Williams Family Adventure

Blog Archive

2011-05-19T01:59:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in archived entries about the cross-country biking portion of our year-long adventure, we began the bike trip on July 20, 2009 and finished cycling on December 1, 2009.

I hope you enjoy the blog. I love to hear your comments!

Sincerely,
Dorrie

Chico News & Review Article

2011-05-19T01:53:00.000-07:00

Check out this great article written by Stacey Kennelly of the Chico News & Review.

http://www.newsreview.com/chico/on-the-road/content?oid=2091065

We will be presenting at the RAYRAY Gallery in Downtown Chico on Friday, May 20th at 6:30P.M.

We hope to see you there!

"School on the go" article about our 2009-2010 Adventure

2011-03-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

School on the go | trip, through, year - Willows Journal
Hello friends! Above is a link to an article about our trip that ran on the front page of the Orland Press Register today, March 2, 2011. Rick Longley of Tri-County Newspapers interviewed us in our Orland home shortly after Gregory won 2 first place ribbons for his writing that was entered in the Glenn County Young Writers Festival. His award-winning New Zealand poem is also posted on this link.

Australia Zoo and Mum's Day

2010-05-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

Crikey! It's the Australia Zoo! What a ripper!

Two Giant Aldabran Land Tortoises

Patting kangaroos and koalas was ripper ace!

Feeding the Asian Elephants a bit of rock melon (cantaloupe). The three elephants at the zoo were formerly circus elephants and now they are spoiled at the zoo where they are hand-fed melon and squash by the many visitors each day.

The spiky echidna is a monotreme, an egg-laying mammal. The only other is the platypus who also lives in Australia.

On Day 1 at the zoo, I twisted my ankle stepping off of the bitumen (asphalt) where it had broken away on the edge.

Charlie the Magpie Goose was very worried about me when I hurt my ankle. I was wailing pretty good for quite some time before I could calm down.

Bev and Terry, our special hosts, gave us a tour of Caloundra, beautiful meals and were wonderful company. They told us that their daughter went to school with Steve Irwin and is friends with his sister Joy who apparently manages the tucker (food venues) at the zoo. They said the personality that you saw when Steve was on the tele, in movies, etc. was just as he was. He was full of enthusiasm, kindness and had an incredible heart and was dedicated to wildlife conservation.

Our family photo from Day 2 at the zoo, with a repeat try after spraining my ankle on Day 1.

Lamington (sponge cake covered in chocolate with coconut), coffee and hunky men for Mum's Day morning tea at the Australia Zoo!

The reason I can celebrate Mum's Day, my little miracle, Gregory Thomas.

Patting a Wallaby

The Brolga

Double click below to read more about this large flightless bird who has a "horny helmet".

The Red Panda

The Australia Zoo believes that getting up close and personal with the wildlife will give people an opportunity to make a connection and understand the importance of preserving these creatures and their habitats. They allowed each of us to give this little koala a gentle pat on his bottom. The many koalas take turns "on duty".

Gregory pats this large red kangaroo.

Mike says hello to a little joey and her mum.

My husband knows I love hearts in nature and he found this one for me on Mum's Day.

Glossy Ibis

A Pair of Carpet Pythons

Monty the Croc at the Crocoseum Wildlife Warriors SHOW

Now that is one big snake! This guy takes to the water for two shows a day.

Two of the three species of wombat live at the Australia Zoo, the Common Wombat and the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat. The other species is the Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat. As you can see these were one of my favorite animals.

Common Wombat

Buzzy the Common Wombat

Grotty the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat wears a coat because he recently had an operation and his hair is growing back.

Grotty in his dashing coat.

Just another cute wombat picture I had to include.

"Help! Croc attack!"

Asian small-clawed otters by Gregory

The Perentie, Australia's Largest Lizard

The Komodo Dragon is part of the Endangered Species Breeding Program

Watching Acco the 16ft. Saltwater Croc eat his chicken (whole feathers and all) dinner. Photo by Gregory

My Budding Photographer

Acco gets another little snack after finishing off the whole chicken in one gulp.

This little guy seems to be saying, "When is it my turn in the jumpy house?" These lizards were scurrying all about the park and would startle people left and right. This little guy got two ladies off a bench in a hurry!

Mum's Day dinner at Noosa Marina including seafood and live music.

May 8, 2010

Our trip to the zoo was meant to be an early Mother’s Day present and it turned out to be quite the memorable Mother’s Day, not only because of all of the amazing animals and acts that we saw during the morning but also because I twisted my ankle at around 1:00 P.M. and that put me out of commission for the day! (We did return the next day, which was actually Mum’s Day and my boys drove me around in a wheelchair all day. That was a bit tough to relinquish full control! Four hunky fellows, from the Aussie Revue, also served me a complimentary morning tea!)

I must say that I was impressed with the park, which is very tidy and beautifully manicured (employees are always busy scrubbing bird droppings off the walkways and trees and raking up the kangaroo droppings). There are also professional presenters who do a great job conveying the conservation message to the public. The Wildlife Warriors SHOW at the Crocoseum was terrific and included birds soaring right over our heads, various snakes and feeding time for Monty the crocodile (Saturday) and Murray (Sunday). With a bit of humor, and a message to accompany each act, I was quite delighted by the entire show.

I must say that when Steve Irwin came up on the big screen with his message to preserve the earth and its creatures I was really moved. (If you don’t already know, a stingray killed Steve Irwin.) Steve’s wife Terri (who I just learned is American) and his children Bindi and Robert “Bobby” continue to carry on Steve’s legacy as well as the many people who work at the Australia Zoo and the Australian Wildlife Hospital www.wildlifewarriors.org.au (which is dedicated to the memory of Steve Irwin’s mother, Lyn Irwin.)

We enjoyed feeding elephants; patting kangaroos and wallabies, patting koalas and watching the crocs have a feed. The Aviary and The Wetlands were so very peaceful and it was such a joy to see the many species of birds that call Australia home. We also enjoyed seeing a couple of dingoes, a komodo dragon and the Perentie, Australia’s largest lizard. The wombats were one of my personal favorites as well as the and the spiky little echidna.

We saw a Tasmanian devil named Jinky, who is about to have a birthday, and we learned that the Tasmanian devils are in danger of extinction due to a facial tumour disease that is caused when they bite each other while fighting over food. There currently is no cure for this terrible disease. We bought a little packet to make a donation to the cause. If you are interested in learning more visit the above website.

Here is what Gregory had to say about the Australia Zoo:

May 8^th, 2010

Crikey Mate! That’s what I say to the Australia Zoo! Home to the Crocodile Hunter! Steve Irwin! When we first entered the zoo we saw a Komodo Dragon, 2 Perentie Australian Lizards and Tortoises Live! There were 2 giant Aldabran Land Tortoises. Then we went and got to feed Asian Elephants squash. I got snot all over my hand! After we did that we went to the Crocoseum for the Wildlife Warriors Show and saw Monty the croc, water snakes and free flight birds including black cockatoos, lorikeets and a Jabiru. It was AWESOME!!!! Then we saw one of the 2 egg-laying mammals, the echidna! Next (it was off) to The Wetlands! We got to see the Jabiru again and the Brolga. Then mom fell and twisted her ankle!!! Charlie the Magpie Goose was worried about Mom! Dad had to run across the whole park to get a wheel chair for Mom! At the end we got to see Asian small-clawed otters swimming! I learned that they have fingernails instead of claws and that they are going extinct. I had a fun time.

Sincerely,

Gregory

March 10^th, 2010

Our second day at the supersonic Australia Zoo was Mother’s Day. We went back a second day because the first day Mom hurt her ankle at noon and we didn’t get to finish the day. I had to push her around in a wheelchair almost all day. Dad only had to help me on the steep hills. One of the really fun things I got to do was pat a koala. They are really soft! I also got to pat wallabies and a kangaroo joey. Then, we went and saw venomous and nonvenomous snakes! We also saw the red panda again. The Tiger Temple was awesome with all of the tigers with it! We also got to see Acco the 16ft. croc that ate a whole chicken in one CHOMP! I HAD AN AWESOME TIME!

Sincerely,

Gregory

Whitewater World and Dreamworld

2010-05-13T05:14:00.000-07:00

Yippee! We finally made it! Whitewater World on the Gold Coast.

B.R.O. ~ Blue-ringed Octopus with 8 slides was a blast.

On the right is The Green Room. This was our favorite family ride.

Thumbs up for Whitewater World now on to Dreamworld!

This is the Giant Drop in the background. Mike and Gregory later did this 120m (394ft.) free-fall ride.

After a morning at Whitewater World we hit Dreamworld for the last couple of hours of the day.

Tiger Island ~ Bengal and Sumatran Tigers

Rocket Power Bumper Beach

This is a bit blurry but I had to put it in. This was a great ride, Mick Doohan's Motocoaster. Below is a picture of Mick who won 5 consecutive 500cc Championships.

Gregory shows us his moves on the Flowrider wave machine.

Freshwater Crocs

Note the little joey foot hanging out of her pouch. This is a bit startling and very exciting when you first see it. Another flyer had just the joey's tail hanging out and that looked a bit strange!

Black Cockatoo

Feeding the Kangaroos

Double Click below to read more about the Emu.

Red Kangaroo

I just thought this sign was so clever. This is how I was feeling when I finally found the toilet and I had to chuckle.

Koalas Belinda and Kenny ~ The Dreamworld Mascots

Gregory's new friend Simon is teaching him how to play Scrum. Simon and his girlfriend Katie were over from Essex in England. (Gold Coast Holiday Park, Helensvale, QLD ~ That's Queensland!)

Yes, it does rain in Australia. Here I am carrying the breakfast dishes back from the kitchen. We had a river running around the entire camper so had to wear our thongs to and from the camper. Tennis shoes were out of the question! Nice umbrella eh?

Gregory is in the front seat of the Runaway Reptar Rollercoaster.

Dingo

Sheep Shearing at the Oakley Creek Farm Show, Dreamworld

Patrick, Gregory and SpongeBob Squarepants

Patting the Roos in the Rain

Nick Central's SlimeBowl ~ Gregory is the middle red team player. He was the first left holding the cream pie when the music stopped and he had to "let the pie fly" right into his face. He was a good sport and had loads of fun too! We watched the video over and over and it is hysterical!

Getting cleaned up after letting the pie fly into his face.

Alien vs. Predator vs. You laser combat game was perfect entertainment for our rainy day at Dreamworld.

May 3, 2010 ~ The Best of Both Worlds

Gregory finally got his theme park(s)! We purchased an unlimited entry World Pass for White Water World/Dream World for AU$69/each (US$62) which allows us into this two adjacent parks as many times as we like until June 30^th. We hit the water first, spending the bulk of the day flying down various water structures on single, double and cloverleaf tubes, floating in the Cave of Waves and soaking in the sun. Our favorite ride was The Green Room that, “accelerates riders from a 75m (246ft.) tunnel to a 15m(49ft.) funnel” (brochure) while sitting on top of a cloverleaf tube. Gregory and Mike also favored The Rip, “12m (39ft.) of pitch black terror before blasting into a massive bowl.” This you could choose to ride on a single of double tube. My least favorite was the newest ride in the park called The Wedgie. Of course I was elected to go first. I was locked in an upright tube (like a space capsule) with my hands clasped behind my neck and a drop out bottom under my crossed over feet. My heart is racing just writing about it! 3-2-1 and the bottom went out and I was dropped straight down and through a loop before being spit back out about 5 seconds later. I think what was so scary for me was that the tube was so small and water was flying in my face. I felt claustrophobic and I couldn’t see. Thank goodness it was over in a flash. I was the test case and if I gave Greg the thumbs up he would go. I waved my arms back and forth indicating to him that I wouldn’t go again, so he opted out, but Mike went. That was the only ride Gregory didn’t do and Mike kept giving him a hard time about it. This morning Gregory informed me that he was going to do it today. We’ll see!

With a couple of hours left before the 5 P.M. close of Dreamworld we went back to the campervan in the parking lot, changed our clothes, had a snack and a cuppa (coffee) and headed out for more thrills. The park was amazingly quiet for a holiday weekend and we were happy to do several rides in such a short time. We also went to Tiger Island for the tiger presentation where we got to watch Sumatran and Bengal tigers just metres away. Gregory and Mike enjoyed the bumper cars, Gregory weaved around on the Sponge Bob Flypants where he was flat on his stomach going round and round, we all took a wild ride on the Runaway Reptar Rollercoaster (Greg with a repeat performance) and a family favorite was Mick Doohan’s Motocoaster motorbike rollercoaster where you are sitting on side by side motorbikes leaning over the “gas tanks” and propelled along a rollercoaster track. If you didn’t already know Mick Doohan is the winner of 5 consecutive 500cc championships. It was so quiet that we dismounted our bikes and ran through the “cattle gates” (moooooo) and were right back up front for the next ride! Usually the queue for this ride is hours long! It was awesome (as Gregory would say).

We were exhausted (in a good way) and I was starving and craving Mexican so we went to the bottle shop for Coronas and then to Coles (grocery) where we spent over $100 on food. Rule #1: Never shop when you are hungry! Tomorrow is a holiday and stores are closed for Labor Day so we had to stock up. Anyhow, back at the camp kitchen while I was whipping up tacos we got to chatting with some Aussies who were in the area for a rugby tournament their kids were in. We both had Corona so we had a lime vs. lemon debate and then they told us all about Bundaberg rum (located about 4 hours north) and said Aussie’s don’t drink Bacardi (the #1 world seller).

