Burn O'Vat - 25th September 2009

It's been great having a car to get us about since we have returned. Today was such a good looking day we decided to go for a walk at Burn O'Vat, I haven't been here in ages, so was quite looking forward to going with my camera.

To get to the Vat itself it is just a short walk through the forest and then you have to squeeze through a narrow crack in the rock where the stream flows out. Once through you are in rock amphitheatre carved out by water. It's an impressive geolocial feature. The Vat itself is a caudron-shaped pothole, wide at the base and smaller above.


The last glaciers melted here more that 10,000 years ago, but the marks they made on the landscape still survive. Ice and meltwater carved the Vat Gorge, where the Burn O'Vat flows today. Many people say that it is possibly the the finest meltwater-carved feature of its kind in Britain, it was hollowed by the grinding action of the rocks tumbled under pressure in a stream below a glacier.

After wandering around the Vat for a while we decided it was time to start our walk. Tom selected the route... click on it to see it bigger:


It was a 4 mile walk with a little bit of an ascent but with some water and comfy walking shoes you should be set. We really enjoyed it.

Aria Restaurant - 31st August 2009

When we saw that Matt Moran was opening a restaurant in Brisbane a couple of months ago we kept our fingers crossed that we would still be here when it did indeed open. (For those non-Australian Masterchef fans... Matt Moran was one of the guest chefs on the program and his Restraurant Aria in Sydney has been awarded two coveted Chef’s Hats by The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 , 2008 and 2009... not bad!)

We decided to treat ourselves to a meal at Aria as it was our last few days in Brisbane and what a meal it was.

We were seated looking over the Brisbane River and Story bridge...

STARTERS:
Jane - Consommé - Peking duck consommé with duck dumplings and mushrooms
With a sherry to go along with it

Tom - Pork Belly - twice cooked Bangalow Sweet pork belly with apple puree and black pudding


MAIN:
Jane - Barramundi - roasted fillet with white bean, pancetta and hazelnut salad and red
wine sauce

Tom - Lamb - roasted lamb rack with cumin spiced neck confit, labna and eggplant

I would definitely recommend eating here, the dinner and service were just fantastic.

Oor Hame

Looking back through my posts I have realised that I have never shared with you photos of our house in Corinda. Ignore the mess... these were taken in a rush and just as we were packing to move out.

Lumphanan Street - 31st August 2009

We made a special trip out of town today on the search for what we think may be the only Lumphanan Street in the world, it is situated just outside the city in a place called Sunnybank Hills and was literally a street with only a couple of houses on it. If anyone saw us they were probably wondering why we were posing beside the street sign!

Happy 2nd Anniversary - 24th August 2009

It was our 2nd Anniversary today and we decided to spend the day at the Koala Sanctuary and then go to Cha Cha Char in Brisbane for a meal in the evening.

The weather was sweltering hot, considering it is winter mid 30's temperatures are a little extreme! We had a great day though and as we didn't take the boat as we had the last time it meant that we could take our time and even sit in on some of the animal shows.

Our meal in the evening at Cha Cha Char was great, it is a wine bar and grill so we had what they are known for... their stakes. The food was great but sadly the service was not so hot. The waiters tended to migrate towards and use most of their charm with the larger tables with business men (and potentially bigger tippers) than a ours (and many other couples tables). We eyed up going to Aria which has just opened up next door so we are hoping to get a meal there before we head back.

Gold Coast - 18th - 20th August 2009

We were getting quite used to holidaying on the beach and by the sea that we decided to spend a couple of days at Surfers Paridise. Neither of us had made it down this far south in Queensland... which is pretty shocking as it's only just under 2 hours away.

We booked into Circle on Cavill. We got a lovely apartment (sadly not sea views), it had a large open plan lounge and kitchen area, a bedroom, study and huge bathroom. We also had access to a huge swimming pool and lap pool.

Once we dropped our luggage off we headed into town for a wonder around to get our bearings and some lunch. We also booked Tom in for a Surfing lesson. Next stop was Q Deck, the 20th largest building in the world, you can get an idea of the height it stands at in the photo below. QDeck takes you to the highest point above the Gold Coast and offers a fantastic 360 degree view from the surf to the hinterland and beyond. Rising 230m into the sky the Q Deck is located on Level 77 & 78... the lift took a mere 42.7seconds to get to the top, and boy was I glad the lift was working as I didn't fancy take the 1331 steps to the top!

The views were great and we stopped for a coffee to take it all in.


The next day we were up early for Tom to get to his surf lesson. He seemed to really enjoy it even though the waves and the board there battering him. He woke up the following day with several bruises. I had a successful day with the purchase of Ugg Boots. (They are so cosy!) - these are similar to the ones I bought.

Tom's surfing photos...

Manly - 13th August 2009

We spent the day in Manly today. It's a 30min boat ride from Sydney and right by the sea. We sat on the beach for a while watching the surfers waiting the next big wave and then had a wonder around Manly and their museum. Manly received its name from Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788 who was so impressed by the "confident and manly behaviour" of the local Aborigines (Kay-ye-my people) that he called this town "Manly Cove".

We had lunch at the 4 Pines Brewing Company and then headed out for a walk. We went from Manly Beach to Shelly Beach, through Sydney Harbour National Park into North Head and round to Spring Cove, Little Manly Cove and back to Manly. (You can click the photo to enlarge.)

This is the view from the top of the hill we climbed looking back over to Manly and Manly Beach.

We thought we had taken a wrong turn... but found the route actually did involve us squeezing through a gap in a wall. It was a great walk, even if halfway through Tom reminded me that Sydney has Funnel Web Spiders (we don't get them up in Sunny Brisbane) and as we were walking through bushlands we needed to look out for snakes.

Today's our last day in Sydney, we are back for the weekend and then off to the Gold Coast for a couple of days. I think Tom is planning on getting some surfing done whilst I shop. We were sad to leave Sydney, wish we hadn't left it so long to come and see it, but it's made it to our list of places we would like to live.

Ice Cream for Breakfast - 12th August 2009

Master Chef Australia finished last month and I watched it religiously 6 days a week for 3 months. This is where I was introduced to Adriano Zumbo, a Sydney based Pastry Chef. He tended to be who the amateur chefs dreaded when it came to the pressure test as from the outside his desserts looked simple, but when you broke it down or cut through them you could see the amount of work that had gone into them. If you take a look at the Chocolate Mousse cake you will see what I mean! http://www.masterchef.com.au/chocolate-mousse-cake.htm

So when we booked our trip to Sydney top of our list of places to visit was Adriano's Chocolate Cafe and this morning we went.

We got the boat to East Balmain and walked a couple of km into the centre of Balmain and found his Chocolate Cafe down a ally just off the road. We sat outside and looked through the menu, both settling on a dessert each. Tom chose one called "The Younger Years" - which comprises of a warm chocolate fondant with peanut butter icecream and a raspberry and vanilla injection, the Chocolate Fondant and Peanut Butter Icecream is served in a Kidney Dish and with a huge syringe full of the raspberry and vanilla coulis. Tom was kind enough to let me try some, it was fantastic.

I chose The Paris - La Vie en Rose which was layers of rose brulee, lychees, raspberry sorbet and petite rose macarons are joined by the textures and flavours of a coconut, strawberry and tapioca shake. There’s so many different flavours and textures in this dish – it is creamy, fruity and tart all at the same time. Full from our "breakfast" we decided the best thing to do was walk it off. So we headed back to the ferry terminal... stopping off at the Zumbo's patisserie... where we saw the man himself! Don't worry, we didn't eat our cakes there and then, we saved them for our afternoon tea.

