We have arrived in Fiji and the weather is cooperating nicely thank you. We are on Navini Island which is a private resort island that has approximately 20 guests at a time. We have very limited internet access, so we will be collectiing our thoughts, lying in the hammock under our bure, and checking out for a couple of days. We will post more about our stay in Fiji in a couple of days. Time for some much needed R & R. Be back in a couple of days.
P.S. I had to get on the internet to check the 49er score. All is well. Go Niners! By the way, bula is hello in Fijian.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Ick-land.....no, sorry.......Auckland
I am typing this at the airport as we await our flight to Nadi today. We had an overnight stay in Auckland because the flight transfers from Queenstown just didn't work out. I have to say that if you ever come to New Zealand, save your time & money and skip this city. There is not much to see or do here and we were quite glad that we only slept here and then left.
It all started off bad on the ride in from the airport coming through an area of town that looked just slightly better than a slum, filled with a lot of schlocky storefronts that almost looked like glorified flea markets. It did not create a good first impression at all. When we got to the downtown area where our hotel was, it was a more upscale version of the same thing, That is an exaggeration, but again, not a good first impression, One block off the main street, there as a park that had a bunch of homeless drunks hanging out, with one yelling at another, "shut your f#@&^%ng mouth..., etc." Add that to the fact that there were many derelicts hanging about the downtown area, it made for unappealing visit,
I could go on, but I won't. Hopefully our visit to Fiji will be rain-free and nice. More later.
It all started off bad on the ride in from the airport coming through an area of town that looked just slightly better than a slum, filled with a lot of schlocky storefronts that almost looked like glorified flea markets. It did not create a good first impression at all. When we got to the downtown area where our hotel was, it was a more upscale version of the same thing, That is an exaggeration, but again, not a good first impression, One block off the main street, there as a park that had a bunch of homeless drunks hanging out, with one yelling at another, "shut your f#@&^%ng mouth..., etc." Add that to the fact that there were many derelicts hanging about the downtown area, it made for unappealing visit,
I could go on, but I won't. Hopefully our visit to Fiji will be rain-free and nice. More later.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Milford Sound & The Glow Worm Caves
Today we were up bright & early for the 7:30 pickup for the tour from Te Anau to Milford Sound. This was another day of making our way through some very unusual topography that pictures really could not accurately depict what we were seeing. The first part of the ride took us through some of the vast expanse of grazing fields for sheep & cattle that seems to be never ending here in this part of New Zealand. Our first stop was at an area called Mirror Lakes, which is aptly named, as when you look at the water it reflects the mountains that rise above it. It's hard to tell where the land meets the water when the water is completely still.
Once past here, we starting heading up the mountain into some incredible fiordland. This entire area was formed by glaciers many years ago and there are many U-shaped divides between the steep mountains that seem to rise up right out of the water. This area also gets about 210 days of rain per year, so there are rivers, snow-capped peaks, & waterfalls everywhere to be seen. We managed to hit a day when it was not raining, but that may not have been a good thing since the driver told us that the rivers & falls are so much more impressive right after a good rain.
At one point, we had to go through a pretty long one-way tunnel (Homer Tunnel), that I wasn't sure that the bus was going to fit through. Once out the other side, we pulled over to take a few photos. There we saw a native New Zealand bird called a Kea, a member of the parrot family. Our driver told us that "it has been found that the Kea is one of the most intelligent species of birds.............and that's why you don't find it in Australia." I guess the Kiwi vs. Aussie rivalry is still alive & well.
We made it down to the Milford Sound area where we caught a boat for about a 2 hour cruise around the Sound. Milford Sound is surrounded by steep, snow-capped mountain peaks littered with both small & large waterfalls which create an incredible sight when you are out on the water. It's almost impossible to see all the way to the top of the peaks as you get close to the shore. The boat managed to pull in quite close to some waterfalls, close enough to scatter some of the people on the lower deck in order to avoid getting drenched.
After the cruise was over, we started the trek back to Te Anau with a few more stops on the way. One of then was along the Hollyford River, where we drank some of the water (at least I did anyway....too many potential microorganisms for Judy), saw the rushing river, and also saw a small waterfall that had a pool at the bottom that you could see to the bottom because the water was so clear & clean.
We got back to Te Anau around 3:45, bought some stuff for dinner & breakfast the next morning, did some laundry, and got ready to head out for a 7:00 pm cruise & tour to the glow worm caves on Lake Te Anau. I was concerned the night before about this one because it was really cold & windy and I froze my ass off just walking the 2 blocks to the restaurant for dinner. However, by the late afternoon the weather heated up considerably and the wind completely died down, leaving the lake looking like a sheet of glass. When we were on the boat headed out to the glow worm caves, we took some pictures where, again, you could hardly tell where the water met the land. You could even see the mirror image of the clouds in the water.