Earlier I’d mentioned we were from California so as the evening progressed one on the guys came up to me and said, “So you’re a California Girl?” And, I promptly started to sing, “I wish they all could be California girlssssss.” They got a kick out of that. I had to leave the party to attend to my son who crashed riding his scooter in the dark and thought he had broken his wrist but Mike stand on well into the night and had a grand time with his new mates. He even got an invitation to stay at a place “in the bush” outside of Brisbane (Aussies call it Brisi —pronounced Briz-ee).

Gregory was pretty upset last night thinking he would need a cast and miss out on Dreamworld but after some ice, an Advil and a good nights sleep (between Mom and Dad) he is up this morning riding his scooter again! Off we go to Dreamworld. Cheers!

P.S. New sayings I heard are: “That ride is quality” and “That is a sterling idea!”

May 4, 2010

The past couple of days at Dreamworld have been tons of fun. I think we originally thought we’d only spend a day (with another day at White Waterworld) but we just couldn’t do it all, so we took advantage of our unlimited entry. Sunday it was warm, dry brilliant weather but today was gray, rainy and cool and the rain didn’t let up until about an hour before the 5 o’clock closing time. It actually worked to our advantage in that the park was dead and there was no waiting however, we wore shorts, thongs, rain jackets and hats and our toes did get a bit chilly!

On our first day at Dreamworld we started with the Wipeout, an extreme thrill ride which was plenty wild for Mum, but it was the round and round and round of the moderately rated kids ride called the Reef Diver, that did me in. I couldn’t wait for it to end and when I stumbled off I immediately put my head down on a table to recover. Mike was wise enough to opt out of that one! Next up was the Flowrider for Gregory. He “surfed” these high-speed waves on a boogie board with his new friend TJ and his sister Haidee.

Here is what Gregory had to say about his time at Dreamworld:

May 4th, 2010

Yesterday we came into Dreamworld and headed straight for the Wipeout! While we were waiting in line we started talking with TJ, Haidee and their dad. They said they were going to do Flowrider at 11:30. They said it was only $5 so I did it too. Then, we went to see kangaroos and I actually got to feed them!!! Then we saw salt and fresh water crocs! Then we did the log ride and got wet. Then we went and did the Giant Drop, a 120m (340ft.) free-fall.

One of the really fun things I did on Tuesday was going on the Nickelodeon stage for Slime Time. I had to pass a cream pie to other players and when the music stopped I was the first to get stuck with the pie and I had to make the pie fly straight into my face!!! It felt all creamy and I got it in my hair so I had crusty pie in my hair all day but it was still fun!

Another interesting show that we got to see was the Oakley Creek Farm Show. A sheep dog rounded up some sheep, a sheep was shorn and at the end we got to taste damper, which is a bread, cooked over a fire in the outback. It was tasty!

The Gold Coast has an average of 300 days of sunshine every year but it rained our whole second day at Dreamworld. But, that was okay because we got to do laser combat called Alien vs. Predator vs. You! You would have to wear a vest with flashing targets on your front and on your back and shoulders. You also get a laser gun. You can earn points by hitting eggs with flashing targets on them and by hitting other people and the queen alien and the predators! It was dark and smoky in the room. We did it about 8 times and the last time it was only me, Mom, Dad and the leader Mark! It was one of my favorite things at Dreamworld!

Tweed Heads

2010-04-30T03:10:00.001-07:00

Gregory enjoys riding his new scooter with new friends Cooper and Luke.

April 30, 2010

We took the day off at the Tweed Heads Billabong BIG 4 Holiday Park today. We needed a day to just relax and catch up. We made arrangements to switch out our camper van up in Brisbane tomorrow (faulty battery connections and bad radio), booked E-tickets for the theme parks (Dreamworld & White Water World), did laundry, swam, read, blogged and generally rested. We picked up a Razor scooter for Gregory at Kmart yesterday so he road that around all day, along with brothers Cooper (9) and Luke (10) who are down here on holiday from their home in Nambour up on the Sunshine Coast (an hour north of Brisbane).

I think I mentioned before that it is a three-day holiday weekend for the folks just over the border in Queensland. (Tweed Heads is in the state of New South Wales and just over the border is Coolangatta which is considered Queensland. The Gold Coast of Queensland is full of theme parks as well as lovely beaches.) Well, our day in camp was quiet for the most part with a few folks trickling in this afternoon but tonight we were inundated around dinner time. The people who set up next to us must have over 10 kids with them and there are kids everywhere! People have been setting up in the dark for hours. We'll see if we get any rest tonight! Ha!

Gregory's Kangaroo Report

2010-04-30T02:47:00.000-07:00

Kangaroos at Trial Bay Campground ~ South West Rocks

This joey is having some breakfast.

We saw four kangaroos this morning, two mothers and their joeys

Gregory wrote this report prior to our departure for New Zealand and Australia. He used books from the Henderson County Library (in North Carolina where Grandma and Grandpa Williams live) and he did research on the Internet. He first made a web (graphic organizer), then he wrote a sloppy copy, we did some editing, and then he wrote this final draft to publish.

Kangaroo

By Gregory Williams

The kangaroo is a marsupial, a mammal that has a pouch. Some other kinds of Australian marsupials are the koala, Tasmanian devil and the wombat. The only marsupial native to North America is the opossum.

There are 60 different kinds of kangaroos. Some of the kinds are the yellow-tailed tree kangaroo, the red kangaroo and the grey kangaroo. Kangaroos have very strong hind legs and sharp claws. The kangaroo has hair on the outside of its body. A male is called a boomer, a female is called a flyer and a baby is called a joey.

The grey kangaroo can swim by doing the doggie paddle. Kangaroos can run up to 40 miles per hour and can jump 25 feet in mid-air. They can grow up to 80 kgs. Kangaroos travel in mobs of about 12 to 100.

A kangaroo’s diet is insects, larva, grass, mulga, snakewood, fungi, shrubs and leaves. Kangaroos can go months without water but not years!

Kangaroos enjoy bushland, woodland, open forests, under trees and some even live in trees, caves and on rock cliffs. They like mallee, mulga and other scrublands. The grey kangaroo can also be found in the alpine regions. I am looking forward to seeing a kangaroo in Australia!

The Clarence Coast and Byron Bay

2010-04-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Blossom

Interesting Fruit

Crested Pigeon

Watching fisherman on the South Breakwall, Yamba

Gregory poses with the catch, a long-finned tuna.

Jaws & Chips

Our camp at Calypso looked out over Yamba Bay

Crested Pigeon

Pippi Beach (above and below) where we saw a pod of dolphins.

Fisherman at Pippi Beach

Rock Pool at Angourie Bay

Zebra Shell (We left it there because Angourie Bay is a Reserve.)

Gregory thought this looked like a brick wall. This is another rock pool at Angourie Bay.

Gregory explores the Coffee Rock Cliffs of Angourie Bay.

Angourie Blue Pool

Gregory enjoyed jumping off the cliffs into Angourie Blue Pool along with several other kids around his age.

Lennox Head is popular with surfers. We are looking south from Pat Morton Lookout the perfect vantage point for watching the action. (Lennox Head is between Balllina and Byron Bay.)

Gregory watching the surfers from Pat Morton Lookout

I was the only one up for the walk out to the most easterly point of the Australian Mainland at Cape Byron. Spectacular views of Byron Bay and the lighthouse were my reward.

Byron Bay lighthouse was built in 1901

View from Cape Byron Lighthouse

In the morning, at Yamba, we had a beautiful early morning walk from Calypso Holiday Park out along the South Break Wall where we watched the surfers and fisherman. Yamba is famous for the fishing and it also has excellent surfing. Out at the end of the “Wall” we watched the excitement as a fisherman reeled in long-finned tuna. He was using an enormous rod and balancing on the break wall rocks with his legs shaking like a leaf. You could tell he was thrilled with his catch but also exhausted.

As we drove down along Pippi Beach Gregory spied a pod of dolphins so we parked and walked out along the beach for a while to have a look. Gregory was eager to try to go in and swim with the dolphins but there was not a single person in the water and the signs warned of dangerous waves. Our map said it was a patrolled surfing beach, in season, (not patrolled today) but we didn’t want to risk going in at a dangerous spot and getting caught in a rip. These were big waves. The beach was beautiful though so we had a stroll and Gregory got to throw a stick for a dog.

Just a little further south of Yamba is Angourie which, “is famous as one of Australia’s best surfboard riding spots and was the first designated surf reserve in Australia.” (Cartoscope Coastal Explorer Pacific Coast Touring Route, www.maps.com.au)

Here is what Gregory had to say about his day:

April 27, 2010

This morning my mom and I walked out on the Breakwall and there were a lot of surfers out in the waves. We walked all the way down to the point and were just in time to see a man pulling in a long-finned tuna. It was as big as a rig shark! Then, we drove down to Pippi Beach and saw a pod of dolphins! We then drove to Angourie Beach and walked along the huge rock masses! It was really cool! I also jumped off some cliffs into the Angourie Blue Pool that was formed by a quarry hole that filled with fresh water from a spring! Then we drove to Byron Bay and my mom and I went boogie boarding on the main beach. I had a fun time.

The end of the day was just bliss as Greg and I spent the last hour before sun set out in the surf. We watched the sun dip below the horizon before taking the short bare-footed walk back up to the camper. We rinsed away the salt and sand then settled down for a dinner of barbecued chicken, sausages and sweet potato fries done on the grill.

The breeze was warm and the night relatively peaceful until about 3:00 A.M. when the "Hippie Camper" neighbors (we were packed into this park pretty tight) decided to bang dishes around and talk at the top of their voices. Both Mike and our other neighbor, the TREX 4-Wheeled drive adventures host, John, let them know we didn't appreciate the noise. Mike and John had plenty to talk about in the morning and not just the noise-makers.

Gregory was actually the first to talk to John and told him all about our bicycle adventures since John leads outback adventures around Australia. John had a pretty fancy Nissan Patrol truck so he and Mike talked trucks amongst other things. John leads other folks in their own 4-wheeled drive vehicles around Australia on various length tours.

All three of us had one more surf at Byron Bay before we departed. If it hadn't been for our noisy neighbors who were booked for another night (and the fact that they wouldn't move us) we probably would have stayed another night. However, we ended up in lovely Tweed Heads for the evening and are just on the border of New South Wales and Queensland.

Soon we explore the Gold Coast and finally make good on our promise of a theme park for Gregory (a "reward" for his TransAm US bicycle crossing). We had promised Busch Gardens in Virginia but we didn't arrive until December and it was closed! There are many to choose from here and we've booked an Unlimited Entry World Pass (until June 30) for Dreamworld and White Water World. The price was right at AU$69 each (US$64.17). With the holiday weekend (labor day is celebrated on Monday in Queensland) we may wait until Tuesday when things quiet down but the weather isn't expected to be as good so we'll see!

Nambucca Heads

2010-04-29T21:07:00.001-07:00

This post is totally out of order but I wanted to put in a few pictures here. We stopped at Nambucca Heads on the day we left South West Rocks (Saturday 4/24). South West Rocks, Trial Bay is where we saw all of the kangaroos and the lagoon. After spending the afternoon at Nambucca we drove north and camped at Emerald Beach just above Coffs Harbour. It was pretty grey and windy at Emerald Beach when we arrived so we didn't spend much time on the beach, but Gregory rented a bike the next morning and had a swim in the pool before our 10:00 check out. (Actually they extended us to 11:00.)

Ready to take on the waves at Nambucca Heads

I love how there are signs to show you how to find almost anything. The brown sign in the middle directs you to the "Pub With No Beer." I saw an ad in a magazine and the delicious looking food was accompanied by a beer so go figure!

Boogie boarding at Nambucca

Interesting rocks at Nambucca Heads (And my legs are getting pretty tan too!)

Hibiscus

The Vee Wall is a breakwater at the Nambucca River entrance and is a gallery for graffiti artists. Anyone is welcome to leave their own work of art. I especially liked this recent mosaic.

Fisherman and more Vee Wall Art at Nambucca

The Van at Nambucca Heads

Bike rental at Emerald Beach Holiday Park

Sugar Cane and Battery Trouble

2010-04-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

We had to laugh at this parking garage. At the entrance it says Max Height 3.3m and then just inside it says Max Height 2.3m! Mike whipped a big "U" in a hurry.

Brembia Street in Grafton is lined with fig trees.

Fig Tree

Near Pound St. Jetty off Brembia St. along the Clarence River

Flood Marker for the Clarence River located in Lawrence Park ~ Gregory's head is by the 2001 flood mark.

At Lawrence Park

A typical BBQ found in parks and holiday parks. Some are coin operated and sometimes the use of the BBQ is included in your camping fees. After use you pour water on it and use a scraper to clean. The water runs down a hole in the middle. They get really hot as I can attest to since I burned my fingers nicely up at Byron Bay.

Walking amongst the sugar can with Roger.

Roger shows us the "eye" inside the sugar cane. If this freezes the cane won't grow any further and must be harvested.

Yummy Sugar Cane

Macadamia Nuts ~ The above have the shells on. Don't they look chocolate covered? Gregory cracked them open with a hammer. (See below.) Delicious!

Gregory shows Dulcie and Roger pictures of our bike ride across America.

Gregory and Leah

Ferry across the Clarence River from Lawrence

Tartan Power Poles in Maclean

Lunch in the Maclean Park with our camper in the background. We've been told they are called "Turtles" because you carry your home on your back. Someone also said that Aussie campers call them Whiz Bangers because of the sound the sliding door makes when it is being closed. (Especially annoying in the middle of the night!)

Mike liked this Land Cruiser work truck we saw while waiting for our battery to be checked at the mechanics in Maclean.