We got off the boat at Darling Harbour and onto another boat which took us to Taronga Zoo. We took the sky chair up so that we could see the zoo from above and when we reached the top our adventure started. Armed with our map we set off visiting of course the new wombat (he was adorably, only 18months old) and Luk Chai... the baby elephant. We watched the Seal Show and the Bird Show (both very enjoyable) and before we knew it the Zoo was closing and it was time to go.

We headed back to the hotel, got changed and headed out to the Opera House. Tonight was the night we were going to see Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducting the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. We heard Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 100 (Military) and Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 in D Minor. Yannick Nezet-Seguin is just 34 years old and is the Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a great night. We were sitting in box b and had a great view... but you get a great view from anywhere within the concert hall.

Sydney Opera House & Aquarium - 11th August 2009

We were out of the hotel just after 9am and walked around to the Sydney Opera House to go on a tour - The Essential Tour.

The Opera House is one of the world’s most recognisble and iconic buildings. It was completed in 1973 and designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and to be honest it's a wonder how Utzon even won the competition. What had happened is Eero Saarinen (one of the competition judges and architect of New York's JFK Airport terminal, turned up late to the committee meeting to decide on the winner. He infact vetoed the shortlist and flicked through the rejected pile and pronounced Utzon's design as genius. So had it not been for Saarinen the building could have been quite different. It took a whooping 16 years to construct and cost $102 million... a little over the originally estimated $7 million!

The construction was plagued with scandal and quarrels so much so that Utzon was forced to resign from the project 9 years in and he returned to Denmark never returning to see the building complete. Utzon passed away in the past year but up until then he and his son did remain as consultants for the building. In the past couple of weeks new work has been completed giving more access to the building, work that Utzon had contributed to the design of before he died. (You can click on the picture to see it in a larger size).

The opera house has a couple of key common misconceptions.

First off, the domed semi-ceilings designed to look like sails in the harbour are actually atop three separate buildings that don’t touch each other but are connected underneath. From most angles it looks like one big and amazing structure, but when you get there you’ll see that it’s more complex than it even looks. Secondly, in addition to being an opera venue, the Sydney Opera House actually contains 5 venues, so many things are often happening here at once, over 1500 performances a year.

Our tour was really good, we saw 3 of the 5 venues and stood and watched the Sydney Symphony Orchestra practicing in the Concert Hall.

The rain started whilst we were on our tour, but that didn't stop us having a walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens. This is where the first white settlers struggled to grow vegetables for the hungry colony. Today's gardens are far more successful judging from the flower beds.

Our next stop was The Australian Museum (a natural history museum) where we spent a couple of hours exploring.

The day was getting on and before we knew it it was 330pm. We were going to go on the monorail over to Darling Harbour to go to the aquarium for a couple of hours, but we then found out it was open until 10pm, so decided we weren't in that much of a rush so walked, which was good as we stopped off at some shops on the way. In the Apple shop we decided to make a detour back to the Opera House and get some tickets to see the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

It was great that the aquarium is open so late it meant we weren't having to compete with school trips and large crowds and felt like we were fitting more into our day. We arrived just after 6pm and were there until 9pm. It was really good so much to see, and we finally got to see a Platypus!!! (DELIGHTED!)

Sydney - 10th August 2009

We were only back in Brisbane for the weekend and spent it visiting the Ekka (Tom was away working during the Ekka last year so wanted to see what it was all about), gardening and church on Sunday. We left for Sydney today at lunch time so arrived in the city just before 5pm.

We had booked the trip just before we went to Cairns and the Whitsundays and again decided to do the mystery hotel with Wotif. Luck was on our side again. We would be staying in the Holiday Inn, Old Sydney Hotel at the Rocks, a fantastic location and awesome views, positioned between the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, perfectly located to experience the shops, cafes and restaurants. We went to the tourist information first before booking into our hotel and before it shut for the night.

First thing we did after checking in run upstairs to see the view from the top of the hotel.


So many choice of places to eat for dinner we finally headed for Wolfie's Grill which is situated on the waters edge with a fantastic view of the opera house at the other side of the harbour. Full from our meal we decided it was time for a walk around the rocks and get our bearings of the area. The Rocks is where members of the First Fleet stepped ashore on 26 January 1788 and British settlement of Australia was first established. It's great to see all the old builds, walk along cobblestone laneways and that the area was free from skyscrapers.

I was delighted to see a Guylian Belgian Cafe... so guess where we decided to go to share a desert (yum!).

Leaving Daydream - 6th August 2009

I was booked in for my spa treatment at 9am this morning. I had chosen to do the Daydream Delight.

Described as:
"Relish in your time away by immersing yourself in the essence of island luxury. Rebalance your well being with an exquisite exfoliating Salt Glow assisting in smoothing your body contours. Cocoon your soul in a rich and warm body wrap creating serenity followed by a tantalising facial and scalp massage, complete with a deeply hydrating protein hair treatment. Complement your delight at Daydream with a therapeutic and rejuvenating Steam Affussion shower and release all muscle fatigue and stress with a relaxation massage.

Aromatic Salt Glow
Your therapist will design a treatment to meet your needs from a selection of Botanical wraps from the earth and sea to smooth, soothe, contour and tone
Facial and scalp massage with hair treatment
Exclusive Hydro-storm Steam Affussion Shower
Moisturisation with relaxing body massage"

It was great, I felt so relaxed afterwards and Tom joined me on the balcony for a bit afterwards.

We left Daydream at 1220 by boat and went to Hamilton Island Airport to catch our flight back to Brisbane. I think the Whitsundays have been added to our list of places to come back to, we will hopefully get to try a different island next time... Hayman or Hamilton sound tempting.

Great Barrier Reef - 5th August 2009

After breakfast again we had a boat to catch. We were heading out with Cruise Whitsundays again, this time going out on the "Seaflight" a cruise vessel, to Knuckle Reef on the Great Barrier Reef. The boat sails us out to a pontoon to allow us to explore the underwater wonderland and look in awe at the corals and fish.

The pontoon has a deck for sunbathers looking to top of their tan, people can sign up and pay more for an introduction to scuba diving, you can go snorkling or explore the reef from a glass bottom boat, the underwater observatory desk or step inside the semi-sub and you can also enter the water via a slide!

When we arrived at the pontoon Tom and I hopped onto the glass bottom boat. We headed out with a marine biologist who could tell us about what we were seeing. The boat itself give us a view from a snorkelers point of view, it was stunning, so many fish and different types of coral. After 30mins on the glass bottom boat we headed back to the pontoon and hopped onto the semi-sub. The Semi-Sub allows you to get the view of the scuba diver but without getting wet.

We had lunch next and then sat up on the sun-deck for a while. Tom decided it was time to go snorkeling so off he went, when he came back he said he had got his photo taken, so we should keep an eye out for it. On the way home we watched Finding Nemo, all very fitting for a day out at the Great Barrier Reef.

We had a fantastic day out. Well recommended. Oh yeah... and we saw a large hump-headed wrasse called Wally who follows the scuba diving photographer.

Camira - 4th August 2009

We had breakfast and headed to the South Jetty to await the arrival of the Camira, an 85ft catamaran. We were there 30mins early so watched as it approached the island, you can't miss it as it is purple. It stopped someway out and we thought it was to allow one of the other boats to dock first. But alas it wasn't... it had stopped to get the motor boat down from the back so it could come to shore and pick us up. We had a wade out into the sea to climb aboard and then get whisked away, we were the only ones from Daydream joining this tour today, the boat already had about 50 people on board that started from Airlie Beach.