The caves where the glow worms are located were cut out of the rock by rushing water over many years. We had to walk upstream in these caves about 300 yards, some of which we had to bend over to avoid hitting our heads on the cave ceiling. We were walking on a constructed metal walkway above the rushing water until we arrived at the boat landing. At this point, we got in a 12 person boat and the guide pulled us through the pitch black cave in complete silence so that we could see the glow worms hanging from the cave ceiling. Not suggested for those who are claustrophobic or scared of the dark. It was pretty amazing though. Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed in the caves as the glow worms react to light & noise, so no pictures to show. Take our word, it was pretty cool. On the way back, we got some pretty incredible colors in the sky as the sun went down. When it got completely dark, the moon came up and you could only see a sliver of light. However, you could also see the entire outline of the moon's dark side too. It was almost as if we were seeing an eclipse. Unfortunately, our picture of that didn't come out too well, but if you look closely, you can kind of get the idea.
Once past here, we starting heading up the mountain into some incredible fiordland. This entire area was formed by glaciers many years ago and there are many U-shaped divides between the steep mountains that seem to rise up right out of the water. This area also gets about 210 days of rain per year, so there are rivers, snow-capped peaks, & waterfalls everywhere to be seen. We managed to hit a day when it was not raining, but that may not have been a good thing since the driver told us that the rivers & falls are so much more impressive right after a good rain.
At one point, we had to go through a pretty long one-way tunnel (Homer Tunnel), that I wasn't sure that the bus was going to fit through. Once out the other side, we pulled over to take a few photos. There we saw a native New Zealand bird called a Kea, a member of the parrot family. Our driver told us that "it has been found that the Kea is one of the most intelligent species of birds.............and that's why you don't find it in Australia." I guess the Kiwi vs. Aussie rivalry is still alive & well.
We made it down to the Milford Sound area where we caught a boat for about a 2 hour cruise around the Sound. Milford Sound is surrounded by steep, snow-capped mountain peaks littered with both small & large waterfalls which create an incredible sight when you are out on the water. It's almost impossible to see all the way to the top of the peaks as you get close to the shore. The boat managed to pull in quite close to some waterfalls, close enough to scatter some of the people on the lower deck in order to avoid getting drenched.
After the cruise was over, we started the trek back to Te Anau with a few more stops on the way. One of then was along the Hollyford River, where we drank some of the water (at least I did anyway....too many potential microorganisms for Judy), saw the rushing river, and also saw a small waterfall that had a pool at the bottom that you could see to the bottom because the water was so clear & clean.
We got back to Te Anau around 3:45, bought some stuff for dinner & breakfast the next morning, did some laundry, and got ready to head out for a 7:00 pm cruise & tour to the glow worm caves on Lake Te Anau. I was concerned the night before about this one because it was really cold & windy and I froze my ass off just walking the 2 blocks to the restaurant for dinner. However, by the late afternoon the weather heated up considerably and the wind completely died down, leaving the lake looking like a sheet of glass. When we were on the boat headed out to the glow worm caves, we took some pictures where, again, you could hardly tell where the water met the land. You could even see the mirror image of the clouds in the water.
The caves where the glow worms are located were cut out of the rock by rushing water over many years. We had to walk upstream in these caves about 300 yards, some of which we had to bend over to avoid hitting our heads on the cave ceiling. We were walking on a constructed metal walkway above the rushing water until we arrived at the boat landing. At this point, we got in a 12 person boat and the guide pulled us through the pitch black cave in complete silence so that we could see the glow worms hanging from the cave ceiling. Not suggested for those who are claustrophobic or scared of the dark. It was pretty amazing though. Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed in the caves as the glow worms react to light & noise, so no pictures to show. Take our word, it was pretty cool. On the way back, we got some pretty incredible colors in the sky as the sun went down. When it got completely dark, the moon came up and you could only see a sliver of light. However, you could also see the entire outline of the moon's dark side too. It was almost as if we were seeing an eclipse. Unfortunately, our picture of that didn't come out too well, but if you look closely, you can kind of get the idea.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
We have arrived in New Zealand
We spent most of the day traveling. Our flight was a bit delayed due to an "industrial action" or strike as we would call it. After a three hour flight our plane maneuvered its landing through a beautiful mountain range just outside Queenstown. Next was a two and a half hour ride to our final destination for the day: Te Anau. We drove alongside the length of beautiful Lake Waktipu and then saw nothing but miles and miles of beautiful farmland and rolling green hills with grazing deer, sheep, and cows (no goats Joe).