April 27, 2010 ~ Grafton, Lawrence, Maclean (This posting is a bit out of order. This came after Nambucca Heads and before Byron Bay)

A stop at the “i” center let us know that we were in Grafton, “the jacaranda city” famous for “The Jacaranda Festival, Australia’s longest running floral festival…held from the last Saturday in October when the streets are lined with vibrant purple blossoms.” (Clarence River Tourism brochure, www.clarencetourism.com). Though our timing was off for the festival we still enjoyed driving around this stunning city that boasts over 7,000 trees. (Later, our hostess Dulcie shared dozens of pictures from the 2008 festival with the town glowing in purple blossoms and a carpet of purple blanketing the ground.) We crossed the majestic Clarence River over the famous ‘Bendy Bridge’ that is considered an “engineering marvel” and was built in 1932. Chris, a volunteer at the information center, directed us to Breimba St. that is lined on both sides with massive fig trees with their enormous twisted trunks, and Chris also told us of an alternate route that would take us through pastoral countryside to the lovely town of Lawrence situated on the banks of the Clarence River. We were to cross the car ferry and head through the Scottish town of Maclean and on to the coastal surfing town of Yamba but fate lead us to Dulcie and Roger and an evening amongst the sugar cane. We’d had a stop in the pretty Lawrence Park where we admired the river and played on the equipment before headed to the toilet block. As I waited out front for the boys I said hello to Brien who then enquired where I was from. As we visited, Brien’s wife, Dulcie and finally Roger, soon joined us. They had just finished having their Monday musical practice session and were loading instruments into their vehicles. We chatted for a half hour or more about our trip, sugar cane and other local crops and a variety of other topics and could have talked all night but we finally went on our way thinking we had to make Yamba before dark. Well, as we were lined up in the number two spot for the car ferry, Roger walked up to the camper van and asked if we’d like to see a sugar cane farm. I instantly said, “We’d love too!” And, just like that Mike whipped a “U” turn and we were off to Roger and Dulcie’s for the evening.

We were thrilled to get the grand tour of the sugar cane farm (right across the street from their home) complete with a bit of Roger’s family history mixed in along the way. Roger retired a couple of years ago and sold his land to his brother Roger who just happens to live across the street! It was his grandparents who originally settled the area. We learned that the cane is usually harvested after about 2 years and that it can be cut just inches from the ground and will grow back up to full height in about 8 months. This can be done about 5 times before the roots are tilled under and they have to start from scratch. Roger cut a bit of cane for us and showed us the inside where the “eye” can be found and explained that if it freezes the cane will stop growing and you have to harvest it then. We even had a bit of cane to chew on and found it to be quite sweet though, Roger explained, that it wasn’t at its peak.

Gregory also got to meet Scruffy, Robert’s dog and his horse Leah who whinny and pranced around for us. She was quite worked up and had a roll in the grass to dry off her sweaty coat. Dulcie was quite busy while we were on our walk and had a lovely meal prepared for us. She also made sure Gregory had plenty to play with. She got out her son’s Legos and cars (she even gave him one to take with him), colored pencils and Frisbees. On the kitchen counter we discovered a bowl of dark brown, almost perfectly round objects filling a bowl. We learned they were macadamia nuts with the shells still on! We’ve eaten them but never seen them in their shells. Dulcie got out the hammer and let Gregory have a whack at them on the back porch. He sat one in a little dip in the concrete and swung away! We’ve had roasted, salted macadamias from the store before but fresh was even better!

Later that evening, while the adults had a visit, Gregory was allowed to pick a movie from Roger’s wide collection of John Wayne and Bonanza. Though he almost chose a western he went for the Sherlock Holmes instead!

We’d had a full afternoon and though it felt quite late when we went to bed around 8:30 P.M. after “plugging in” in the driveway. At dinner, I had explained to Dulcie and Roger about my mysterious rash from the night before and all agreed I might check at the chemist (pharmacist) the next day. Though I’d been relatively rash free most of the day, with my hands just a bit itchy, I’d had a flare up again that evening and my back was covered in massive red patches. I went to bed only to wake up in the middle of the night scratching my palms until they felt like they would bleed! My feet were also unbearably itchy and I couldn’t stop the incessant scratching. I’d woken Mike and he said, “Don’t scratch!” I wanted to throttle him because he had no idea how out of control I felt. I went inside to the bathroom and scratched away taking care not to break the skin. Fortunately for me, Dulcie left a note that said, Dorrie, maybe an antihistamine would help. She left a box of Fexal (fexofenadine hydrochloride) for me and I took one right away. (Last night I’d taken a Singulair I had with me but didn’t think to take one that night.) After about a half hour of washing my feet and hands in cool water, applying lotion, scratching and rubbing, things finally calmed down and I felt I might get back to sleep. I slept until morning and woke to the clippity-clop of Leah’s hooves in the paddock next to the house. It was a chilly night and as I peeked out the van window I could see the mist rising off of King’s Creek that runs behind their home. Warm air also was visible coming from Leah’s nostrils as she stood amongst the dew-covered grass framed by the sugar cane growing on King’s Island in the background. It was a picturesque pastoral setting and made better by the fact that I was rash free at least for the moment.

After leaving our new friends in Lawrence we crossed the Clarence River on the car ferry and had a beautiful drive to the town of Maclean, “The Scottish Town In Australia,” which has a highland gathering each Easter. The many power poles are painted with Scottish clan tartans and each has the appropriate clan name.

In Maclean, the chemist speculated that I’d had an allergic reaction to something, most possibly the fish or oysters I’d eaten in the past couple of evenings. It could also have been the little midges that fly about or mosquitoes and they guessed that the bloody bite between my toes was probably a leech! Geez! They said to keep taking the Fexal for a week or so and gave me an anti-inflammatory first aid cream called Paraderm Plus. We found a good deal on some snorkeling equipment at Maclean Outdoors and enjoyed takeaway in the park. Gregory had a Pluto Pup (basically a corn dog), I had a Satay Chicken Wrap and Mike had the John Dory fish and we all shared an enormous portion of chips (fries). We don’t eat out often so this was a nice treat.

We spent the entire afternoon with the camper van in the shop trying to sort out our battery issues and even after the install of a new “main” battery and pulling the alternator we still couldn’t find the reason that the auxiliary battery won’t take a charge off of the engine. The guys at the shop were terrific and dealt directly with Apollo (our rental company) and in the end we decided we would just have to swap out vans when we get up to Brisbane. We are fine as long as we can plug in each night but when we get to more remote areas it will be more crucial that the auxiliary battery can hold a charge to keep the fridge going. We closed the place down around 5:00 P.M. and it was already starting to get dark. Fortunately, we had a recommendation from one of the guys in the shop who grew up in Yamba, and we pulled into the Calypso Holiday Park well after dark. We had access to private ensuites (bathrooms complete with shower, toilet and sink all in one room) and had lovely steaming hot showers.

Gregory's Koala Report

2010-04-29T20:51:00.001-07:00

Taken at the Koala Hospital at Port Macquarie, New South Wales

Gregory wrote this over the holidays back in North Carolina, prior to our departure for New Zealand and Australia.

Koala by Gregory

A koala is a marsupial just like the kangaroo. Marsupials have pouches. When the baby is born it is a small embryo. It climbs up the mother into the pouch where it grows until it is strong.

Koalas are very calm. They are not fierce. They are prone to diseases and can get runny noses and colds just like people. They can sleep up to 18 hours a day. That means they only have six hours to be awake. They only eat eucalyptus leaves.

Koalas eat only three-dozen kinds out of the 700 varieties of eucalyptus that grow in Australia. The kind they eat depends on where they live. They usually eat only a couple of types. They can eat up to two pounds of leaves a day. That is a lot for a little animal. Koalas do not often drink water. They get it from the leaves they eat. Koala in Aborigine language means “no drink.”

Koalas spend most of their time in trees. The big problem is that people are cutting down eucalyptus trees so they can build houses and roads and this is endangering the koalas. Koalas live in Queensland and Victoria, the eastern part of Australia. Their habitat ranges from wetlands to dry plains.

A male koala can grow up to 30.7 inches and a female can grow up to 28 inches. Their fur is thicker on their back than on their tummy. The koala has white fluffy ears, a white chest and a very leathery nose. People think the koala is a bear but it is not, it is a marsupial.

(Note from Dorrie: The Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie is in the state of New South Wales so obviously the koalas live there as well!)

Koala Hospital at Port Macquarie

2010-04-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

Double Click for more information on Koalas and be sure to read Gregory's Koala Report (another posting).

Koala Hospital at Port Macquarie in New South Wales

This guy found a perch on top of an umbrella.

It is a bit hard to see but Gregory is looking at two cute little koalas up in this tree. See below for a close up of the koalas.

This guy is eager for feeding time.

Three in a Tree

As I said before, we had our first koala sighting on the way to One-Mile Beach near Nelson Bay, and though that was thrilling it doesn’t compare to the experience we had at the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie. It was really just chance luck that we found out about it. We were in an “i” center and though the helpful woman had given us a brochure on a koala park in that same area, Mike found the brochure on the Koala Hospital.

Many koalas are injured each year by cars (they are nocturnal and just wander out on to the roadways) and also by dogs (they get up a tree and the dog won’t let them down), bush fires and by the bulldozing of their habitats. The volunteers at the Koala Hospital take these animals in and nurse them back to health. Most patients are able to be release back in to the wild but there are a few that stay on. They have one koala that had to have a leg amputated and though she does fine climbing the trees at the hospital they aren’t sure how she would survive in the wild. Another koala named “Birthday Girl” is the oldest known koala in all of Australia. She is 23 years old!

When we arrived we watched them tag the ear of a young koala. This helps them keep track of the koalas should they end up back at the hospital in the future. This has happened on several occasions. We had a complete tour of the grounds and enclosures and got to watch the volunteers feed the koalas a special lactose-free formula. Did you know that marsupials are lactose intolerant? It is true! They also get lots of fresh eucalyptus leaves that a couple of fellows cut for them each day.

www.koalahospital.org.au is the website for the internationally known Port Macquarie Koala Hospital whose work has been carried out by the Koala Preservation Society of NSW Inc. since 1973. At the end of our tour the volunteer told us that many people adopt koalas for themselves or others as a special gift. One man adopted a koala for his grandmother as a Christmas gift! This hospital is run entirely by donation. The adoptions and funds from the gift shop all help keep their work going and it is pretty important work.

Here is what Gregory wrote in his journal about his day with the koalas (and kangaroos):

April 24^th, 2010

Yesterday we saw koalas and today we saw kangaroos!!! Yesterday we went to the Koala Hospital and the first thing I saw was a little koala getting his ear tagged. Then, we took a guided tour from koala to koala and I learned that all marsupials are lactose intolerant so they don’t eat lactose. I had a “K”-awesome time at the Koala Hospital!

Some of the biggest threats to koalas are people are bulldozing koala’s habitats and other threats are dogs, bush fires and motor vehicles. All of them can be fatal so drive carefully please and keep your dogs under control! Thank you! Sincerely, Gregory

This morning my mom and I got to see 4 kangaroos. 2 of them were joeys. One of the joeys was feeding out of the mom’s pouch! They were really cute!

Kangaroos, Lagoons and Allergic Reactions

2010-04-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

A kangaroo peaking at us from the grasses along the edge of the lagoon. It looks like he has horns but it is just the white on his ears.

Double click to learn about the food web of a lagoon.

Saltwater Creek and Lagoon (The picture below shows the creek in the foreground with the lagoon in the background.)

This map shows the location of the Trial Bay Gaol (jail) and Trial Bay. Double click below to read about the interesting history of this site that was once housed Germans during WWI.

Trial Bay Gaol (jail)

To the left of this camper is an Ensuite. That is a private bathroom. Note: A kookaburra is sitting on the corner of the camper awning.

First daytime kangaroo sighting and right in our campground! (The night before we saw four in the headlights as we were looking for a camping spot.)

Mama and Joey

Kangaroos to the left and Galah to the right (on the feeder)

This joey is having his breakfast.

The Trial Bay BIG 4 Holiday Park caretaker took us to see this very dead, and deadly, "baby" black snake.

Trial Bay BIG 4 Holiday Park is a GUMNUT award winner. See their Worm Farm below.

YEAH!

Trial Bay ~ South West Rocks

Note: April 25th is ANZAC day. ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corp and ANZAC day is a day to honor those lost in Gallipoli in WWI.

Our ANZAC day began with a walk down around the saltwater lagoon at the Trial Bay Holiday Park where we were staying. Signs warned us that the ground is unstable around the lagoon and to approach the edges of the water with care. As we reached the water we were greeted by dozens of black swans taking flight. They settled down on the water in the distance and made a spectacular sight. Then we spied a kangaroo to the right just poking his head up above the grasses and staring at us in the most inquisitive manner. He (or she) would disappear now and then to have a bite but would inevitably pop back up to see if we were still there.

Two female kangaroos and their joeys were in camp again today. They nibbled on the well-groomed lawns and looked up at us now and then but really paid us no mind. Galahs flew through the air and perched on feeders and on cabin antennae while kookaburras laughed at us from the trees then came down on the clothesline and cabin railings waiting for a handout. Several spoonbills were perched high in the trees and lorikeets whizzed past us and settled down in the crimson bottlebrush.