The trip itself included Morning Tea, Lunch (BBQ), Afternoon Tea and all refreshments.
First stop was Hook Island where Tom and many others got out to snorkel in the Bay, he must be tough as everyone else put on the optional wetsuit! Next stop was Whitsunday Island where we had a couple of hours of free time on the beach. Tom and I ventured into the sea for a swim, after the initial shock of the temperature of the water it was warm once you were in it (24 degrees). We also played a little cricket and before we knew it it was time to get back on the Camira.

It was a great day out and fantastic to be sailing in and out of the Islands, it's tempting to learn how to sail so we can do it ourselves.

We got dropped off at Daydream Island the same way we were picked up, by motor boat. With time before dinner we dropped our things off in our room and headed to the pool for a while before it got dark.

Today's cocktails were a Daydream Island Iced Tea and a Reef Passion.

Daydream Island - 3rd August 2009

We checked out of our Bed and Breakfast this morning and headed into the centre of Airlie Beach, I think it is somewhere we would go back to and spend a couple of days exploring. We needed to check onto our boat over to Daydream Island, we did this an hour or so early and as there was a boat leaving just then they put us on it. It meant we had some more time to spend on Daydream.

We arrived just after 11pm, as you arrive you it reminds you somewhat of Tracy Island from Thunderbirds. We were welcomed by a band and a lady handing out shell necklaces to the guests that were staying over and taken to the transit lounge for a non-alcoholic cocktail and a list of events that were happening on the island that week before checking into the hotel itself. We checked in but our room was not ready so the took our luggage and mobile number and told us they would call us when it was ready.

We took the chance to explore the island which measures 1km in length and 400m at its widest point. There are two tourist types at the resort: day visitors (who are catered for mainly on the South part of the Island), and overnights guests can visit the newer resort at the north-eastern end of the island and use the facilities on the South. Christened West Molle Island in 1881, the present name "Daydream" came into use during the 1930s when Lee (Paddy) and Connie Murray established the first tourist resort on the island. Day Dream was the name of a yacht owned by the Murrays.

The South part of the island has Daydream Village, Tennis Courts, Mini Golf, a couple of Swimming Pools, a few Eating Places, Outdoor Cinema and Sunset Beach. We decided we would do the Rainforest Walk which covers the centre of the Island and goes up to its highest point of 51m above sea level. (You can click on the Map to see it larger).

It was getting close to noon so we headed to the Rejuvenation Spa for a tour and champaign. The Spa itself is lovely, there is many treatments to choose from and they have 16 treatment rooms, many of which have private balconies with fantastic views. It has state of the art facilities that include two (out of the 5 in the world) HydroStorm Steam Affussion Showers.

The Hydrostorm consists of:
Two independently controlled showering systems
Each shower system includes overhead drench and vertical multihead shower bar that can be adjusted from spray to needle pattern
Easy to use thermostatic controls for safe temperature control
Steam to assist the infusion of muds or seaweed body treatments
Suitable for dual treatment room.

I booked myself in for a treatment for Thursday morning just before we leave.

We ate lunch and then headed to Lover's Cove. I got a chance to read my book and laze in the sun while Tom got the opportunity to test out his new Snorkel gear. (We bought it just before we left to go on holiday as Tom is booked to do a week long Scuba course when we get back from Sydney). I was joined onshore by a family of Rock Wallabies looking to catch some sun (and food from anyone willing to share). Tom was chuffed with his snorkel gear and looking forward to getting to do some more over the next couple of days.

We got into our room just after 3pm. We were staying in the Coral Wing overlooking the garden. After dinner we treated ourselves to a cocktail. I had a Midori Splice and Tom a Singapore Slingshot.

Tilt Train - 2nd August 2009

Not much to report today other than we got the Tilt Train from Cairns all the way down the Airlie Beach. It was a really good, enjoyable and comfortable journey. The seats were huge and each one was equipped with a fold away TV so we could spend our time watching films, documentaries or watching what could be seen from the camera at the front of the train or of course take in the scenery that was going past our window. I kept getting excited each time I saw a kangaroo at the side of the tracks and told Tom each time I saw one forgetting that he was used to seeing them in the wild having worked up in the outback!

The train carries on down to Brisbane, but that would be a 24 hour train trip!

We arrived at Airlie Beach at the back of 8PM and were picked up by the trains bus who took us to the door of the Bed and Breakfast we were staying in. As it was getting late we arrived to find a note attached to the door for us with instructions of where the house we were staying in was and that the keys were on the table.

It was excellent accomodation. We were staying in Island View Bed and Breakfast, found at 19 Nara Avenue, though (to our surprise) we were staying in the villa across the road. We had our own living room, kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and a decking area.

We were only staying in Airlie Beach for the one night as tomorrow we head over to Daydream Island.

Waterfalls, Mamu Canopy Tower and Paronella Park - 1st August 2009

Our tour today is with Tropical Horizons and again we had a almost full bus. We departed Cairns and ascended the Lamb Range up to the TableLands ad to the calm waters of the extinct volcanic crater, Lake Barrine. Here we were treated to Tableland Tea and Scones with Jam and Cream(famous prize winning scones I might add), yum, before heading out on a wildlife cruise around the lake. The Lake is surrounded by rainforest and its waters are deep and crystal clear. We saw ducks, eels, a scrub turkey, turtles and an Amethystine python (though it was just a little one). The Amethystine Python is Australia’s largest snake. The largest on record was measured at 8.5 metres or 28 feet. Lake Barrine's best known botanical feature is the twin Rough Barked Kauri Pines. These giant forest emergents are estimated to be about 1,000 years old and are considered one of the earliest known species of rainforest tree. Towering above the rainforest canopy, they have achieved a height of 50 metres and 2.2 metres in trunk diameter.

We waved goodbye to Lake Barrine and headed a short way to see an ancient Gaint Curtain Fig Tree. (Please excuse the photo, it was hard to get it all fitted in). It is an amazing accomplishment of nature.  Our bus driver took us on around the broadwalk to see right the way around the tree itself and we were to keep a look out for the elusive and shy Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo, sadly we didn't see any. I will try and explain what it is you are seeing in the Curtain Tree and how it happens:

A seed was deposited on the host tree's crown. It germinated and the first roots descended to the soil.

Enriched by the soil, the fig developed aerial roots which encircle and eventually strangle the host tree.

The host tree then fell into a neighbouring tree - a stage unique to the development of the curtain fig tree. Vertical fig roots descended from the fig's trunk to form the curtain-like appearance.

Eventually the host tree rotted away leaving the free standing fig tree. Impressive!

We continued out tour onward to the world famous Millaa Millaa Falls. It was lovely there, I would love to go back after a heavy rainfall to see it in all it's glory. Next stop was Mungalli Falls for our 2 course lunch, we were getting pretty peckish by this point. The Mugalli Falls are the Tableland's tallest Falls. We had time after lunch to go for a short walk and see the falls before getting back into the bus and heading for the Mamu rainforest canopy walkway and tower. 

The Mamu Centre has only been open for a year and took a year to construct. Our bus driver was to be our guide around the walkway, he knew a lot about the plant and wildlife. At the end of the walkway there was a 37m tower to climb with a viewing deck from the top with spectacular views of the rainforest at the top. From the canopy walk you could try to take in the enormity of the beautiful landscape and see the North Johnstone River below. I really enjoyed it.

Our final stop for the day was Paronella Park. Paronella Park has just recently been voted as the Number One Must Do in Queensland. We were greeted by the parks enthusiastic owners, and had one other the guides take us around the heritage gardens and castle ruins. Paronella Park was built in the 1930s by José Paronella, a Spanish immigrant. Paronella built facilities, including tennis courts and a cinema and a ballroom inspired by Spanish castles, to provide entertainment for the public. Since his death, a fire, a cyclone and several floods have badly damaged the park and the buildings.