Te Anau is a very quiet and small town in the south west part of South Island. Tomorrow is a busy day with a trip to Milford Sound for a cruise and then a nighttime trip to the worm caves across Lake Te Anau. Pictured below is the view of Lake Te Anua from our front deck and Mark outside the place where we had dinner tonight. Too bad he didn't bring his moose hat Sheila.
Te Anau is a very quiet and small town in the south west part of South Island. Tomorrow is a busy day with a trip to Milford Sound for a cruise and then a nighttime trip to the worm caves across Lake Te Anau. Pictured below is the view of Lake Te Anua from our front deck and Mark outside the place where we had dinner tonight. Too bad he didn't bring his moose hat Sheila.
PS: It's cold but sunny and we are now 20 hours ahead of San Francisco!
Great Ocean Road
Today, we have a long travel day in front of us. We are flying from Melbourne to Queenstown , New Zealand Monterey Bell
After some more coastal driving, we stopped for lunch atApollo Bay
Our next stop after lunch took us away from the coast and up the mountainside into Mait's Rain Forest. This forest was almost exclusively large eucalyptus trees and big ferns. Not as impressive as the Daintree Rain Forest that we previously visited but still quite nice.
The drive down the coastline was mile after mile of spectacular ocean vistas, incredible green country side, and impressive cliffs carved by the sea crashing against the limestone. What made the drive even more enjoyable was that the sun broke out for the entire day and that made the color of the water and the countryside so much more vibrant. This was another case where the pictures really couldn’t accurately capture the beauty.
We were on a mini-bus that carried 21 people on this tour. At the beginning of the trip, the driver announced where everyone was from. There was quite a cross section of people from places like Boston , Scottsdale , Korea , Japan , Brazil , England , some Aussies and one couple from Italy
The next stop we made was at a place where there was a Koala preserve. These guys sleep over 20 hours per day and eat eucalyptus leaves most of their waking hours. Also at this area, there were some king parrots that would fly right up to you and land on your shoulder, head or hand hoping to get fed some birdseed.
After some more coastal driving, we stopped for lunch at
Our next stop after lunch took us away from the coast and up the mountainside into Mait's Rain Forest. This forest was almost exclusively large eucalyptus trees and big ferns. Not as impressive as the Daintree Rain Forest that we previously visited but still quite nice.
The next 3 stops at Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge & London Bridge
 |
| 12 Apostles |
 |
| More of the 12 Apostles |
 |
| Loch Ard Gorge |
 |
| Another view of the Loch Ard Gorge |
 |
| London Bridge |
 |
| The Arches |
By the time we finished these stops, we headed home for the 2+ hour drive back. We were picked up at 8:00am and didn’t get back until 9:00pm. It was a long day for us, but I can’t imagine how difficult it was for the driver who had to negotiate those roads all day while also trying to be informational & pleasant. Don’t think it would be a good job for me. Hell, just being pleasant for that long of an uninterrupted period would be virtually impossible for me.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Melbourne
I am really loving Melbourne. The weather has cleared up but it is much chillier than the more tropical northern part of Australia. Melbourne is much more culturally rich than Brisbane. After a few days of experiencing the natural beauty of the Port Douglas area, we are now in a bustling city. I am trying to write this as we travel the Great Ocean Road on Wednesday morning to see more of Australia's wonders and am also trying not to get car sick doing it, so this may take a while.
Both nights so far in Melbourne we had dinner in the Southbank area of the city where our hotel is located. The area is right by the Yarra River which runs through Melbourne. We ate in places overlooking the Yarra and the lights at night in this area create a spectacular view. After dinner last night we did a river walk and stopped to view a fire show outside the Crown Entertainment Centre. It houses a very elegant casino and, even though I hate casinos, I did enjoy checking out this one. The tour we are on today doesn't return until 9PM and I would not be surprised if Mark would want to go make a donation to the casino's poker room upon our return.
Let's see, I also want to write about some of the things I want to remember about this trip:
Both nights so far in Melbourne we had dinner in the Southbank area of the city where our hotel is located. The area is right by the Yarra River which runs through Melbourne. We ate in places overlooking the Yarra and the lights at night in this area create a spectacular view. After dinner last night we did a river walk and stopped to view a fire show outside the Crown Entertainment Centre. It houses a very elegant casino and, even though I hate casinos, I did enjoy checking out this one. The tour we are on today doesn't return until 9PM and I would not be surprised if Mark would want to go make a donation to the casino's poker room upon our return.