After exploring the banks of the lagoon where we saw fish ripple the smooth water’s surface and ants busy at work on the trails, we walked back to camp. I asked the camp caretaker about a particular flower as I snapped away with my camera and he asked, “Have you seen the black snake?” “No,” we replied. “Aren’t those poisonous?” we asked and then proceeded to tell him about the poisonous brown snake our neighbors found in their garden. “Yes they are, but this one is dead,” he replied. He walked us just around the corner to the road coming in from the main entrance to the camp and there on the edge of the road was a “baby” black snake. Our caretaker informed us that even this little guy was deadly.

After that we thought that it probably wasn’t so smart to have been walking around the banks of a saltwater lagoon in thongs! As we walked back to our site I noticed that the strap between my toes was rubbing and I looked down to see blood between my big toe and second toe. The skin was broken and there was a red spot but I initially wrote it off thinking that a twig had probably poked me or perhaps a mosquito had bitten me and he was squished. I rinsed me feet and traded by thongs for socks and joggers thinking nothing more of it until later that evening. Around dinnertime I started getting itchy around my bra line and the waist of my shorts giving a bit of a scratch now and then. When I finally pulled up my shirt to have a look I had enormous red patches all over my torso. I was a bit concerned but put some Qtol (to soothe rashes and bites) all over and carried on. When it was time for bed I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and change and discovered my entire torso completely covered in a furious red rash. Now I was more than a bit worried and started trying to figure out what had caused it. I’d heard about Ross River Fever that is caused by mosquitoes so I Googled that. With a 7-9 day incubation period that didn’t seem likely but I was having joint pain in my knees that day and I definitely had the rash but no fever. (Arthritis and joint pain are other symptoms.)

We kept the phone by the bed in case my symptoms went from bad to worse and I tried to get some sleep. Surprisingly, I slept well and I awoke with no rash. (I took one of my Singulair allergy pills hoping that would help.) I still have a few mosquito bites that are bothering me but the rash is gone. The only other thing Mike and I thought of was perhaps I’d had an allergic reaction to the fish we’d eaten the night before or perhaps the oysters the night before that back in Forster. It is a mystery.

The oysters were offered to me in the camp kitchen at Lanis Holiday Park in Forster. Shane was cleaning up a bag load and explained to me that his job as a concrete guy is to cover these long sticks with concrete for the oyster businesses. When the oysters spawn the seed floats through the water and attaches to rocks, (actually, anything and everything) and they attach to these concrete “sticks”. After about 3 years they are ready to harvest. The bag of oysters was a “perk of his job” that day which included coating 160,000 sticks with concrete! He was hoping to come to the area permanently but was currently in the process of trying to sell his home, thus camping out.

Well, I tried one raw oyster and I’ll just say one was enough! I was wishing I had something to wash it down with! Being the brave one that I am I tried one again later when he offered it cooked. Now, Oysters Kilpatrick is mighty tasty. The oyster is cleaned and then left on a half-shell and cooked with Worcestershire sauce, fresh lemon juice and topped with cheese that is baked to a golden brown. That is really yummy! Mike passed on this entire experience but I’m glad to say I’ve tried oysters in Australia. (Except if that is what caused my allergic reaction! I may never eat them again just to be safe.)

Lorikeets, Cockatoo, Kookaburra, Ibis and more!

2010-04-25T05:26:00.000-07:00

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo at Lanis Holiday Park in Forster

Treetops full of Cockatoos!

Jabiru

Sacred Ibis and ducks

Pelican at Nelson Bay

Noisy Miner (That is really his name!) drinks the nectar of a Bird of Paradise flower.

Lorikeets enjoying a birdbath in the gutter of this camp cabin.

Gutter Birdbath

Male Lorikeets on Eric's Hand

Lorikeets eating out of the palm of my hand (and my new friend Eric's hand too). I have a female on my hand and the males seem to prefer Eric.

Kookaburra

Black Swans at Saltwater Lagoon at Trial Bay ~ Near South West Rocks

Spoonbills at Trial Bay

Another Kookaburra Closeup

Galahs pearched on an antennea at Trial Bay BIG 4 Holiday Park

A Penguin, Koala and Goanna, Oh My!

2010-04-21T03:12:00.000-07:00

Gregory got up at 5:30 A.M. to go and watch the sunrise with his mom. We were rewarded not only with an incredible sunrise but also with a penguin sighting. (See below.)

Sunrise at Halifax Head (Between Nelson Bay and Shoal Bay)

Little Fairy Penguin (His head looks a bit yellow in this picture but that is just because it is 6:00 A.M. and the sun is rising!)

"All 18 penguins are restricted to southern seas. Only one, the smallest, breeds in Australia" (Taken from Reader's Digest Country Australia The Land and The People)

Little Fairy Penguin swimming just near shore.

Gregory's new friend Ben invited him to play Legos at his camp!

Our first koala sighting ~ This little fellow was way up in the treetops. (See more Koala pictures in an upcoming post. We went to the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie.)

Gregory and Ben boogie boarding at One Mile Beach

A Goanna (Australian Water Monitor Lizard) just in the car park at One Mile Beach

We spotted an octopus while snorkeling at Fly Point, Nelson Bay

Afternoon Tea

Gregory enjoyed the morning at Swansea Lake playing soccer and tennis and riding bikes with Ben Murray (15), Nick (10), Mitchell (8) and Ben (6). Nick and Mitchell’s mom Pip (short for Philippa) offered to keep all of the boys for one last night of holiday while the parents (and her partners in business) went on their way. When it came time to packing up 3 tents, etc. I commented, “What were you thinking?” and then offered to help. Fortunately, help was on the way.

Unfortunately, we had to do a bit of shopping today and just being in the mall and other shops was making me feel the need for wide-open spaces. We finally found Bar Beach late in the day and Gregory had a little surf time. We were still flying by the seat of our pants for camping and ended up in rush hour traffic through Newcastle and then across Stockton Bridge with view of one of the biggest coal ports in all of Australia. Though it was a very industrial area and we made a couple of wrong turns with no outlet, when we crossed the Stockton Bridge there was a brilliant orange sunset. Finally spying a blue camping sign we made our way to Stockton Beach Tourist Park and settled in well after dark. The Barbie (BBQ) was nice and Mike grilled up some chicken for dinner while I steamed some fresh green beans on the camper stove. With a bit of brown rice it made a lovely meal. We had refreshing hot showers and were happy to put our heads to the pillows.

The next morning Gregory and I were completely surprised when upon investigation we found that Stockton beach is stunning . We walked a bit and found the water surprisingly warm so we went back and collected our boogie boards. Mike was absorbed in the end of a book so he had some alone time and Greg and I had some fun in the waves. After riding the waves, and then floating further out, we placed our boards side by side on the beach and then laid belly-down on them and let the sun warm our backs. It wasn’t long before a wave came in and tickled our toes and up our legs. We just stayed there for quite some time and let nature have its way. It was just such a special time.

Later in the day we ended up at Shoal Bay, a beautifully pristine white sand beach with a picturesque harbour filled with sailboats. We had a swim and Gregory and I walked down around the point where we found a marine sanctuary with a sign informing beach-goers of “no collecting and no fishing”. As we made our way around Halifax Head we saw a man entering the water to snorkel and inquired about the snorkeling as we had heard from Pip (back at Swansea) that Nelson Bay was good for snorkeling. He assured us that it was and told us where we could rent snorkels and masks.

We spent the afternoon at Fly Point doing a bit of snorkeling and though we were told in was better at high tide (which we had missed by a couple of hours) we still saw many large schools of fish in varying sizes. What impressed me the most though was the vast array of sea grasses, anemones and soft coral. The fish were not as brightly colored as the ones we saw in Hawaii but there were some yellow and black striped fish and enormous schools of a small, almost iridescent little fish that kind of seemed to emit a “flash” when the entire school changed direction. It was almost as if someone had taken a picture.

We enjoyed camping at the Halifax Holiday Park with its beach side setting and best of all for Gregory, a new playmate, Ben. Ben and his sister Madeleine are home-schooled therefore are able to take a holiday this week versus during the last two weeks of regularly scheduled holidays for most kids. Ben shared his Legos and invited Gregory for a marshmallow roast.

The next morning we went ahead and booked another night before the 10:00 check out time. We were invited to join Ben, Madeleine and their parents Ruth and Tony at One-Mile Beach just up the road. Gregory was just too excited at having a boogie boarding partner his own age! We also stayed another day because we knew that we wanted to go snorkeling again at high tide which was 1:50 P.M. The snorkeling at Fly Point was at a bit clearer at high tide but the water was rough. I felt like I had a bit of vertigo after over an hour of bobbing around in rough water.

Gregory is the master at spotting sea life and once again (like in Hawaii) he was the one to spot an octopus. Actually he saw two today. The first one was at One-Mile Beach while boarding and then another while snorkeling!

Today was actually the day for spotting wildlife. First, Gregory and I got up at 5:30 A.M. to watch sunrise out on Shoal Bay and we actually spotted a single penguin swimming close to shore in the marine sanctuary. He would dive for a bit and then pop his head back up. We followed him along the shore for some time. It was such a treat to watch him swimming along. I think it was a little fairy penguin. I didn’t really expect to see one in Australia because we are further from Antarctica here.

The second wildlife spotting of the day was a koala! It was the first of our trip. On the way to One-Mile Beach, Mike noticed a group of people staring up into a tree and figured it had to be a koala. Sure enough a koala was nestled in the crook of a branch just having a nap in the canopy of a tree. We have been assured that we will see many on this trip. It was exciting though because it was a first.

Thirdly, we were leaving the car park at One-Mile Beach when a lady told Mike about a Goanna, or Australian Monitor Lizard, up in a tree. This particular Goanna had been spotted earlier eating a bird! It was massive at about 4 or 5 feet long from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. He was just lying on a huge branch gripping it with some sizeable claws! We think he was a Water Monitor based on his markings and the pictures we saw on this site. http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/goannas-monitor-lizards.html#australian-goannas

Lastly, as I already mentioned, we went snorkeling and saw many fish and an octopus. It was a pretty incredible day full of firsts!

Soccer and Soldiers Beach at Norah Head

2010-04-21T00:55:00.000-07:00

Taking off from Wallacia in the Toyota HIACE "Cheapa Campa". It is a 2007, very clean and loaded with goodies including a gas stove, fridge, microwave, sink, electric "pot" (kettle), pots & pans, utensils, dishes, linens and more!

Gregory playing soccer with Issac. Bronwyn, Margaret, Chris and Mike are in the background visiting. We went to watch Bronwyn's sons play.

Rainbow at Norah Head

The Whole Gang ~ Mike, Sam, Bruce, Kym and Bronwyn

Grandad Bruce has a bit of fun with Kym

Greg and Mike, Soldiers Beach at Norah Head

Soldiers Beach

Issac, Sam and Jade (the grand kids) on the trampoline (Gregory in foreground). Note that there is no safety net around the tramp like most you see in America. It is this way all over New Zealand and Australia.

Annie & Issac

Dorrie and Jade ~ The Artists

Margaret, Issac, Mike, Jade and Bronwyn check out our Toyota HIACE "Cheapa Campa"

Bat on a Wire

Black Swans

Shag

A walk along Tuggerah Lake with Margaret, her grandson Sam and her granddaughter Jade

Gregory picks hibiscus for Bruce and Margaret's granddaughter, Jade.

First Kookaburra Sighting

Margaret and Sam assured me that this was just a "common garden spider" and nothing to worry about. (See Below - Bronwyn showed me this little chart when we got back from our walk...)

Absolute Statewide Pest Management (Spiders) ~ Deadly & Dangerous; Toxic (Poisonous) - Painful Bite; or "Low Risk" Spiders

Pelican at Tuggerah Lake

Pelican & Fisherman ~ Sunset at Swansea Lake

Gregory watches a pelican as the sun sets over Swansea Lake.

Just another photo I had to share! ~ Swansea Lake

I’m feeling the need for a recap so here it is, ready or not. We arrived in Australia via Air New Zealand around 6:00 P.M. on Sunday, April 11^th and we stayed with Margaret and Bruce Rossiter in Wallacia, New South Wales (NSW) until Saturday morning, April 17^th. (We met Margaret and Bruce while camping in New Zealand and they invited us for a stay.) On Saturday, after picking up 4-year old Jade and 2-year old Isaac (their youngest son Darren’s children, mum is Tammy), we then drove a couple of hours north to visit their oldest daughter Bronwyn and her two sons Kym and Sam. When we arrived Sam was playing soccer, so we caught the tail end of his game. Sam is 13 years old and quite a good soccer player not to mention an acrobat on the trampoline and scooter. Kym is 16 years old and has recently received his learner’s permit for driving. He also plays soccer and referees for both boys and girls. On Sunday, Kym made $70 for four and a half hours (3 games) of soccer. I thought that was a great way for a 16 year old to make a bit of spending money. It is definitely better than working in a fast food restaurant!

When we broke out the atlas that evening we had the boys find North America and then showed them where we lived in Paradise, California. We then traced the ten states we rode through on our triple bicycle from July to December last year. (Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Southern Illinois, Kentucky and Virginia) To try to make a connection for them I said, “You know how you have Kentucky Fried Chicken here? Well, Colonel Sanders is the man who founded KFC and he was from Kentucky. Mike and I both actually worked at KFC when we were about your age.” They thought that was pretty interesting. Then we had to reminisce about those lovely brown polyester uniforms we had to wear! Hey, I was able to earn my gas and clothes money so I didn’t mind the poly!