Apart from the house, which is made of stone, all of the structures were constructed of poured, reinforced concrete, the reinforcing being old railway track. The concrete was covered with a plaster made from clay and cement, which they put on by hand, leaving behind the prints of their fingers as a reminder of the work they had done. Upwards of 7000 trees were planted by José. These included magnificent Kauris lining Kauri Avenue. It was lovely to see and the owners are very passionate about the park. As we left they gave us a wooden block cut from a Kauri Pine that they lost during Hurricane Larry so that we would be reminded to follow our dreams as Jose did.

Daintree - 31st July 2009

We were picked up again this morning by Down Under Tours, but rather than the normal bus it was a four wheel drive bus, the only type of bus that could navigate the roads of where we were going. There were only 6 of us leaving from Cairns and the rest of our group were in Port Douglas, an hour drive north, we had a full bus of 23.

Today's trip was Daintree, Mossman's Gorge and Cape Tribulation, our driver kept us all informed the entire way of what we were passing, about the sugar cain industry and wildlife, it was really good. Our first stop was a boat trip down the Daintree River, a wildlife cruise. We were greeted by our hostess with a cup of Daintree Tea and cake, very welcomed and needed. We were also joined by another tour group so there was about 50 of us on the boat. We saw some kingfishers, a couple of tree snakes and two crocodiles, such a thought that they were in the water!

The boat took us across to the other side of the Daintree river and whilst we were on it our bus driver took our tour bus across on the car ferry, the only way to cross and get further north! Next stop was the Discovery Centre at Daintree. Greeted again by our hosts with a cup of Daintree Tea and biscuits (very tasty I might add). Our guide took us along the walk way telling us about the trees and plants we passed. It was great to get amongst it and amazing how we left wanting to save the rainforest! I would have loved to have stayed a little longer at the centre as we didn't cover the whole of it but did climb to the top of the tower.

Must admit I was also keen to see a Cassowary, but wasn't so lucky (such amazing birds). From the time we got over the Daintree River the roads have rumble strips and road bumps to slow travel and to help avoid any Cassowary being hit. We passed the sign on the road, locals had edited the road bump sign. We were off to lunch next, a place called Noah's. Our lunch was included on our tour and we were well catered for, stake, sausages and fish, salads and rolls and fruit to finish. We tried dragon fruit for the first time, it was lovely, going to have to hunt it out when we get back to Brisbane. We were eating outside surrounded by rainforest beside a creek and under a large shelter, it was really good.

Back on the bus and this time we were off to Cape Tribulation where we could freely wander along the beach and take in the view. The cape was named by British explorer Lt. James Cook on 10 June 1770 after his ship ran aground on a reef near the site, "because here began all our Troubles". Some people said they saw a crocodile at the edge of the sea, but we didn't have any luck see it, they are out there.

It was time to go again we had a ferry back across the Daintree River to catch back over. On the way back to the ferry our driver stopped off at the Daintree Ice cream shop for us to go and get some, a welcomed treat!. They sell them in bowls with 4 scoops, we had Macadamia, Mango, Raspberry and Wattleseed.


After safely getting across the river our next stop was Mossman Gorge for a chance to have a walk and look around. Strangler figs and epiphytic plants flourish and the crystal-clear Mossman River cascades over granite boulders. The area is also home to colourful Boyd's forest dragons. We strolled along the 400 metre walking track to viewing platforms over the Mossman River. Our day had come to an end, so we hoped back on the bus.

Kuranda & Sky Rail - 30th July 2009

We were collected from our hotel by the Down Under tours bus and they took us to the railway station at Freshwater. We would be going on the Kuranda Scenic Railway up to Kuranda, a village of 650 people on the Atherton Tableland and surrounded by rainforest.

It was a beautiful journey through the World Heritage rainforest up to Kuranda. The railway itself took 5 years to complete and created to service the bustling gold fields, it soon attracted more sightseers than prospectors . It took about 1500 men armed with only picks, shovels and dynamite to move over two million cubic metres of earth. Impassable swamps, mysterious diseases, deadly creatures, dense jungle, deep ravines, raging waterfalls and sheer cliffs were to prove no obstacle! Completed in 1891, the 37km of track from Cairns to Kuranda ascends 328m and included 15 tunnels, 37 bridges and 98 curves.

We had three hours to explore Kuranda's markets, shops and wildlife attractions. Deciding we didn't need to do any shopping we headed directly to Birdworld. (Tom loves birds, and I must admit his interest in them is rubbing off on me too). We were armed with a bird guide to help us identify the birds and were able to feed them and had several land on us too. I think we could have spent all day in there, but time wasn't on our side so we had to say bye to our feathered friends.

Next stop was the Butterfly Sanctuary. Now I must admit I like butterflies, but only if they are in a display, at a distance from me or landed and not leaping out at me, I am not a huge fan of their fluttering especially when they are heading for me as my first instinct is to swot (not something that is allowed in a butterfly sanctuary). They were beautiful though. Again we were armed with a guide to help us identify them. The photo of the Ulysses butterfly doesn't do it justice. It is a dazzling electric blue caller (and erratic flyer), the blue colour is only see then it flies as when it lands it only shows murky brown wings. The sanctuary itself has over 1500 tropical butterflies in the main aviary and also has a breeding laboratory which has up to 4000 caterpillars, so you can watch them emerging from their cocoons.

Time was creeping in and it was getting close to 130 so we headed to the Skyrail (this is how we were returning from Kuranda). Gliding just metres above the rainforest canopy in comfortable six-person gondola cabins, the Skyrail journey allows you to take in the sight of the rainforest from a birds-eye view. It is 7.5km of cableway and they recommend ah hour and a half to complete the journey as there is two stopping stations, one at Barron Falls and another at Red Peak. There is only about a quarter of Australia's rainforest still intact, the rest of it has been cleared for houses and farming so it's lovely to see such a vast coverage. Just how old it is is hard to comprehend, but one of our guides put it in terms of generations. There has been 10 generations pass since the discovery of Australia, 100 generations since Christianity started and 7 million generations have passed since the start of the Rainforests in parts of Australia. Mind-blowing!

Cairns - 29th July 2009

We flew with Jet Star up to Cairns today and I am happy to report that they have improved their flight stats, now 33.3% of their flights are on time (I am happy to also report that this would be our last flight with Jet Star).

We got to Cairns just after 3pm, we are staying in a hotel just outside the main part of the town itself, about a 10-15min walk to the centre, so a good excuse for us to stretch our legs. We dropped our things off in our room and took a stroll to the town centre for an explore.

It's number one industry is tourism and that is very evident as you walk through the town, next is the sugar industry. We had a lovely walk along the broadwalk, many twitchers were sitting waiting and watch as the tide was out and birds had flocked to the shore. We were pretty impressed by the amount of fruit bats there were in the town centre, we only spotted them as they were making such a noise.

We explored until about 530 and decided it was time to find some food, eat and head back for an early night as we had an early start the next day, the first of many sight seeing trips.

MOTAT - 25th June 2009

Our last full day in New Zealand today, Tom wanted to go to MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology), so we headed there just after breakfast. The Museum is built on a site that once pumped water drawn from Western Springs Lake to early Auckland homes and businesses. The Pumphouse, with its magnificent Beam Engine has had extensive conservation to ensure its significance in Auckland's history is preserved.

Tom loves his transport, with over 300,000 items covering everything from fire engines to World War II planes, steam trains to a fully functioning tram line there was plenty for us to see and we even played the game of avoid the school parties. It was a good morning out. The museum itself if in two areas, so there is a 5 minute tram ride from one to the other. The most impressive thing was the Avro Lancaster, there is only 17 complete planes left in the world, the one at MOTAT was constructed too late to see operational service in the Second World War.