Let's see, I also want to write about some of the things I want to remember about this trip:
- Australians are very polite and welcoming to tourists.
- I love the accent and terminology such as........garbage is rubbish (remember Mom using that word Annie and Maureen?).....a line is a queue.....a sweater is a jumper...passing is overtaking....and cookies are biscuits to name a few.
- Some other differences are you can ride your bike on the freeway, businessmen wear suits without ties, food is very expensive, and the kids wear formal school uniforms with hats included.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
On To Melbourne
We spent almost the entire day on the 24th leaving Port Douglas and making the trek to Melbourne. Since Judy woke me up so early that day (she is still having some time zone issues), we had about 4 hours to kill before the shuttle picked us up from the hotel. We had the very affordable continental beakfast ($10 each.......can you sense the sarcasm?) by poolside and then hung out there to do some web browsing and read our books. Judy was checking email & the like, while I was mostly checking football scores. Of course, the day we were leaving turned out to be pretty nice weather-wise. As we were on the 1 hour ride that was along the seashore from Port Douglas to Cairns all we could think was that this would've been a nice day for the Great Barrier Reef. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be.
What the hell do you suppose that is all about? This building is actually where the Eureka Skydeck is located, which is the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere to view a city. I don't know if I buy that claim.
We walked over to Federation Square and caught the bus and rode one complete circuit to see where we wanted to explore further. We saw quite a bit of the city sights, such as Flinder Street Station, Parliament House, Royal Exhibition Building, Shrine of Rememberance, and many other sights. We walked around some of the downtown business area and worked our way over to the Lygon Street precinct, which is the where Melbourne's Italian community is located, in order to have lunch. I was getting hungry, but Judy kept checking the time on her cell phone telling me that it wasn't that late. It wasn't until we got back to the room much later that she realized that there was a 1 hour time difference between where we were yesterday and where we were today. Hey, my internal clock is very reliable when a meal is overdue.
After lunch, we walked by the University of Melbourne, the Queen Victoria Marketplace, and the Queens' Bridge. We stopped at an outdoor place that was on the river to hoist a pint and watch the people passing over us on the Sandridge Bridge. We got back to the hotel in time to catch a breath, change our clothes and write this entry before heading out to dinner...............that Judy has a discount coupon for. Annie, you would be proud of your sister.
We caught the flight to Melbourne on an Australian airline called JetStar, which is the Aussie equivalent to Southwest Airlines. Despite the low frills, they run a pretty good show and are pretty organized checking people in and getting them on & off planes. I think back to our flight last year on Ryan Air, the Irish no-frills airline, and there just is no comparison. We arrived in Melbourne in the rain and hopped on to the airporter bus and made it to our hotel. We got to a nearby Italian restaurant, Tutto Bene, in time for our reservation (booking, as they call it here) for my birthday dinner. We both had a pretty tasty risotto dish that had peas, pancetta & shallots.
The next morning we planned to head out to explore the city of Melbourne. Needless to say, Judy had found that there is a free hop-on/hop-off tourist bus that takes people around the city. If there is a deal to be had, you can be sure that Judy will find it. When I opened up the drapes in our room, this is our view:
What the hell do you suppose that is all about? This building is actually where the Eureka Skydeck is located, which is the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere to view a city. I don't know if I buy that claim.
We walked over to Federation Square and caught the bus and rode one complete circuit to see where we wanted to explore further. We saw quite a bit of the city sights, such as Flinder Street Station, Parliament House, Royal Exhibition Building, Shrine of Rememberance, and many other sights. We walked around some of the downtown business area and worked our way over to the Lygon Street precinct, which is the where Melbourne's Italian community is located, in order to have lunch. I was getting hungry, but Judy kept checking the time on her cell phone telling me that it wasn't that late. It wasn't until we got back to the room much later that she realized that there was a 1 hour time difference between where we were yesterday and where we were today. Hey, my internal clock is very reliable when a meal is overdue.
 |
| Flinder Street Station |
 |
| Parliament House |
 |
| Royal Exhibition Building |
 |
| 1888 Building - University of Melbourne |
After lunch, we walked by the University of Melbourne, the Queen Victoria Marketplace, and the Queens' Bridge. We stopped at an outdoor place that was on the river to hoist a pint and watch the people passing over us on the Sandridge Bridge. We got back to the hotel in time to catch a breath, change our clothes and write this entry before heading out to dinner...............that Judy has a discount coupon for. Annie, you would be proud of your sister.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Daintree Rain Forest
Today, the rain cleared in the early morning just in time for an all day excursion to the Daintree Rain Forest area. Our driver, Peter, picked us up at 7:30am along with 5 others and he guided us through many stops during the day. It's amazing that sometimes these Aussies seem to be speaking the same language, but inevitably there are times when an interpreter is necessary. On the other hand, he indicated to us early on in the day that we seemed to have funny accents. Guess it goes both ways.