Gregory really enjoyed having kids to hang out with. They kicked the soccer ball, played on the trampoline, played a bit of soccer on the PlayStation (he doesn’t have one of these at home so this was a real treat) and we had pizza for dinner! It was delicious. On Sunday, Gregory borrowed a scooter and we had a walk along Tuggerah Lake just down the street from their home in Kanwall. (This is near the towns of Gosford and The Entrance around two hours north of Sydney. Gregory picked hibiscus and other flowers for Jade and I and we spotted a wide variety of birds including a Kookaburra, Shag, Pelican, ducks and others. We also got our first look at a spider in Australia. It was enormous but Margaret and Sam assured us it was just a “common garden spider” (Golden Orb Spider) and nothing to worry about. When we got back from our walk Bronwyn showed us an Absolute Statewide Pest Management “card” (flyer) from their “termite specialist” with a listing a variety of spiders in the categories of: 1) Deadly and Dangerous, 2) Toxic (Poisonous) ~ Painful Bite, and 3) “Low Risk” Spiders!

During our visit, the whole lot of us had a grand time swimming and boogie boarding at Norah Head (Soldiers Beach). It is an exquisite beach just minutes from their home and we went both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. We love the beach and it won’t be difficult getting used to this every day!

Saturday night was our first night in our camper and we were snug and cozy. Gregory loves having the top bunk all to himself and it is wonderful for Mike and I to be in a bed with linens and a duvet and quilt (compliments of Margaret and Bruce). In the morning we did find quite a bit of condensation dripping from our fiberglass hi-top and learned a lesson about leaving the upper-windows open.

We hesitantly said good-bye to our new friends and drove off on Sunday afternoon to make our way north along the New South Wales (NSW) coast and drove only a short distance up to Swansea Lake. We camped in our first holiday park in Australia and were lucky to camp next to a large group of kids on their last night of a two-week holiday. Monday was “pupil-free” (teacher day) so they were able to extend their weekend one more night. The kids kicked around a soccer ball and they loaned Gregory a bike, which he rode along the shores of Swansea Lake as the sun was setting and putting on an impressive display. Their were numerous pelicans out on the water so this was something new and interesting to see. It was a picture perfect, serene setting.

Sydney, Wallacia and the Blue Mountains

2010-04-16T03:34:00.000-07:00

G'DAY! (Those are Mike's big size 13s and it is rare to see them in "thongs" as they say here.) In America thongs are something else entirely!

Aussie coins minus the 50c piece. In Australia the $1 coin is bigger than the $2 coin but in New Zealand it was the opposite.

Weird and Wonderful Trees at The Rock Lookout

See bottom right for the location of The Rock Lookout in relation to Sydney (45 minutes east) and Katoomba (1 and 1/2 hours west) where we went up into the Blue Mountains. You will also note the Nepean River and the town of Penrith, which is not far from our friend's home in Wallacia and is the main shopping area.

Bowerbird Nest

A bowerbird makes his home in our friend's back yard.

Jacaranda Tree on the streets of Wallacia, New South Wales

Sunset at The Rock Lookout

The Rock Lookout with Nepean River below and the Blue Mountains National Park (This river runs behind our friend's property.)

With Margaret at The Rock Lookout with grand views of Blue Mountain National Park and the Nepean River (below)

Mike and Bruce look out at the view from Bruce and Margaret's property in Wallacia, New South Wales

Bulli Beach Overlook

Strolling Bulli Beach with Bruce and Margaret

The Boogie-Boarders

Boogie On!

Mike, Margaret and Bruce

Sharing Chips (fries) with tomato sauce (ketchup) at Bulli Beach

No sightings today but hopefully!

Mike joked that if I was going to drive we would need an "L" (learner's permit) sticker for the back of the van. We are still on the left in Australia.

Camper van Shopping (Above and Below)

Bruce, Mike and Gregory discover the cause of the clatter...a broken shock.

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Welcome to Blue Mountains National Park

Click here to read more about the Blue Mountains

Gregory tries on a drover's hat in the shop. What a ham!

Just hanging out in the rainforest.

See Below

Katoomba Falls as seen from the Scenic Skyway (see below)

Glass-bottomed Scenic Skyway ~ It is hard to see in this picture but you can see the base of the falls through the floor.

Exquisite Eucalypt Trees

Mt. Solitary is over my left shoulder. Mun-mi-ee is the Gundungarra Aboriginal name for this feature.

Mt. Solitary (Mun-mi-nee)

The Scenic Railway ~ This 206 metre (676 foot) vertical drop is not for the faint of heart! We did it! The very dark tunnel portion of the ride is 80 metres (262 feet)! They play the Indiana Jones theme music as you make your descent.

Three Sisters as seen from Queen Elizabeth Lookout ~ Queen Elizabeth viewed the Jamison Valley from this lookout during her visit on 12 Feb. 1954.

Three Sisters ~ Mennhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo ~

These rock formations are very important in Aboriginal Legend.

Gregory feels the "furry" Black Wattle leaves (see below)

Termites Nest ~ They "grow" these even bigger in the Outback.

100 metres is 328 feet!

On our first morning in Australia we woke to a rich musical chatter of what seemed like hundreds of birds! Our hosts live 50 minutes outside of Sydney and though they are in quite an established suburban neighborhood, their property has a very rural feel to it as they are surrounded by eucalypt trees and you can hike down to the back of their acre property and it backs up to the Nepean River.

In their backyard, Margaret wanted us to be sure to see the unique nest made by the Satin Bower Bird. Their "main bowers (nests) are neat avenues of thin sticks woven upright into two walls aligned north-south, and usually painted black with a mixture of charcoal dust and saliva dabbed on with the bill. Platform at both ends are decorated with flowers, feathers, berries and various man-made objects—mostly BLUE!" (Taken from Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds) Sure enough we went out in the yard and saw the Bowerbird's nest with blue pegs (clothes pins), blue milk jug caps, bits of blue string and misc. other blue items! He has glossy black feathers that have a blue sheen and we saw him perched up in their trees.

Another treat were the Crimson Rosellas with their bright crimson red and cobalt blue feathers. We spotted them perched on the bird bath, fence and swooping amongst the tree tops. They are quite stunning and something you would have to go to a pet store to see in America. The Crimson Rosellas can be either red, orange or yellow in color and live along the edges of tall-timbered eucalypt forests and woodlands, from river red gums along the Murray-Darling Rivers to rainforests on the Atherton Tableland. (Reader's Digest)

Another very noisy bird found in their treetops (that looks like it should be in a zoo or aviary) are the massive Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. Their plumage is white with a forward-curving crest of yellow on the top of their head. I can't describe it any better so I have to quote this information on their voice: "Contact call in flight very loud, harsh, raucous screech ending with a slight upward inflection. Alarm call a succession of abrupt guttural screeches. Feeding and preening are accompanied by an occasional squawk or shrill two-syllable whistle." They are stunningly beautiful birds and in this past week we have had a couple of occasions to see absolutely dozens roosting in a tree-tops. As evening comes and the birds roost in the trees the sound can be almost deafening until after the sun sets but they will start back up in the morning! They can also make a mess by stripping the bark and leaves from the trees.

We hiked down to the river on their property in hopes of spotting a kangaroo but only got a glimpse of the many kangaroo trails in the underbrush. We did see the banks of the Nepean River on the edge of their property and Margaret also took us to Rock Lookout where we watched the sunset over the Nepean River and the beautiful dense forest of Blue Mountains National Park.

Another local creature came for a visit during our stay at the Rossiter residence and that was a highly poisonous brown snake (even more deadly than the black snake we're told). Margaret and Bruce just happened to see it in the garden! I can tell you I didn't go out their front door after that without having a good look around! This is one reason Gregory and I wanted to get a van in Australia rather than camping on the ground in our tent! I heard someone say there are more poisonous snakes and spiders here than in any other country in the world. I'll have to check that statistic! If not the most I'm sure there are plenty to keep you on your toes!

Mike's been shopping online for vans (to buy) since we got here. We had a look on the used car lots on our first day but didn't have much luck. With an appointment to see a van on Tuesday afternoon, Margaret and Bruce decided we should spend the morning taking a drive to Bulli Beach about an hour south of Wallacia. They reckon it is better than Sydney's famous Bondi Beach because there are no tourists and no parking fees. It was incredible. The water was gorgeous and the three of us put on our wetsuits and spent at least an hour riding the waves on our boogie-boards. It has been around 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees F) for our first days in country and I've been in shorts and tank tops every day!

In contrast, Wednesday was a stressful day of driving into Sydney to check out vans at the Backpacker's Car Market and other car lots. Just Mike, Gregory and I went into the city and though we had maps, and Bruce and Mike had talked about directions, I had difficulty giving guidance from the passenger's seat and the freeway signs weren't always helpful in guiding us to our destination. We found the vans had high mileage, were older and expensive and we decided to head back to Wallacia making one last stop that was on the itinerary.

But, this was not before I had to have a look at the world famous Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. (We plan to have a day where we take the train into the city and have a ferry ride to Manly Beach, with plenty of up close views around the harbour, but that probably won't be until the end of our 3-months holiday and I just couldn't wait to have a look.) Navigating the streets to get to this destination added to the stress of the morning but we did see these two iconic structures in all of their glory.

Things only went from bad to worse on the way home. Let's just say it wasn't pretty. I was so upset I couldn't speak and couldn't even participate in looking on the last few car lots. Mike was exasperated because of my inability to help him with the navigation and couldn't help but voice this, which only made me feel like calling it quits. When we walked in the door Gregory summed it up by saying to Margaret and Bruce, "Mom and Dad didn't have a good day. Mommy isn't the navigator anymore." I wish! Fortunately for us Margaret had cooked a tasty veggie stir fry and had a bottle of Cabernet waiting. Bruce lightened the mood when he blessed the food and said something to the effect of "help us to better deal with frustrating situations." I had a bit of a giggle at that but I still wasn't talking to Mike. After dinner I went to lie down on the bed and fell asleep in my clothes (around 7:30 P.M.) and didn't rise until the morning.

Thursday was a much needed regroup and to do this we got back to nature. Margaret and Bruce figured that a trip up to the Blue Mountains was just the ticket and they sent us on our way, about an hour and a half west to Katoomba, where we went to Scenic World. Yes, this sounds very touristy (and there were indeed many buses loaded with Asian tourists) but it really was a fabulous way to see the mountains. I guess Mike felt we needed to splurge so we spent the AU$70 ($65US ~ That is AU$70.00 x .93 exchange rate = $65US) to ride the glass-bottomed Scenic Skyway tram back and forth across the Jamison Valley, take the very steep Scenic Railway down through the vertical cliff side tunnel (not for the faint of heart ~ we were screaming!) to the walkways amongst the rain forest in the valley below, and the Scenic Cableway back up the mountainside. It was a stunning day with majestic mountain views all around. It was the perfect kind of day to mend a wounded soul.

We marveled at all of the rain forest vegetation including many varieties of eucalyptus and the various birds roosting in the trees and flying about. We even saw a Superb Lyrebird scratching around on the forest floor. We think we saw a male because his upper feathers were a chocolate brown and he had long dark brown tail feathers. I read that to attract a mate the male fans out these tail feathers the breaks into song. One of the unique things about these birds is that "although the birds are capable of imitating almost any sound—from a mill whistle to a cross-cut saw—they usually restrict their mimicry to loud clear sounds made by other birds and mammals." (Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds).

The Blue Mountains are so named because of the blue haze that comes from the eucalyptus oil that is emitted from the leaves of the trees. Even with this ever present haze we had stunning views on this bright sunny day.

Part of the reason we were able to relax and enjoy our day in the Blue Mountains is because Mike went online and booked a rental van. We got what we felt was a decent price but most importantly we've settled on a vehicle and can now get past the hunt and enjoy ourselves. All I have to say is thank goodness for our kind and generous hosts who have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. Today, (Friday, April 16) Bruce was kind enough to go back into Sydney with Mike and Gregory to pick up our van while Margaret suggested she take me to do my shopping. She also took me to the hairdresser and took me to the phone store to set us up on a plan with a phone she is loaning us. We took time to sit and enjoy a coffee and a muffin and went to several stores for groceries and essentials. They really have been a godsend. Mike's parents wanted us to be sure to convey their thanks for taking such good care of us.

Tonight Mike set up the "Cheapa Campa" van with all of our belongings and food. It is really quite decked-out with a fridge, microwave, sink, table that converts to a double bed, a loft bed for Gregory, linens and pillows, bath towels, pots and pans, dishes and silverware, a toaster, a tea kettle (for the stove), an electric "pot" for boiling water, tea towels, condiments and more! Margaret and Bruce are loaning us blankets, chairs and other bits that will make us more comfortable. Bruce even cut pieces of carpet for us to use as doormats! Tomorrow we plan to drive north a couple of hours to meet their daughter Bronwyn and her two boys and then we will be on our way from there. Meanwhile, we have the flexibility of leaving our suitcases and other camping equipment here at the house while we are on our 3-month journey. We still don't have an exact itinerary, because we like to go where the wind blows us, but we've decided to head north and follow the warm weather. We had so much fun boogie-boarding that we just can't wait to get some more beach time!

I'm getting better at traveling without too many expectations. Whatever we see will be wonderful and since Australia is such a big country (from Perth to Sydney would be like going from LA to NY) we know we will just get a flavour of the country on this trip. Already we have seen and experienced so much in just a week. The other day Mike said, "I'm trying to decide if Australia feels like anywhere else that we have been." I commented that I didn't think so and that part of it had to do with the eucalyptus trees everywhere and the birds! Australia has a feel all its own. We can't wait to go exploring and perhaps see some of the many creatures that are unique to this country alone.

Welcome to Australia!

2010-04-16T02:04:00.000-07:00

Goodbye beautiful Cass Bay, New Zealand

Saying farewell to our new friend Doug

Mike and Gregory waiting in the queue to check our bags

Interesting flight statistics (and other information ~ see below) appear on your "movie screen" on the seat back in front of you.