Once we had tired ourselves out from looking at and reading all we could we decided to finish our day with a trip to the zoo as it was between both parts of MOTAT.

Auckland zoo was fun too (but I love zoos).

Happy Birthday Tom - 24th June 2009

It's Tom's birthday today so I took him to a bird reserve on Tiritiri Matangi Island. We caught the boat at 830am and were on the island by 10. There were about 15-20 people, many visitors like ourselves but a lot of volunteers also. I had booked a tour so we were allocated our own guide who walked with us and told us of the native plants we passed and helped us identify the birds. She had lived in New Zealand on and off for 20 years and was originally from Ireland, what a great way to spend some of your retirement time taking walks and sharing your knowledge of the area.

Tom is a lot better at spotting birds than me, but I slowly got the hang of it. There are 78 species of bird that have been seen on or near to Tiritiri Matangi, but the reserve itself has 11 birds that were translocated.

On our bird spotting day we saw:

Takahe


Kakariki


Whitehead


Stitchbird


North Island saddleback


North Island Robin


Pigeon, New Zealand


Pukeko


Fantail, North Island


Oystercatcher


Shearwater, Fluttering


Tui


We spilt up for our guide and made our own way to the shop and information desk on the island for lunch. We had been warned when we arrived not to feed Greg... whose Greg we asked... he is a greedy and brave Takahe. We met Greg within seconds of opening up our lunch. Tom was happily eating his sandwich and he tried to jump up on his lap for a bite. They are a fair size of bird in length about 63 cm (24.8 in) and its average weight is about 2.75 kg (6 lbs). I was delighted to see a Takahe as we had heard so much about them on our travels. It was thought to be extinct after the last four known specimens were taken in 1898. However, after a carefully planned search effort the bird was rediscovered by Geoffrey Orbell near Lake Te Anau in the Murchison Mountains, South Island, on November 20, 1948. (We had passed a giant statue of one on our way to Milford Sound).

We really enjoyed our time at the reserve but it was time to head back.

We ate at Orbit this evening, the Skytower's rotating restaurant. Had a lovely meal and great views. Would recommend eating there. Tomorrow is our last full day in New Zealand, time has gone incredibly fast.

Off to Auckland - 23rd June 2009

We left Rotorua today and headed north for Auckland. It's our last day with the car too, it's been great to have it the past few days as it has allowed us to see so much more of New Zealand and at our own pace.

We booked our accommodation before arriving... and as we were not lucky with the mystery hotel on WotIf when we went to Queenstown we thought we would try it again... and luck was on our side for Auckland. Our mystery hotel this time was the Skycity Grand Hotel . So up we rock with our backpacks to this 5 star hotel. (On this trip we have discovered that we aren't classed as backpackers, but flashpackers).

It was lovely inside. After freshening up we went the short distance across the road to the Skycity Hotel and up the Skytower. The views from the top were impressive. It is 328 metres (1,076 ft) tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere.


(Panoramic photo isn't mine, but it gives you an idea of height and what we could see)

The upper portion of the tower contains two restaurants and a cafe, including a revolving restaurant which is located 190m from the ground, turning 360 degrees once every hour. There is also a brasserie style buffet located one floor above the main observatory level. It has three observation decks at different heights, each providing 360 degree views of the city. The main observation level at 186m has 38mm thick glass sections of flooring giving a view straight to the ground. The top observation deck labeled 'Skydeck' sits just below the main antenna at 220m and gives views of up to 82km in the distance.

We also watched a few people leap from the tower on the "SkyJump", a 192-metre] jump from the observation deck, during which a jumper can reach up to 85 km/h (53 mph). (Crazy!).

We treated ourselves to a coffee in the cafe and took in more views before heading to the tourist information to book Tom's Birthday trip and meal.

In and Around Taupo - 22nd June 2009

After our adventure in the float plane we planned to drive back to Rotorua the tourist route, stopping at along the way.

First stop was Huka Falls. The Huka Falls are a set of waterfalls on the Waikato River that drains Lake Taupo in New Zealand.
A few hundred metres upstream from the Huka Falls, the Waikato River narrows from roughly 100 metres across into a narrow canyon only 15 metres across. The canyon is carved into lake floor sediments laid down before Taupo's Oruanui eruption 26,500 years ago.



The volume of water flowing through often approaches 220,000 litres per second! It was incredible to see so much power and the water was so blue. There is a short walk along side the river and many points along the way to take photos. Then back into the car and next stop saw us going into the Honey Centre.

The Honey Centre has an area for you to get up close to some working bees. After unsuccessfully locating the queen bee it was time to try some of the products they have on offer, pure NZ honey, fruit wines, mead and liqueurs. We bought some honey and it was time to see what else the tourist road had in store.

Next was the volcanic centre, it was amazing as you can see from the photo. This was yet another opportunity for me to swot up on volcanos. We timed it right as we were the only ones there and as we were leaving a bus of school kids turned up. Time to go and time for a late lunch... next stop was Prawn Park!! That's right, Prawn Park, home of Shawn the Prawn.

It's spread over 6 hectares of land dedicated to the production of fresh New Zealand Prawns. You have the option to sit and fish for unlimited amounts of prawns and then go into the restaurant to get them cooked up. For those of us who would name each of their catch and then recognise them on the plate you can just head into the restaurant and get served anonymous prawns. This is want we did. It was so tasty. Highly recommended.

Full from our prawn lunch we decided our final stop would be Craters of the Moon so we could walk it off.

Craters of the Moon, named for it's other-worldly atmosphere, is a thermal area. It sprang up in the 1950's when the nearby power station lowered underground water levels. As hot water was withdrawn from deep within the field, the water level in the deep reservoir dropped and the remaining water boiled more violently, producing more steam. The total heat output increased dramatically from a pre-development value of 40 megawatts to a high of 420 megawatts in 1964. It has since stabilised at about 200 megawatts.

Wooden walkways have been constructed to protect us from the heat of the soil. These are regularly moved as new vents emerge. One minute you're in clear air marveling at the eerie steam clouds, then with a shift in the breeze you're enveloped in a cloud and your sunglasses are completely fogged up. The tracks lead to several viewing platforms on the edge of large craters. From here the relentless power of the earth's fiery core becomes truly apparent. Clouds of slightly sulphurous steam swirl all around you. There's a primeval appeal to this geothermal mayhem, and you can't resist breathing deep and pushing your face forward for more of nature's free health spa therapy. It took us an hour all in all to get around, then home time.

Float Plane - 22nd June 2009

Tom was excited about today, for the plan for this morning was to go to Taupo and then go in a Float Plane on a trip around the lake and over some volcanoes. If you look at the map to the side we were taking the red route - Mount Ruapehu Vista. First things first though, we had our photo taken before going up.


The scenic flight departs from Taupo Bay tracking south to fly over Turangi, Mt Pihanga, Lake Rotoaira, Blue and Emerald Lakes, the Tama Lakes and to the summit of Mt Ruapehu. Then we did a circuit of the summit so we could view into the Crater Lake and the ski fields on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu. Then starting our journey north again, we travelled onto Mt Ngauruhoe to view into the centre of the classic volcano, then over Mt Tongariro, viewing the Red Crater, Blue Lake and old lava flows before beginning the descent over Lake Taupo to land in the waters along the lakefront. It was awsome!

White Island - 21st June 2009

It was cold this morning, we had get up at 5am today to defrost the car and head for the coast. We went to White Island, New Zealand's most active volcano.

The full Māori name for the island is 'Te Puia o Whakaari', meaning 'The Dramatic Volcano.' It was named 'White Island' by Captain Cook on October 1, 1769 because it always appeared to be in a cloud of white steam. Although Cook went close to the island he failed to notice that it was a volcano!