Our first stop was the Mossman Gorge, which included a hike through some lush rain forest area. Once at the Gorge, we had an overlook of he river rushing down the gorge. We took some pics (imagine that), but they really did not do it justice. You can judge for yourself.
The next stop was a boat ride up the Daintree river to do some crocodile hunting. Well, it's not actually a hunt, but rather trying to spot one. We saw 2 or 3 little ones and the boat operator maneuvered his boat pretty close to these ones, but on the way back we managed to see a pretty big one sunning himself on a sand bar. Seeing these crocs up close was actually a little intimidating. I'm glad we were a pretty safe distance away.
We stopped at an overlook at the top of the mountain where we could see the mouth of the Daintree River emptying into the Coral Sea. Again, it's really hard to capture that accurately in a picture. After that stop, we went to a beach at Cape Tribulation, which was named that by Captain Cook during his very difficult voyage through there. It was really a beautiful area that doesn't seem to merit that name, but we'll have to take Capt. Cook's word for it. On the beach, the tiny crabs that burrow under the sand create designs from the sand that they expel from the holes they are digging. They make tiny sand balls about the size of BBs and push them up the hole in the sand. After doing this, it leaves behind an incredible pattern in the sand that looks almost planned.
On the way out, the guide showed us these green ants that inhabit the rain forest. He would put his finger close to the leaf they were on and they would reach out trying to bite him. He said that if these ants were successful in biting you, you would have to pull them off you in the same manner as if you were removing a tick. Nice, huh? We also saw a pretty good sized Monitor Lizard here.
After stopping for luch, we headed out for an area that was supposed to have a waterfall. What we didn't realize is that the last part of that trek was going to be done in the back of a 4WD Land Rover that looked like it transported troops in WWII. That ride was quite an experience, but once we got there, the payoff was pretty cool. The falls were pretty amazing, but it had a pretty good sized swimming hole underneath it that was incredible. Even Judy went in the water, even though we have no photographic evidence of it. What a great way to end the day!
Tomorrow, we head out by shuttle to Cairns in order to catch our 4th flight in 6 days to Melbourne. Most to the day will be eaten up by travel unfortunately. Hopefully, the rain has also cleared down south by the time we get there.
Our first stop was the Mossman Gorge, which included a hike through some lush rain forest area. Once at the Gorge, we had an overlook of he river rushing down the gorge. We took some pics (imagine that), but they really did not do it justice. You can judge for yourself.
The next stop was a boat ride up the Daintree river to do some crocodile hunting. Well, it's not actually a hunt, but rather trying to spot one. We saw 2 or 3 little ones and the boat operator maneuvered his boat pretty close to these ones, but on the way back we managed to see a pretty big one sunning himself on a sand bar. Seeing these crocs up close was actually a little intimidating. I'm glad we were a pretty safe distance away.
We stopped at an overlook at the top of the mountain where we could see the mouth of the Daintree River emptying into the Coral Sea. Again, it's really hard to capture that accurately in a picture. After that stop, we went to a beach at Cape Tribulation, which was named that by Captain Cook during his very difficult voyage through there. It was really a beautiful area that doesn't seem to merit that name, but we'll have to take Capt. Cook's word for it. On the beach, the tiny crabs that burrow under the sand create designs from the sand that they expel from the holes they are digging. They make tiny sand balls about the size of BBs and push them up the hole in the sand. After doing this, it leaves behind an incredible pattern in the sand that looks almost planned.
On the way out, the guide showed us these green ants that inhabit the rain forest. He would put his finger close to the leaf they were on and they would reach out trying to bite him. He said that if these ants were successful in biting you, you would have to pull them off you in the same manner as if you were removing a tick. Nice, huh? We also saw a pretty good sized Monitor Lizard here.
After stopping for luch, we headed out for an area that was supposed to have a waterfall. What we didn't realize is that the last part of that trek was going to be done in the back of a 4WD Land Rover that looked like it transported troops in WWII. That ride was quite an experience, but once we got there, the payoff was pretty cool. The falls were pretty amazing, but it had a pretty good sized swimming hole underneath it that was incredible. Even Judy went in the water, even though we have no photographic evidence of it. What a great way to end the day!
Tomorrow, we head out by shuttle to Cairns in order to catch our 4th flight in 6 days to Melbourne. Most to the day will be eaten up by travel unfortunately. Hopefully, the rain has also cleared down south by the time we get there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)