Times Around The World ~ Sydney is 2 hours ahead of New Zealand so it was 5:49 P.M. New Zealand time when I took this photo. ~ It is 10:49 P.M. on Saturday, April 10th in Los Angeles, California and 3:49 P.M. Sunday, April 11th in Sydney, Australia giving us a 15 hour time difference. (We had a 17 hour time difference when we were in New Zealand.)

Our flight path from Christchurch, New Zealand (South Island) to Sydney, Australia

World Map with plane position on approach to Sydney

View on approach to Sydney

GET INTO AUSTRALIA

G'day mate!

Our transition from New Zealand to Australia was relatively seamless thanks to the kind people who took care of us on each end. Our Scottish friend Doug, an 8-year New Zealand resident, gave us a lift to the airport on the afternoon of Sunday the 11th after putting us up, providing transport once we'd sold our car, and showing us around for several days. Just a few hours across the big blue ocean, in OZ (short for Australia), Aussies Margaret and Bruce were waiting to pick us up from the airport and drive us to their home in Wallacia about (60kms or 37miles) 50 minutes west of Sydney. We met all of these kind folks while camping in New Zealand and they took us under their wing and went out of their way to help make our NZ departure and Australia arrival "no worries mate".

We did have a few interesting things happen in the airports... The queue (line up) to check in with Air New Zealand was a long one so we were glad we'd arrived early. Mike spent a lot of time rearranging our luggage to meet the weight requirements thinking we would only be allowed to check one bag each at 20kgs or 44lbs. (vs. 2 bags at 46kgs or 101lbs on the way over from America) and we felt quite prepared. As we neared the counter we noticed "Departure Tax" forms and a sign reminding us of the $25/adult departure tax. Mike quickly sent me a couple of doors down to pay that, in a hurry, before we reached check-in. Soon Gregory came racing over to say I didn't have to do it before we reached the check-in but I was already in process. However, I needed our e-tickets to apply the appropriate stickers to show payment. Gregory did an excellent job as our runner and soon had these in my hand, meanwhile Mike kept moving up in the queue. We sorted it all out and came together for check-in where Mike, after checking 3 bags, just happened to mention that we were able to check six bags on the way over from America and wondered about having only 1 each bag on the flight from NZ to Australia. Turns out the 2 bags per person carried over for our entire flight because we booked all legs of the trip at once. So, at the last minute we decided to check 2 carry-ons. (Gregory wanted to keep his toys and friends with him.) As we walked away from the counter and looked for our gate we felt pretty proud of ourselves and then I noticed Mike didn't have his travelers wallet around his neck. He had our passports and boarding passes in his hand but I asked, "Where's your bag that you keep the passports in?" Thinking he'd be carrying on his bag he'd tucked the travelers wallet (with his billfold inside) in the side pocket! Without a word to Greg and I he took off. After some time he returned with wallet in hand and told us how our check-in agent stopped what she was doing with another passenger, gave Mike a yellow vest and took him back into the luggage area! They had to wait for the bags to continue through a scanner and come down a ramp before he could collect his wallet. Now that would never happen in America!

Our 3 hour flight (with a 2 hour time difference) went smoothly and put us in around 6:00 P.M. We enjoyed movies and a lovely dinner of steak pie or fish accompanied by New Zealand's famous Hokey Pokey ice cream and beverages. At arrival we predicted that we would have to go through Quarantine (in NZ it was called Bio Security) to check our shoes and tent. We expected it to go as smoothly as NZ until we realized that we'd forgotten to wash our tent stakes. They were caked with mud! As we waited about 15-20 minutes for the stakes to be washed I thought I'll take a picture and won't that be funny for the blog. The minute I took the picture I had the security guard on me saying, "Did you just take a picture?" She stood and watched me delete the last 4 pictures I'd taken all in secured areas! Oops!

You can imagine how wonderful it was to have Margaret at the end of the ramp to great us! We embraced and thanked her profusely as she led us through the airport to where Bruce would be waiting with the car. As we loaded the bags into the boot (trunk) we had another guard approach and tell us this wasn't a loading area. "Oh, we didn't realize," we said, threw the last of the bags in, hopped in the car and were off!

Welcome to Australia!

Gregory's New Zealand Poem

2010-04-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

water is all around me

turquoise blue

glacier water

“rock flour”

kiwifruit

round, brown and fuzzy

sweet green inside

melts in my mouth

lush green forests

cabbage trees

nikau palms and

tree ferns

birds singing all around me

fantails, bellbirds and tuis

cheeky wekas

invade the campsite

thousands of birds swarm me

as I bring stale bread

to their botanical garden pond

penguins hopping on the rocks

little blues and yellow-eyes

coming from the ocean blue

at dusk

going to their sandy burrows

up on the hill

fur seal pups

jumping and diving in the rock pools

waddling up onto the rocks

sunning themselves

they look at me

with their big, brown, puppy-dog eyes

wondering…

what is this guy doing?

albatross

big, flying gynormous birds

swooping and diving

over my head

coming back to cliff nests

to feed their chicks

I dive through the huge waves

with my supersonic Island Style boogie board

the waves crash on my head

I suck salt water through my nose

I catch a great curling wave

and ride it back

to a golden sandy beach

sand blows into my eyes

I build sand castles

that never survive

the crushing waves of New Zealand

Gregory’s Kiwi Bird Report

2010-04-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

Gregory doing research on Kiwi Birds at the Breamark bach in St. Arnaud

Kiwis at the South Canterbury Museum in Timaru

New Zealanders are often called Kiwis after the native bird the kiwi. There are three different kinds of kiwi birds. There are the brown spotted kiwi, the little-spotted kiwi and the great-spotted kiwi. Kiwis are found only in New Zealand and nowhere else in the world.

The kiwi has strong feet and they take up a third of his total weight. The kiwi is a small stocky and flightless bird. The kiwi has very poor eyesight and they are also nocturnal. Kiwis are cone-shaped and they have strong necks but small heads. Kiwis breed all year long but they lay more eggs from July to February.

The kiwi lives on the forest floor, in scrublands and in native grasslands. They don’t know how long a kiwi can live but it probably has a very long lifespan. Some kiwis have lived in captivity for up to 20 years.

The kiwi burrows for and sucks up worms and insects using his long bill. Kiwi birds are omnivorous. They eat grass-like plants, seeds and berries, but they are also meat-eaters! I hope I get to see a kiwi while I’m in New Zealand!

Go carts and Botanical Gardens, Christchurch

2010-04-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

Last photo of Big Blue taken in Doug's driveway with Cass Bay in the background.

Gregory loves the go carts! Supa Karts Indoor Raceway, Christchurch

Speed Racer

Mike and Doug ham it up before take off.

Mike finished with the fastest lap time.

Gregory is the cheering section.

Air Hockey with Doug

Doug pulls in to the pits.

A beautiful coffee

We love this t-shirt display rack made from a bike.

Interesting table made out of palettes. Doug thought it might be Rimu.

Kereru (Wood Pigeon) at the Botanical Gardens

Arbutus Tree (We used to live on Arbutus Ave. in Chico, California.)

Eucalyptus ~ Food to the Australian Koalas

Cypress

Bonsai

Breathtaking Begonias

"Rio" Begonia

"Angela Jane" Begonia

Fountain at the Christchurch Botanical Gardens

(Above) We stopped to admire the view of Cass Bay (where Doug lives) and Doug decided to wave at the tour bus that was passing by... (Below) We are sharing an evening with Doug's neighbors Jo and Alex. Doug looks a bit scary here but he is just being the kooky Scotsman that he is! Alex and Doug are both dedicated cyclists so we are showing them pictures from our cross-country tour of America.

April 9, 2010 (continued)

After we were finished taking care of selling the car, we addressed Gregory’s priority for the day and that was the indoor go-carts (Supa Karts). He drove about 25kph (15.5mph) in this terrific racing cart for about 15 minutes and had a blast. Of course he wanted to go again when it was all said and done! Mike and Doug got to ride in the big boy carts and about 5 other people were on the track with them (whereas Gregory was alone). It is just the way things worked out with others walking in the door. Mike got the highest lap speed at 19.793 seconds and Doug came in third with a time of 20.817 seconds. They were both fired up after this and getting tips from the track owner about how to increase the speed. Of course they had to point out that having others on the track slowed them down… Doug was about ready to go again.

We had a lovely coffee and lunch at the “Jailbird Coffee Shop” (Addington Coffee Co-op) as Doug called it, with their t-shirts screen printed with a little man in a striped jailbird costume.This is a regular stop for him and I can see why. The atmosphere is very relaxing and the coffee and food divine. I had a delicious roasted veggie sandwich, Mike chicken ciabatta, Doug a walnut slice (as in a slice of cake) and Gregory a fruit smoothie and bagel. We loved the t-shirt rack that was made out of a bike that was sawed in half, flipped upside down and a bar inserted between the two halves.

For me we went to the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. I know we only scratched the surface with an hour and a half but it was absolutely amazing. The massive redwoods, cypress, eucalyptus, sequoias, spruce and other trees were grown from seed! The hot house with begonias was so exquisite I could barely drag myself away and I indeed went back a couple of times. We also marveled at the bonsai and cactus exhibits. I didn’t want to leave. I thought I might like to be dropped off for the entire day tomorrow.

Back at home I whipped up some of my black bean burritos for our host Doug while he got in a two-hour bike ride. We had a nice dinner and then spent the evening visiting with the neighbors Alex and Jo. Alex is a cyclist (as well as Doug) so they were interested to see some of our pictures from our ride across America. They are all such enjoyable company and we had a great visit.

Last Full Day in New Zealand (with trip expenses)

2010-04-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

View of New Brighton and Sumner from Summit Road

Paragliding up off of Summit Road on the way to Godley Head

Doug and Mike watching the paragliders

Awaroa/Godley Head ~ Gregory, Doug and Mike

Kite Surfing

The Terror Tube ~ Gregory says, "It was pitch black and there were all these lights flashing around me!" (QE II Park Recreation & Sports Centre)

The Cruise

The Toilet Bowl Whirlpool

Clockwise and Counterclockwise Drains

Yes, water really does spin down drains clockwise south of the equator and counterclockwise north of it. This happens because the water, going down the drain, is pulled by gravity toward the earth’s core. The earth always rotates toward the east. If you stood on the North Pole and looked down toward the earth’s core, the earth would appear to rotate counterclockwise. If you are on the South Pole, the earth would appear to rotate clockwise. Stir a glass of water counterclockwise. Now hold the glass above your head, and keep stirring in the same direction. As you look up, the water will appear to be turning clockwise. (Taken from: New Zealand, Enchantment of the World by Donna Walsh Shepherd)

This place was massive. That is Gregory in the center crossing the pool.

Lazy River

April 10, 2010

Today was our last full day in New Zealand so we had to take care of last minute packing (Mike made sure all bags met weight requirements), we did laundry, homework and I have been furiously trying to post all of my New Zealand journal entries before we leave the country. I need to start with a fresh slate.

Doug went on another long bike ride this morning (he is serious about his biking) and we had the afternoon together. He took us on a drive with stupendous views and we got to see over half a dozen paragliders sailing over us. That is one sport I would be interested in taking up. It would be so quiet and peaceful up there. We also saw kite surfers skimming across the water with their brightly colored sails whipping about in the sky.

After being very patient Gregory even got to go to the QE II Park Recreation and Sports Centre (aquatic park) where there were five hydro slides!! He also enjoyed the Lazy River and Whirlpool (that looked like a toilet bowl going counter-clockwise of course since we are in the Southern Hemisphere), and a water wonderland playground. Mike and Doug chatted in the bleachers at the lap pool while I took video and pictures of Gregory having the time of his life.

We picked up some fish and chips on the way home all deliciously steaming hot and wrapped in paper like a present. Though I know deep-fried is bad for me I partake once in a while and it was oh so good but oh so much. We were stuffed and couldn’t finish the enormous portions of chips (fries). Now if we were biking I might have been able to. Mike says we need to go on a diet in Australia. I’ll believe that when I see it. Does that mean no more chippies (potato and corn chips), biscuits (cookies), chocolate and ice cream for Mike?

This morning I ran a total on our expenses over the last 47 days and we averaged about $90US per day. That includes buying (and selling) the car, petrol, food (including ice, chocolate and beverages), lodging (camping, 2 cabins and a caravan) and misc. expenses (chilly bin, insect repellant, postage, books, wetsuits, t-shirts, batteries, kayaking, admission to museums and aquatic parks and other activities, etc.). We spent $29.11/day on food, $37.61/day on misc. (includes car), $11.91/day on petrol and $11.57 on lodging. Now you must keep in mind that we stayed with many SERVAS hosts, in a couple of baches (holiday homes), freedom camped and stayed many nights with friends. I guess I should figure out an average for how many days we paid for lodging. I’ll have to get back to you on that! Anyhow, we feel pretty good because we were targeting $100US per day. We expect it will be more expensive in Australia so we are glad we came in under budget for New Zealand!

Lake Tekapo and Christchurch

2010-04-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

Gregory makes a collage in his journal.

Aoraki/Mt. Cook and Lake Pukaki

Lake Tekapo

Gregory's Heart on the banks of Lake Tekapo. This stone is called Greywacke.

Church of the Good Sheperd ~ Lake Tekapo

Exploring the banks of Lake Tekapo

This is an example of how the Dairy or Takaway shops are set up. I think of it as "cafeteria-style" with cases that you open and select what you want. On the left are steak pies, chips, nuggets and other hot foods, in the middle are pre-made sandwiches and on the left are muffins, cakes and other desserts. The carrot cake looked divine. It was topped with pumpkin seeds and bits of dried apricot. This is Robbie's Cafe and Milk Bar in Geraldine where we stopped for lunch.