Attempts were made in the mid 1880s, 1898-1901 and 1913-1914 to mine sulphur from Whakaari but the last of these came to a halt in September 1914, when part of the western crater rim collapsed, creating a lahar which killed all 10 workers. They disappeared without trace, and only the camp cat (named Peter the Great) survived, it wasn't until the supply boat came that they realised something was wrong. Some years later in 1923 mining was again attempted, the miner’s diggings were handled in small rail trucks to the crushing and bagging process in the factory built on the island. Unfortunately, there was not enough sulphur at Whakaari and so the ground up rock was used as a component of agricultural fertiliser. Eventually the mining ended in the 1930s because of the poor mineral content in the fertiliser and the remains of the buildings can still be seen, much corroded by the sulphuric gasses, but still very interesting to walk around and see.

We went with Pee Jay's tour company. It took about 80 mins to get out there and once we got near the boat anchored up, we were issued safety gear (a hard hat and gas mask) and then we were ferried over to the island via an inflatable boat to the rusty ladder on the concrete jetty. We had to time it with the waves to make the leap from the boat to shore!

The volcano is estimated to be between 100,000 and 200,000 years old. However, the small portion of the island that is visible above sea level has been in its present form for an estimated 16,000 years - evidence of a continually changing landscape.

Walking on White Island is like walking on the moon. Virtually no vegetation survives the harsh acidic environment inside the crater walls. Instead, lush beds of yellow and white sulphur crystals grow amongst hissing, steaming, bubbling fumaroles. It was an amazing sight.

Orakei Korako & Wai-O-Tapu - 20th June 2009

First stop this morning was The Hidden Valley - Orakei Korako (translated into English it means "The place of Adoring"), it's claim to fame is it was used for scenes in the BBC Natural History Series "Walking with Dinosaurs" as it has remained almost completely unchanged for thousands of years. It was amazing.

We felt it was like a mini-Yellowstone without the crowds. One of the most charming aspects is the boat ride across the lake to get to the unspoiled thermal area. Some of the largest silica terraces in the world are located here, as well as colorful pools of technicolor-blue and intriguing hot water algae colors of burnt orange and sulfur yellow. We made stops along the well-marked boardwalk at Rainbow Lookout, Golden Fleece Terrace, Artist’s Palette, and Soda Fountain.

We arrived and parked up. Then got a boat across the lake to begin our walk, there is so much to see. Photo to the right is of the Rainbow Terrace - it has a flow of 20 million litres of hot water a day, but seems to just trickle across the Emerald Terrace into Lake Ohakuri at the bottom. The unbelievable colours are formed by hot water algae growing in temperatures up to 60 degree C.

Called "Te Kapua" (the cloud) by the Maori people, the Golden Fleece stands at 5m high and is 40m long. It's the third of the fault scarps formed in the massive earthquake in 131 AD (about the time when the worlds greatest known volcano, Lake Taupo was last erupting. There were geysers erupting at the base of the Golden Fleece, all very unpredictable as to where the next one would come up.

Next was the long walk down into the "Ruatapu Cave" Sacred Cave. The origin of Hiwa Nga Ana (Hill of Caves) is still uncertain, some theories suggest a giant hydrothermal eruption, while other say a cave-in was the cause. It is one of only two geothermal situated caved known in the world!

At the bottom of the cave is Waiwhakaata (the pool of mirrors) and it contains hot water that it is said if you stick your left hand in and make a wish it will be granted. And the water is just acidic enough to clean your jewellery at the same time. So much to see, we really enjoyed it. Next on the list was to visit Wai-O-Tapu, so we headed back to the pick-up point and got the boat back to the other side.

Wai-O-Tapu covers a much larger area compared to the more compact Orakei Korako, the area is literally covered with collapsed craters cold and boiling pools of mud, water and steam fumaroles. The area is associated with volcanic activity dating back about 160,000 years!

Beneath the ground is a system of streams which are heated by magma left over from earlier eruptions. The water is super hot (temperatures of up to 300 degrees C have been recorded) that absorbs minerals out of the rocks through which it passes and transports them to the surface as steam where they are ultimately absorbed into the ground. This is a photo of the "Devil's Home", one of the first example you see of a collapsed crater where underground acid action has caused the ground to collapse. The rough side and yellow/greenish colours are where cooling volcanic vapours have coloured the walls.

This is a photo of the Artist's Palette. I really just loved all the colours of the water. There is such a wide range of colours and they are due to different mineral elements: Green - Colloidal Sulphur/Ferrous Salts, Orange - Antimony, Purple - Manganese Oxide, White - Silica, Yellow - Sulphur, Red/Brown - Iron Oxide, Black - Sulphur and Carbon.

The Champagne Pool spring is the largest in the district, it's 65m in diameter and 62m deep. It's surface temperature is 74 degree C and bubbles due to carbon dioxide. The pool was formed 700 years ago by a hydrothermal eruption. The minerals contained in the water are: gold, silver, mercury, sulphur, arsenic, thallium, antimony and are deposited in the surrounding sinter edge.


We really enjoyed visiting both Orakei Korako and Wai-O-Tapu, well recommended.

Next Stop - Lake Taupo and Rotorua - 19th June 2009

Up bright and early this morning and both feeling much better after a nights sleep. We are off to Rotorua and Lake Taupo (though we are staying in Rotorua. I am in charge of the driving today (and a wee bit nervous as I haven't driven since we were back home, but a few miles in I am calm). It was a drive over hills and through countryside today, all stunning and so quiet. We hardly passed anyone on the road.

I made it safely to Lake Taupo (what was I worried about?!) and we were ready for brunch (we hadn't eaten yet!). I parked up beside the lake. Stunning! So clear, in the distance you can see three volancoes Mount Ruapehu (used as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings), Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe. To the side of the car park there was an area set up for people to try and get a hole in one from the shore to the platform in the lake, that's what you can see in the photo.

First stop was the information centre to gather up information and plan what we would do over the next few days. We planned to do and see as much as possible as we had been ill the previous days, we were feeling we were missing out.

Lake Taupo lies in a caldera created after a huge volcanic eruption (a supervolcano) approximately 26,500 years ago (Pretty recent according to Tom), it is believed to have been the world's largest known eruption in the past 70,000 years. According to geological records, the volcano has erupted 28 times in the last 27,000 years! (Who would know that I would become an expert on Volcanoes and Volcanic activity over the next few days!)

We didn't stay long in Lake Taupo as we were coming back, so after brunch we heading to Rotorua to get checked in to our accommodation and explore our base for the next few days. Our drive up there we saw our first sights of steam coming up from the ground we also passed most of the attractions we were planning on visiting.

Rotorua itself is a lovely place (minus the smell of sulphur, which is pretty strong in parts!). We walked through the main street and up to the tourist information where to gather more leaflets and then on to Lake Rotorua. (Lot's of blue photos today!) We went on a good walk around part of the lake and saw quite a bit of Geothermal activity - steam, sulphur and bubbling mud. We are looking forward to seeing what the next few days have in store!

Napier - 18th June 2009

Up bright and early this morning, with Tom feeling much better than I am. We have rented a car (Nissan Pulsar) for the next part of the holiday so we picked it up for the centre.

Armed with our maps and sat nav we were ready for the 4 hour drive up to Napier. I was really looking forward to exploring the Art Deco town. We arrived just after lunch at our hotel but our room was not ready yet. With time to kill we parked up and walked into Napier.

It is a lovely looking place, I just wish we were feeling better to appreciate it for longer. All we could think about was getting back to the hotel and getting to bed. :o(

We had lunch and a walk around and we were back to the hotel and in bed by 530!


