurant in the harbor. By the time we finished , it was dark and the ferries and cruise ships were lit up. It was quite a sight to see. Tonight we are heading to the Opera House for our anniversary gift from the kids. They have treated us to "The Twelfth Night". We are certainly excited to see the inside of the Opera House. The weather cleared for us today with temperatures in the seventies. Yesterday and tomorrow had or are expected to have showers so we definitely lucked out. Tomorrow we take off for New Zealand!
Busy day here in Sydney. We are staying in Darling Harbor, so walking is the order of the day. Have been to the fish market, Starbucks in the Circular Quay and the Rocks. Took a ferry to the Tarango Zoo. Jani loved seeing all of the Aussie animals. The "Walkabout" was great! Kangeroos and emus along with Wallabees roaming in the open. Most of the animals were taking their afternoon nap so we did not have a lot of interaction with them-still, it was a great experience! Last night we hiked up to the Opera House to see it at dusk and then had an awesome "Catch of the Day" dinner at a restaurant in the harbor. By the time we finished , it was dark and the ferries and cruise ships were lit up. It was quite a sight to see. Tonight we are heading to the Opera House for our anniversary gift from the kids. They have treated us to "The Twelfth Night". We are certainly excited to see the inside of the Opera House. The weather cleared for us today with temperatures in the seventies. Yesterday and tomorrow had or are expected to have showers so we definitely lucked out. Tomorrow we take off for New Zealand!
Monday, November 1, 2010
We are back in Freo
What a road trip! Dave is now used to driving on the left side of the street and Jan's mantra is "Left, left, left" although Russ is trying to get her to say "Look right, stay left!". We certainly covered the territory in the southern part of Western Australia. On the way to our destinations, we took time to stop at some different wineries and partook of some of the wonderful tastes of this area.
Our first stop on Saturday was in Albany which is on the southern most part of Australia that jets out into the Southern Ocean. We saw some magnificent surfs on the coast as we hiked around a wind farm ablaze with wildflowers. Russ treated us to dinner that night at a local brew pub even though he himself was not feeling the best. He still was suffering from the chills. Needless to say, he did not mind spending his weekend with his two old folks and their early bedtimes since he was feeling under the weather.
The next day we took off along the southern coastline. We happened to find out about a little spot called William Bay from the local visitors center and what a little gem it was! Beautiful white sand, turquoise water, and great outcroppings of rocks which some of the locals were using as diving boards. It was hard to pull ourselves away from such a beautiful place. Luckily we got sick of the Australian flies which love to continuously land on your face even when you shoo them away. Onward to the Tree Top Walk and a walk through the Ancient Empire, a forest with 400 year old tingle and Karri oak trees. Some of those trees were over 10 feet across and over 125 feet tall. Some of them were hollow upwards into the trunk due to fire, fungus, and various other reasons. The TreeTop Walk was intended to create a bird's eye view of the forest although it was hard for Jan to relax at those heights especially with the added swag of the cages. Onward to Pemberton, the heart of the forest region. Forests are very rare in Australia but we felt like we were in Wisconsin with all the forests we drove through. Southern Western Australia is that only area in Western Australia that has a significant amount of forest. Imagine that and compare this to all the wooded areas in the US! Our last stop of the day was to Augusta, where the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet. Dave and Jan enjoyed traversing the massive rock formations by Australia's tallest lighthouse, Cape Leeuwin, while watching the sun set. It is interesting to note that Western Australia is more than 4 times the size of Texas.
Today found us heading north through the Margaret River area, which according to the Lonely Planet is one of the top ten spots to see in Australia. It reminded us of Door County except when we drove out to the coast and saw some awesome surfers. The waves there were again huge! We saw 20" high swells!!!
So we now are back at Russ' apartment, doing some wash and getting ready to pack up for our flight to Sydney tomorrow. We are invited to a "barbie" at Russ' boss' place tonight. Russ' latest flame is coming beforehand to meet us.
That's about it for now.
Our first stop on Saturday was in Albany which is on the southern most part of Australia that jets out into the Southern Ocean. We saw some magnificent surfs on the coast as we hiked around a wind farm ablaze with wildflowers. Russ treated us to dinner that night at a local brew pub even though he himself was not feeling the best. He still was suffering from the chills. Needless to say, he did not mind spending his weekend with his two old folks and their early bedtimes since he was feeling under the weather.
The next day we took off along the southern coastline. We happened to find out about a little spot called William Bay from the local visitors center and what a little gem it was! Beautiful white sand, turquoise water, and great outcroppings of rocks which some of the locals were using as diving boards. It was hard to pull ourselves away from such a beautiful place. Luckily we got sick of the Australian flies which love to continuously land on your face even when you shoo them away. Onward to the Tree Top Walk and a walk through the Ancient Empire, a forest with 400 year old tingle and Karri oak trees. Some of those trees were over 10 feet across and over 125 feet tall. Some of them were hollow upwards into the trunk due to fire, fungus, and various other reasons. The TreeTop Walk was intended to create a bird's eye view of the forest although it was hard for Jan to relax at those heights especially with the added swag of the cages. Onward to Pemberton, the heart of the forest region. Forests are very rare in Australia but we felt like we were in Wisconsin with all the forests we drove through. Southern Western Australia is that only area in Western Australia that has a significant amount of forest. Imagine that and compare this to all the wooded areas in the US! Our last stop of the day was to Augusta, where the Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean meet. Dave and Jan enjoyed traversing the massive rock formations by Australia's tallest lighthouse, Cape Leeuwin, while watching the sun set. It is interesting to note that Western Australia is more than 4 times the size of Texas.
Today found us heading north through the Margaret River area, which according to the Lonely Planet is one of the top ten spots to see in Australia. It reminded us of Door County except when we drove out to the coast and saw some awesome surfers. The waves there were again huge! We saw 20" high swells!!!
So we now are back at Russ' apartment, doing some wash and getting ready to pack up for our flight to Sydney tomorrow. We are invited to a "barbie" at Russ' boss' place tonight. Russ' latest flame is coming beforehand to meet us.
That's about it for now.
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