The single scoops are generous! Gregory is partaking in a bit of Boysenberry. (Note: Mike is in the background window shopping.)

Kiwi Coins

Visiting with our Christchurch host Doug. We met Doug up at Tahuna Beach in Nelson. He was on a fishing holiday with his brother Frank and his girlfriend Kate. They are from Scotland and Doug has lived in New Zealand for about 8 and a half years.

It was another glorious day for our drive from Twizel to Christchurch. We stopped at Lake Tekapo and spent a bit of time along the shores of this bright turquoise blue lake and stopped at the picturesque little stone church on its banks. The church was swarming with tourists with more buses arriving all the time but we still had a moment in the pews and then went down to the shore to climb on the rocks and watch the ducks.

Rarely do we eat out but today we stopped in at a takeaway shop in Geraldine where Mike had a meat pie (pies are really big here and can be found everywhere), Gregory had some chicken nuggets and I had an enormous blueberry muffin. Gregory topped things off with a very generous single scoop ($2.50NZ or $1.75US) boysenberry vanilla swirl. We also went to the post in Fairlie (found inside the hardware store) and posted our first postcards of the trip.

The landscaped seemed to change each time we turned a corner starting with views of Mt. Cook and Lake Pukaki, then Lake Tekapo and then lush green farmland eventually turned to a more arid and rocky landscape. Occasionally you’d find a patch of pine trees but mostly rolling hills and yes plenty of sheep.

Once in Christchurch we washed the car at the ezi wash and then went by Doug Drake Motors to see about selling the car back to the dealer we bought it from. We’d just missed the “boss man” but our salesman, Jason thought that he would buy it back for $1,500 and that we should just drive it until Sunday (day we fly out) and then bring it by.

We were eager to settle the deal, and not leave it to the last minute, so the next day we drove over with our host Doug (a friendly Scot and fellow cyclist that we met at the Tahuna campground in Nelson) and finalized everything. It was so simple. We just dropped by and within a few minutes we had a check in hand, no paperwork. We went to cash the check, at the bank the check was drawn on, and Mike said he found that the cashier’s boss was Jason’s girlfriend (our salesman at Doug Drake). The cashier had also bought a car from Doug Drake Motors. Again, it just goes to show it is a small world!

Mike had done research the night before and found that many Nissan Bluebirds were on the market on “Trade me” the website used for selling cars, so we were happy to get $1,500NZ ($1,050US) even though we paid $2,700NZ ($1,890US). We spent $840US to drive the car for 48 days so that works out to $17.50 a day. We met a lady who was paying $2,600NZ to rent a van for 42 days and she would recoup nothing so we figure we did pretty well!

Twizel, Aoraki/Mt. Cook, and Tasman Glacier

2010-04-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

Gregory makes a fort out of the clothes horse at the Sutton bach in Twizel. (I understand that Darryl Sutton used to do the very same thing.)

Playing in Twizel with Judy and Keith Sutton. We had a lovely walk and lunch at the Musterer's Hut.

Looks like FALL!

Gregory playing Downfall with Judy. We played this during our entire stay.

Mike and Gregory on clean-up duty in Twizel.

It is no wonder New Zealand is called Aotearoa ~ Land of the Long White Cloud. This is Aoraki/Mt. Cook on a fine April day.

First views of Aoraki/Mt. Cook on our drive up from Twizel. The mountain is faint but over my right shoulder.

We saw these in the shop at the Glentanner Flight Centre shop. We haven't seen it played but it looks interesting. Will it catch on in America? Or am I out of the loop and it is already played there?

Double click to read more about Golf Cross.

This map shows the Aoraki/Mt. Cook Village at the bottom (where we had our picnic) and the surrounding mountains and glaciers. From here we went back to Tasman Valley Road (shown on the bottom right) and we drove in about 8kms on unsealed road to get to the car park for the hike to the Tasman Glacier viewing site.

Sheep dog assisting his musterer (who has just gone behind the hill).

Snow-capped Peaks

I love this. Gregory looks 10 FEET TALL!

Avalanche Advisory is Low ~ Many climbers have lost their lives climbing Aoraki/Mt. Cook. Sir Edmund Hillary is one of the famous climbers to have climbed this mountain. He is on the Kiwi $5 bill.

Aoraki/Mt. Cook

Picnic with a view of Aoraki/Mt. Cook

Reflection at one of the Blue Lakes

Many Textures

A Prickly View

Looking back at the valley on the hike up to the Tasman Glacier viewing spot.

Where's The Glacier? This is exactly what Gregory was wondering.

Aoraki/Mt. Cook is on the left and Tasman Glacier is on the right at the head of Tasman Lake (formed by the glacial melt).

Iceberg by Gregory (Great chunks of ice have broken off the face of Tasman Glacier and are floating in Tasman Lake.)

Once again, Aoraki/Mt. Cook on the left and Tasman Glacier on the right. We had to have a family photo also.

Now that is what I call Gray Water.

Well, we finally got our sunny day after sitting tight in Twizel for a couple of days. For lovers of the picturesque this was a top-notch day. The alpine scenery was spectacular with Aoraki/Mt. Cook glistening white in all of its glory. As I mentioned before it is the tallest mountain in New Zealand at 3, 754 metres (12,316 feet). Our drive up to the Aoraki/Mt. Cook visitor centre took us along the glacier-fed Lake Pukaki with its sparkling bright turquoise-blue waters. We drove past a musterer with a large mob of sheep and pulled over to watch and listen as the dogs moved the sheep along the rugged mountainside.

We spent quite a bit of time at the visitors centre learning about glaciers and the history of climbing in this area and watched some videos on the subject. There were exhibits on the rocks and minerals, birds and other wildlife and Gregory also enjoyed the puzzling area where he learned how to remove a small ring looped around bits of chain centered between two horseshoes. Don’t ask me because I haven’t got a clue how he did it! We had a picnic while taking in the sun and the views of Mt. Cook and the Southern Alps. We could also see Tasman Glacier, the largest glacier in New Zealand. At its max speed it recedes at 200m (656 ft.) per year.

We decided we’d like to see the glacier up close and personal so drove the unsealed Tasman Valley Rd. up to the car park and the walk up to the viewing point. We side tracked a bit and walked down to Blue Lakes first. The Blue Lakes were actually more green than blue, but since it was about 4 P.M. and the sun was shining just right I got some beautiful photos of the reflection of the mountains in the water. When we reached the Tasman Glacier viewing point Gregory was at first amazed by the “icebergs” in Tasman Lake. We explained that these were chunks of ice that had broken off of the glacier and though the glacier didn’t look like much, because the ice is covered with about a metre or two of “rock rubble strewn across this hummocky landscape (called surface moraine),” where it meets the head of the lake the glacial ice is 200 metres (656 ft.) thick. Mt. Cook was peaking up to the left adding to the interesting features of this landscape. The other not so interesting thing was the sand flies! I just healed from the last round of bites and now I have more on my neck! My own fault for not putting on my tropical strength repellent but the sun was shining when we left the car park and I wasn’t thinking about sand flies and a chilly dusk.

We had a relaxing drive home, with the sun setting on Lake Pukaki, and stopped to look back at majestic Mt. Cook just one more time before we returned to Twizel. Tomorrow we will drive to Christchurch and Sunday, April 11^th it is hello Australia!

Warbirds Over Wanaka/Puzzling World/Natl. Transport & Toy Museum

2010-04-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

Gregory's birthday card for Dad.

Mike's birthday was on Easter this year! (April 4th)

It was a very full day!

Giant Chocolate Cadbury Egg from Gregory

(It is about 7:00 A.M. and we are in the car because it is cold and raining.)

Nice birthday coupon from Gregory and I'm included! (Note: He made this using a paper towel, sharpie and his pocket knife!) What is the saying?...Necessity is the mother of invention...

Mike (above) and Gregory with Dorrie (below) in the "Great Maze" (Labyrinth). Our goal was to reach all four corner towers within 30-60 minutes. We just made it.

We made it to all four corner towers thanks to Gregory.

“Hall of Following Faces” where 168 giant faces follow you as you move around (This is the only room of its kind in the world.) Above Gregory is lying on the ground and covering one eye to look up at our sixteenth president, Abe Lincoln, and below another view.

"The Tilted Illusion Room" I am standing in the correct position, it is the room that is wrong.

"The Tilted Illusion Room" Gregory (above) and Dorrie (below) are actually standing normally.

Today was Mike's birthday so we celebrated with chocolate cake and sparkler candles at Puzzling World. We also embarrassed him at the cafe with a loud rendition of Happy Birthday!

Puzzling Boys

Uh-Oh. I caught Gregory doing his business... (Roman Toilets at the Puzzling World, Wanaka)

Barbed-wire toilet seat at Puzzling World. You can imagine my husband's reaction when he found out I was taking pictures of toilet seats!

Kevin, grandson Malachi and Merridee at Puzzling World Cafe (We met Merridee earlier at Sutton Canvas Products Ltd. in Dunedin!) Again, it is such a small world!

Aren't my boys strong?

This is an effect was used in Lord of the Rings.

Note: This is an enormous building that does actually lean. (See people at the base.) Mike and Gregory are positioned in the foreground quite a distance from the tower and Mike is holding his hand up in mid-air. It was up to me to position my shot so that I created this illusion. Pretty neat huh?!

Brief History of the National Transport and Toy Museum (double click for a closer look)

Wow! Look at those cool Legos!

Warbirds Over Wanaka international air show combined both air and ground performances.

We had an amazing view from the National Transport and Toy Museum lot that backed up to the airport runway.

1982 ForMaz-Push-me-Pull-me (see below)

Happy Easter from Easter Basket Barbie! My sister Kim and I grew up playing Barbies together. I specifically remember Skipper, Malibu Barbie and of course Ken but there were many!

Parachuters

I had one of these Panasonic radios in red. It closes together and makes a bracelet. I'm starting to feel old finding my childhood playthings in a museum!

C-130 Carrier Plane

Lindis Pass ~ We road over this on bicycles 15 years ago!

April 6, 2010

In the morning, at Poolburn Reservoir, Mike insisted I wake up and see the sunrise. The sky can change in a moment so I rubbed my bleary eyes, put on my glasses, grabbed my camera (which I always keep handy in the mesh pocket) and unzipped the tent door. What a spectacular greeting to the day. I took a few pictures from the door and put on my sneakers (joggers) to brave the chill for a better view. We tried to get Gregory up but he wasn’t budging so Mike and I had the sunrise to ourselves. We strolled along the water’s edge and took in the breathtaking views.

The drive from Poolburn Reservoir, through Alexandra and Cromwell, and on to Wanaka was another long day of driving. For this reason, Mike was not in the best of moods and also because he was a bit skeptical about staying in Wanaka (pop. 7,000), because over 40,000 people were expected to attend the biannual “Warbirds Over Wanaka” an international airshow. Over 60 aircraft are to be in attendance including the Kittyhawk, Corsair and Catalina and other “famous warbirds that helped defend freedom during four world conflicts – classic fighters of World War I, heroes of World War II, fighters of the South West Pacific and awesome jets.” The aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force would also be there. I was eager to attend this event but we knew the tickets were going to be very dear (expensive). We later found out that a 3-day pass was $395 dollars for grandstands and exhibits while a one-day pass was $100. What we found driving into the area was that people were just pulled off the road with their chairs and watching the show above at a distance from the airport. Not expecting to enter the gates the next day (and hoping to see planes fly over our heads) we went ahead with our plans to attend Stuart Landsborough’s Puzzling World and the National Transport and Toy Museum. As I will expand upon in a moment, everything came together in the end. Mike’s mom always says that we have an angel on our shoulders and this was one of those times.

Before I elaborate on that subject, I wanted to mention that we’d gotten a tip from one of the Sutton’s customers to stay at Lake Hawea just north of Wanaka so managed to skirt around the city and arrive in camp around 4:30 PM. (This was after seeing many packed campgrounds at towns along the route to Wanaka…) We drove around the busy campground several times trying to decide on a relatively spacious spot when I finally dropped Gregory at the playground and I excused myself to the toilet and let Mike make the decision. At this point we were all very road weary and I said, “It doesn’t really matter all that much where we are because the rain is going to start any minute and I know we’ll be up in the kitchen until we are ready to head off to bed.” Fortunately for us, my Eagle Scout picked a nice flat site on high ground because it was another vicious rainstorm that evening. At first we couldn’t get to sleep because the rain was so loud. Mike said he pulled his sleeping bag over his head and covered his ears to finally reach the Land of Nod.

Though we’d had a wet night, by the time we got up at around 7:30 A.M. the wind had our tent nice and dry. Gregory was eager to give his dad his birthday present last night but we made him wait until this morning. Since Mike’s birthday (April 4^th) fell on Easter Sunday this year, Gregory picked out an enormous Cadbury milk chocolate Easter egg packaged with yet more solid eggs of the smaller variety. Mike said the best present was that Gregory gave him lots of hugs and kisses this morning. He also sang Happy Birthday several times and made a homemade birthday card all on his own. He also created a “coupon” that read “Neck, Shoulder and Back rubs are $0.00 for Moms and Dads” and there was no expiration date! I don’t know how I got included on Mike’s birthday present but I’m not complaining! I had packages of chocolate for the boys as well so we are set on lollies (candy) for at least a few days now!!