This is a photo of Pania of the Reef. Local Maori tell the tale of Pania, a beautiful sea-maiden who would swim from the watery realm of Tangaroa, the god of the ocean, each evening to quench her thirst at a freshwater spring in a clump of flax close to the base of Bluff Hill, then return to her people each morning. One evening, she was discovered by a young chief who wooed her and wanted her to remain on land. Eventually they married, but when Pania went to pay a final visit to her kin they forcibly restrained her in the briny depths, and she turned to stone as what is now know as Pania Reef. Fishers and divers still claim they can see her with her arms outstretched towards the shore.

A wee bit of history on Napier though... On 3 February 1931, Napier was levelled by an earthquake. The collapses and ensuing fires killed 258 people. The town centre was destroyed and rebuilt in the popular Art Deco style of the time. Some 40 km² of today's Napier was undersea before the earthquake raised it. (Tom was pointing out the areas that were "new" on our walk).

Although a few Art Deco buildings were replaced with contemporary structures during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, most of the centre remained intact for long enough to become recognized as architecturally unique, and from the 1990s onwards had been protected and restored. Napier and South Beach in the US city Miami are considered the two best preserved Art Deco towns, Miami Beach being mainly in the later Streamline Moderne Art Deco style. As of 2007, Napier has been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the first cultural site in New Zealand to be nominated.

SICK DAYS - 16th - 17th June 2009

Tom and I spent the next couple of days in bed with the flu, we sadly didn't get to see as much of Wellington as we had hoped (but there is always next time!)

Te Papa - 15th June 2009

Before getting to Wellington we had read and heard a lot about Te Papa so we were quite looking forward to spending the day there (and we did stay the whole day).

Te Papa Museum is a $350 million celebration of all thing New Zealand and in our opinion it's money well spent as it is aimed equally at adults ad children and combines state of the technology and bright active exhibits. We were impressed by the 14 metre long satellite map of New Zealand. As you walk over the map you will trigger sensors that will project a variety of images and video footage onto large display screens. (The link takes you to a video example of what I am on about).

We began our learning adventure on level 2, which has an interactive section on earthquakes and volcanoes. We experienced a mild quake in a house, watched Mount Ruapehu erupt on screen and learnt about Maori explanations of the causes of such activities. Next room on level 2 was the "X-ray Room" which houses skeletons of great sea creatures and land and sky animals and looks at New Zealand's animals and plants from moutain, forest, freshwater, coast, open sea and deep ocean ecosystems. We even came face-to-face with a Colossal Squid which was pretty impressive.



The museum also has an area called "Bush City" which is an outdoor synthesis of New Zealand environments complete with native plants, a small cave system and Tom's favourite, rocks.

Nest stop was level 3 - Blood, Earth Fire (Whangia Whenua Ahi Ka). This exhibit took us through the changing landscape of New Zealand from the untouched environment through to it being transformed into cultivated land. It looked at the plants and animals that existed there before people arrived and even recreated the birdsong of a 1000 year old dawn chorus.

Upstairs again and the collection changes to focusing n the Maori's and New Zealand's cultural diversity (telling stories of the immigrants to the country... there is even a special section purely devoted to Scots!).

The final two floors are dedicated to Art and Sculpture in New Zealand, show casing over 300 historical and contemporary artworks. By the time we got to floor 6 we had already spent a good, enjoyable 7 hours in the museum.

We definitely recommend a visit.

Goodbye Christchurch, Hello Wellington - 14th June 2009

Yet another early start for us. We checked out of our hotel at 5 this morning to make our way to the train station - we walked, it was cold, I complained.

The plan for today was for us to take the Transcoastal train from Christchurch to Picton and then get the Interislander ferry from Picton to Wellington. All in all a 5 hour train trip and 3 hours on the ferry. Yes we could have flown, but the we were looking forward to the scenery that the South Island had to offer.

The train was not very busy so we had plenty of space spread out. There was an outside observation carriage, toilets and a dinning cart so we were set.

The best part of the journey by far was traveling out of Picton towards the Cook Strait.

We arrived safely in Wellington and found our Hotel. Wellington would see us staying in the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor.

Last Day in Christchurch - 13th June 2009

It's our last day in Christchurch and I must admit I am going to miss it. It's a little cloudy out but we hope that will burn off so head off towards Lyttelton to go on the Gondola to the top of the Port Hills.

First things first we stopped of for our morning coffee before catching the bus at the Bus Exchange. It took us right to the base station for the Gondola's.

We went aboard and made our way slowly up the hillside. Only thing was the higher the foggier it got. Our master plan of the clouds burning off was just now happening. The higher we got the thicker it was.

We made it to the top, but the fog wasn't going anywhere so we wondered around the museum and the viewing deck imagining what the view would look like. We decided it was time for a cup of tea and this would give the fog a chance to shift. We sat drinking our tea and got glimpses of the scenery surrounding the observation deck. Never for long though, the cloud kept on moving.

It was a shame. We were told that there was a path down to Lyttelton itself so we decided to venture out and head down the hill.

Lyttelton itself is a port town that tends to be the where expeditions and cruise ships come and go. We were told that tourist that arrive by cruise tend to get bused away to Christchurch so many people miss the charm of this port town. It has a distinct British feel to it. The streets echo the heritage of their creators just as they do in Christchurch. The main streets are busy with locals and a handful of tourist visiting the boutique shops, cages and restaurants and further out there are surrounded by turn-of-the-century weatherboard cottages and stone buildings nestled in the hillside. We stayed for lunch before heading back into the city of Christchurch.

Back to Christchurch - 12th June 2009

Sadly Jet Star failed us again and there was yet another delay. This meant that we weren't back in Christchurch until later afternoon rather than later morning. We opted for a walk around Christchurch and decided on Mexican for dinner tonight. We found a place for the flying burrito brothers.

We had the best mexican meal. I ordered an Enchilada - two rolled corn tortillas filled with chicken, baked & topped with a poblano mole sauce (yum!) and Tom had a Flying Burrito - a grilled flour tortilla parcel drizzled with coriander oil & served with refried beans, sour cream, guacamole & salad greens with Hot Adobo Beef.

Milford Sound - 11th June 2009

We were up bright and early this morning for our bus trip to Milford Sound, it was cold and dark outside as we waited for the bus. (Photo of Mirror Lakes)

We depart Queenstown 7.15a.m. by Coach (it had a glass roof) for Milford Sound and we headed south along Lake Wakatipu, under the looming shoulders of The Remarkables Range. The driver told us some maori legends about the lake as many of us drifted back to sleep for a while.

Beyond the rugged lake edge the country transformed to high country pastures surrounded by mountains then we went down into the beautiful farm country of the Northern Southland plains. We heading west towards the mountains and Te Anau.

At Te Anau village we stopped for refreshments and a toilet break. Our driver told us of how many people prefer going on the trip through The Fiordland National Park when it's been raining as it truely comes alive then with many waterfalls.

We the continued our journey and travelled north alongside Lake Te Anau entering The Fiordland National Park, this World Heritage area, has some of the most spectacular and memorable scenery I have ever seen. It was stunning

We travelled through beech forests, past tranquil lakes and crystal clear rivers as we climb steadily into the very heart of the mountains. Passing through mist covered valleys, carved out by rock and ice to reach the Homer Tunnel, the gateway to Milford Sound is through a huge mountain. The Homer Tunnel is a road tunnel in the Fiordland region of the South Island of New Zealand, opened in 1954. It links Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown, by piercing the Main Divide at the Homer Saddle. The tunnel and the associated Milford Road were built by relief workers during the Depression, initially just starting with five men using picks and wheelbarrows. The men had to live in tents in a mountainous area where there might be no direct sunlight for half of the year. At least three were killed by avalanches over the coming decades. rogress was slow, with difficult conditions including fractures in the rock bringing snow flows into the tunnel. Compressors and a powerhouse in the nearby river were eventually built to pump out 40,000 litres of water per hour. Work was also interrupted by World War II (though the actual piercing of the mountain had successfully been achieved in 1940), and an avalanche in 1945 which destroyed the eastern tunnel portal. These problems delayed the tunnel's completion and opening until 1954.

On the other side of the tunnel we stopped to admire the Kea, before leaving the bus our driver told us to make sure that we had a good hold on everything we wanted to keep. He told us how in the news a couple of weeks previous a tourist was on a trip admiring a Kea and one swopped down and flew off with his passport. The Kea is one of the few alpine parrots in the world and are legendary for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, and will work together to achieve a certain objective. Tom told me he had watched a documentary on them.

Next we started our descent into Milford Sound and travelled from cloud capped forest peaks into the subtropical west coast valleys of Milford Sound. Stunning.

Here our cruise vessel awaited and it was lunch time so we boarded the boat ate our lunch quickly and got up to the top deck so we could get a great view.

Queenstown - 10th June 2009

We went off to Queenstown today and I flew Jet Star for the first time. We arrived at the airport and checked in and then started to wonder what why all these camera crews had arrived filming the checkin desks. It was not until later that night that we found out that we had flown on Jet Star's first day operating in new Zealand. They also didn't get off to a great start, and to be honest New Zealand News was still reporting on the awfulness of Jet Star 3 weeks later (my track record with Jet Star currently stands at 100% of flights running later). Our flight was 2 hours later, which was a shame as we had planned to spend the day in Queenstown itself.

We had booked our hotel on the www.wotif.com site and decided that we would go for a Wot if Hotel mystery deal. This meant that we wouldn't find out where we had booked until it was booked but we got some hints about the accommodation. We decided why not, mainly as the week before we had locked ourselves out of the house and ended up in a hotel in Brisbane for the night until we could get our spare set of keys. At the hotel we met a lady in the elevator who was delighted that she was there through one of the mystery deals.

Sadly we weren't as lucky as the woman we had met. We were in the Kingsgate Hotel which was a wee bit tired looking on the inside and pretty cold, but the views, the views from our room were amazing. It was an early night for us as we had an early start tomorrow as we were off to Milford Sound.

Antarctic Centre - 9th June 2009

Our day started with us awaiting the Antarctic Centre bus which could be identified easily as it has penguins on the top of it. Whilst we were waiting we were approached by one of the many shuttle bus drivers that were hanging around. He gave us a bit of paper advertising the fact he was driving the "Five Dollar Bus"... can you spot the problem with the "Five Dollar Bus"... did you see it... it's now $7, this really made us laugh (so much so that I kept the bit of paper so I could share it with you.)


We passed on the $5 bus (now $7) and ours arrived. As you can see it stands out. :o) The Centre is home to the New Zealand, United States and Italian Antarctic Programmes and comprises administration offices, warehousing, a US & NZ clothing store, a post office and travel agency, the Antarctic Passenger Terminal and of course the Visitor Centre, 'The Antarctic Attraction'.

We arrived at the Antarctic Attraction bright and early and explored the museum. One of the first stops was the snow and ice experience. We got all wrapped up in a cosy coat and gloves and we stepped inside. The Snow and Ice experience is a weather polar room that is chilled to -5 degrees celsius, we slide down the icy slope, sheltered in the ice cave and braved the Antarctic storm which took the temperatue down to - 18 degrees celsius (brr!)

Next stop, the penguins - I love penguins, I could watch them all day long. The centre has Little Blue penguins, they look after injured ones. We watched feeding time we went on a backstage tour, which meant that we went into the enclosure and got up close to a couple of them. Apparently I am not allowed to have a pet penguin though. The Antarctic Centre ship the penguins fish in from Holland! (There isn't a market in New Zealand for the type of fish they eat). The Little Penguin is the smallest species of penguin. The penguin, which is about 43 cm (16 in) tall, is found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand.

Apart from Little Penguins, they have several common names. In Australia, they are also referred to as Fairy Penguins because of their tiny size. In New Zealand, they are also called Little Blue Penguins, or just Blue Penguins, owing to their indigo-blue plumage, and they are called Kororā in Māori.

After the penguins next on the list of was Hagglund ride. We clambered aboard the remarkable all-terrain amphibian vehicle – the Hagglund, buckled up and off we went. We went over mounds, up hills, sped across open ground, and through a pool of water to test the vehicle’s amphibious abilities. It was loads of fun.

Christchurch Museum - 8th June 2009

I love museums, so everytime we go somewhere new we tend to find our way to a museum. Our trip to Christchurch was no different. It's the Queen's Birthday today so we were unsure whether anything would be open as Australia was planning on coming to a complete stand still.

The museum sits right at the edge of the Botanic Gardens and a little past the Art Centre that we visited yesterday. It sits in yet another Neo Gothic building. I had read in my trusty Rough Guide that there was an Egyptian mummy in the museum but sadly it was getting rehoused... they had bought is for $24 nz in 1886. As Christchurch tends to be the last stop for those on expedition to the Antarctic there was a floor dedicated to expeditions, discoveries and the Antarctic itself. There was also a large collection of Maori artifacts and a lot of information on Christchurch through the ages. It was in the Museum that we also first learnt about the Moa.

The moa is an extinct bird that once wondered around New Zealand happily, their only predator was the massive Haast's Eagle (an eagle that had a wing span of 8-10ft!!! The eagle is also extinct due to the hunting of the moa they lost their main food supply and then turned on the Maori themselves but—until the arrival of human settlers. The Maori then came to New Zealand and found these birds an easy to catch meal and sadly hunted them to extinction. There were many different types of Moa, but the largest stood at a whooping 12ft tall (and pretty meaty). (The photo is of a kiwi, ostrich and a moa).

We had a walk around the Botanic Gardens in the afternoon and we spotted the largest pigeon we had ever seen (we later found out it was a New Zealand Pigeon (or kererū). The New Zealand Pigeon grows to some 51 cm (20 inches) in length and 650 g in weight. The head, throat and wings are generally a shiny green-purple colour, but with a bronze tinge to the feathers. The breast is typically white and the bill red with an orange-ish tip. The feet and eyes are red. It was huge, I wish I could have had a photo of it beside a common rock pigeon.

How to prepare a Kiwi

Air New Zealand Safety Video

The Kiwi

Thought I would write an entry about the Kiwi itself as it's an odd but amazing creature.

As I mentioned in a previous entry I was surprised by the size of the Kiwi, about the size of a chicken, but the thing I still can't get over is the size of the egg it lays in comparison to the bird's size. They lay the biggest egg for body weight of any bird - up to 20% of it's body weight. They usually lay 2 eggs in a burrow and the smaller male sits on these eggs. They hatch in about 11 weeks.

Kiwi habits and physical characteristics are so like a mammal the bird is sometimes referred to as an honorary mammal. It has feathers like hair, nostrils at the end of its beak and an enormous egg. The kiwi is the smallest member of the genus Apteryx which includes the ostriches, emu, rhea, and the extinct New Zealand moa (I will go into detail of the Moa in another entry). It is named after it's shrill call - kee-wee kee-wee.

It lacks wing and tail plumes and walks with a rolling gait. It is the only bird whose nostrils open at the tip of the bill, which is 6 in. (15 cm) long, slender, and curved. Kiwis hide during the day and forage at night for grubs and worms. Their eyesight is poor; the long, hairy bristles at the base of the bill are believed to have a tactile function which is thought to supplement their keen sense of smell in hunting. Kiwis nest in underground burrows, the male performing the incubational duties.