First order of the day was the Puzzling World and we arrived at around 9:30 A.M. before the crowds. We had the entire two-storey Great Maze (Labyrinth) almost entirely to ourselves. The object was to find our way to all four corner towers and back out again. This is supposed to take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and we took almost an hour! We had a great time (did a lot of walking!) and Gregory was the first to accomplish this feat! He had to show Mom and Dad how to get to the green tower. I was so glad I didn’t have to use the emergency exit!

Inside there are 4 “illusion rooms” including the “Holographic Photos Room”, “The Tilted Illusion Room” where even though you are standing normally it looks as if you are tilted, “Hall of Following Faces” where 168 giant faces follow you as you move around (This is the only room of its kind in the world.), and The “Ames” False Perspective Room (a technique used in “The Lord of the Rings”). We had a lot of fun with the “Ames” false perspective room where as you cross from one corner of the room, where you look like a mini-me, to the other corner where you look like a giant even though the room looks perfectly normal. I got it all on video of course! They also have a 2-minute playback so after you went in the room you could go out and watch yourself on the television. We had to do this a couple of times.

Back in the café/gift shop area we found a table and played with the many games available on the café tables. Gregory and I put our covert plan into action. A couple of days ago we bought candles so I went to the car to get them and then we bought a huge slice of chocolate cake, lit about 8 sparkler candles and traipsed across a packed café singing happy birthday as loud as we could. Mike was thoroughly embarrassed. Mission accomplished! We were surprised the others didn’t join in the singing, as almost invariably it happens in America. We nibbled on cake, drank lattes and played games for over an hour.

At one point I went to the toilets and found the “Roman Toilets” and mural, which were hysterical. I had to bring Gregory back for a picture. Also, the “normal toilets” had resin toilet seats with everything from barbed wire to jelly beans in them. Mike couldn’t believe I took pictures of toilet seats. Hey it is all part of the experience right?!

When I returned to the table Mike was talking to a man and woman and the woman I recognized instantly as the lady we met at Sutton Canvas Products Ltd. in Dunedin. This is the same lady who recommended the DOC camp here. I walked up and said, “Hi Meridee!” All three of them just looked at me and finally put things together. Kevin and Meridee just happened to sit down with Mike not recognizing him from our original introduction at the shop! Another example of what a small world this is. The table next door with all of their family was overcrowded and they just spilled over to our booth. We had a really nice visit.

After Puzzling World we were off to the National Transport and Toy Museum just down the road. We knew it was near the airport and weren’t sure we would be able to get in because of the Warbirds Over Wanaka international airshow but there was no problem. From the moment we walked in we were all so excited to be there. Right near the front was a 1966 Ford Mustang and Mike reminisced about the Champagne-colored 1966 Ford Mustang that his family once owned. He often tells the story of how when he was a boy the family of six took a road trip from Ohio to Florida in the Mustang and he and his brother Steve had to take turns sitting on the center console! Gregory loved all of the “rare” Legos and all of the Star Wars memorabilia as well as the cars, planes, motorcycles and fire trucks and I got a kick out of the Barbies and even found a circular “bracelet-like” Panasonic radio that I had as a girl!

The best was that not long after we’d been there we started hearing these loud BOOMS and knew that it had to be the planes from the air show doing the re-enactments of wartime skirmishes. We ran out of the main building to see what we could see and found that we could go way out to the back of the Transport & Toy Museum lot which backed right up to the airport runway and the air show grandstands! There was even a ladder (like you’d use to board an airplane) on the fence line and we joined another family who commented that we found the “cheap seats”. It was fantastic. We could see right down on the runway and watched helicopters and planes performing right before us. We watched for a while and then went in and out of the museum hangers (housing the large planes, fire trucks and other vehicle collections) as well as the main building. When we heard the pyrotechnics teams or the awesome jets flying just over the hangars we would come out and marvel at our luck that we had the good fortune to experience both events at the same time. I actually think it worked out better this way because I think Gregory would have had a hard time sitting still in the grandstands for an entire day even with the intensity of the subject matter!

At around 4:30 we decided to drive up and over Lindis Pass (960m or 3,150ft.) and make our way up to Twizel and the bach (holiday home) of our friends the Suttons. The sun was out and it was a glorious drive and the whole time Mike and I kept looking at each other and asking if the drive was looking familiar.

You see 15 years ago we came over this pass in the other direction on bicycles. It wasn’t one of our best days and though the golden brown rolling hills did look familiar it is the events of that day that are seared into my memory. You see I was never as strong a cyclist as Mike and, though now we ride a triple with our son, back then I was on a single and lagging behind as usual. When we stopped briefly on the outskirts of the town of Omarama I could see that there was a lot of activity involving gliders and I wanted to call it a night and check out the festivities. Mike had it in his head that we hadn’t ridden far enough that day and was insistent that we make it up and over Lindis Pass. He went on ahead without me and I was so furious that I poked about taking my time. (And that is an understatement.) Though I could see miles down the road, and the climb that was inevitable, I eventually could no longer see Mike in the distance and that suited me just fine. As the sun began its descent I knew I still had a long way to go but just kept creeping along figuring I’d get there eventually whether it was dark or not. Mike’s conscious finally got the better of him and though he had crested the peak, he rode back down to meet me and then proceeded to ride back up again. We can’t even remember where we camped that night. This was the beginning of the end of our biking on that ‘95 trip. By the time we reached Queenstown we called it quits and bought a car for the remainder of our 3-month stay. (I must preface this with the fact that we’d already completed the east-west TransAmerica Bicycle Trail across America and were just plain tired of biking.)

So, I insisted that we stop in Omarama this trip even if it was just to use the toilet and poke about in a couple of shops. We called our friends in Twizel (just 20 minutes down the road) and they were expecting us and looking forward to sharing an Easter/Birthday dinner with us. We had lamb steaks and a delicious salad and couldn’t have been happier to see our dear friends just one more time before we have to leave New Zealand.

Now that I think about it, it is good that the 1995 Lindis Pass incident happened after we passed through Twizel because that is where we met the Suttons and we’ve kept in touch all of these years. We were just two Americans sitting by the Twizel River having lunch and they were a couple from Dunedin on holiday in Twizel who just happened to have a teenage daughter who was working as an aupair in my hometown of Redding, California. Our paths were meant to cross.

It just so happened that their daughter Christine called during our dinner together to wish her parents Happy Easter. Judy put me on the phone and we talked and laughed and caught up. She is living in Broome, Australia with her husband Stilts and said if we made it to Broome to give her a call. I don’t know if we’ll be that far north on the western coast but I assured her we would!

The next day we had a nice walk through Twizel and bought lunch for Judy and Keith to thank them for their kindness and we also decided it would be Mike’s “American” birthday celebration. You see they are one day behind us so he got to celebrate twice. We ate at the Musterer’s Hut and had delicious meat pies, pastry and wraps as well as hot chocolate. Gregory played on the adjacent playground pushing the little kids on the swings and whipping them around on a loaded “merry-go-round”. We puttered around back at the bach while Judy and Keith packed for their return to Dunedin and work on Tuesday. They were kind enough to let us stay on at the house and give their neighbor Joan the key when we leave.

Joan’s grandkids are visiting and Gregory found himself some playmates. He ran around with Molly (9yrs.) and the other kids most of the evening while Mike and I did laundry and relaxed a bit. It has been so nice to just have some time to sit still for a moment. All day today the sun tried to poke its way through the gray clouds but we didn’t mind because we had a cozy fire and our books. It cleared up enough that Gregory went to mini-golf with the neighbors and we all got out for a bit later in the day. Gregory is finally caught up in his journal and is enjoying have a bedroom and twin bed with reading light all to himself. He just finished his third Ranger’s Apprentice book by John Flanagan and is currently absorbed in another Enid Blyton book, The Mystery That Never Was. Mike has begun King Tut by James Patterson and I’m reading Nora Roberts. Well, I will be when I sign off here.

Mike spent part of the evening sorting through our belongings and doing a pre-pack to see how everything will fit in our bags for the flight to Australia on Sunday, April 11^th. It is just a 3-hour flight from Christchurch to Sydney so we will probably check most everything. Our drive from Twizel to Christchurch will only take about 3 hours but we will want to stop along the way at Lake Tekapo where we have fond memories of the beautiful Church of the Good Shepherd, the little church perched on the edge of the impossibly turquoise blue lake with mountains all around, and of our flight-seeing expedition over Mt. Cook and the glaciers. Prices have tripled for the flight so we won’t be doing that this trip but as it is the mountain has been socked in the past few days. We are hoping it will clear enough on the day of our drive so we can at least enjoy the view of the awe-inspiring Aoraki/Mt. Cook, the tallest mountain in New Zealand at 3,754 metres (12,316 feet).

Invercargill, Bluff and Poolburn Reservoir

2010-04-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

We rented this cozy caravan at the Lorneville Holiday Park in Invercargill for $55NZ ($39US).

Town Wharf in Bluff

Aluminium Smelter in Bluff

(Bluff) Stirling Point Signpost (see description below)

Gregory is pointing to the South Pole (4,819km or 2,989 miles) away!

Gregory St. in Bluff

Afternoon Tea in Roxburgh at the Teviot Tearooms (Teviot Valley)

Sheep on the way to Poolburn Reservoir

Tussocked grasslands on the way up to Poolburn Reservoir

Driving on the left...We had about five 4x4 utes (pickup trucks) pass us in a row. Later we found they were probably on the traditional Easter rabbit hunting trip.

Gregory went to the edge of Poolburn Reservoir with Keith and Bob to collect their fishing poles.

Finding shelter from the wind at Poolburn

An outdoor sink and counter were handy for cooking dinner out of the wind.

Gregory avoids the cold chill wind by eating dinner in the car. It must be a good book!

Mike and I had some nice Tomato Basil sausages, new red potatoes and carrots.

Sunset Silhouettes

King of the Mountains

Tea at Sunset

Wow!

April 2, 2010

Today was entirely too much driving as we went south from our Kiwi camp in Invercargill down to the Stirling Point signpost in Bluff at the southern end of the island and then back north east to Poolburn Reservoir (almost 300kms). Though on a map Bluff appears to be the southern most tip of the South Island, it is actually Slope Point, which becomes apparent if you examine the compass rose and can understand how the island is positioned. At any rate it is a fun stop and everyone enjoys taking a picture at the multi-directional sign that gives the directions to twelve locations including New York (15,008km or 9,325 miles), Sydney (2,000km or 1,243 miles) and the South Pole (4,819km or 2,989 miles)!

We would like to avoid as much driving as we did today but are feeling the time crunch with 8 days left in New Zealand, and we are also hoping to see our Dunedin friends, The Suttons, at their bach in Twizel before the Easter weekend is finished and they must return home. Queenstown and Wanaka are on our list of things to do also but I wanted to make a point of seeing the Poolburn Reservoir as it was highly recommended by our friend Vivian in New York. I must say it didn’t disappoint!

The landscape is stunning with spectacular rock outcroppings and breathtaking mountain views. We seemed to leave the gray skies behind in the Southland with the sky beginning to clear out just above the mountains and creating a broad array of hues in clear pale blue, lavender and periwinkle and various shades of gray intermixed with streaks of white and ivory clouds. As we climbed and climbed up a rocky unsealed road we thought we’d never reach the reservoir but were determined and a chained gate did not deter us. We assumed the gate was just for livestock since we’d been informed at the 4-square grocery that we could probably free camp here. Alas, we made it and took a deep breath of the cool brisk air as we admired our destination. Only a few small baches (pronounced batches) are nestled around the reservoir and we spied only one vehicle with an empty boat trailer. The place seemed empty until we came upon Keith and Bob doing some plumbing repairs and winterizing of their cabin. (Yes, they are getting ready for winter here and won’t return until spring!) Mike helped the guys load their truck and they were more than happy to let us pitch our tent in front of their place to avoid the wind. Eventually they said the neighbor’s place would be better and that they wouldn’t mind. Gregory went down to water’s edge to help them collect their poles and they were on their way. We set up out of the wind and layered up in our jackets and vests to cook dinner in the chill. After dinner the wind died down and Mother Nature put on a grand display especially for us. We took a nice hot cup of tea and climbed a huge rock formation to sit and view one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve seen! It was a combination of the clouds, warm hues and the peaceful realization that we were for all intense purposes alone out in the wilderness. It is almost indescribable and I almost couldn’t pull myself away. Yet darkness began to fall and the temperature dropped and I was the last of the family to pick my way down the slope and back to camp. What a perfect evening.

Sheep in Southland & The World's Fastest Indian

2010-04-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Close encounter of the sheep kind

Gregory watches Trevor as he bangs on the chute (with the piece of rubber tube he is holding) so he can keep the sheep moving up the chute and into the truck. They are being moved to be shorn after Easter weekend.

Morgan and two sheep dogs keep the sheep moving from behind. He moves a batch into the corral and closes it off and as soon as those are all in the truck he moves more into the corral.

Morgan closing off the gate.

"Hey, I'm getting squished here."

Gregory enjoying the sheep "roundup" (Morgan in the background)

Trevor gave us a 4x4 ride up to the top of his property overlooking Haldane Estuary (see below).

Dorrie and Trevor

The World's Fastest Indian ~ Munro Special (Invercargill, NZ)

Movie jacket for the movie The World's Fastest Indian (Rent it today!) with Anthony Hopkins playing Burt Munro.

We had a wonderful chance happening today. I asked Mike to pull over so I could take a picture of some men loaded a semi with sheep. They were just off the main road so I put on my jacket, crossed the road and tiptoed through the mud tracks to the fence line. I took a short video and a picture and just stood watching when a man started to approach. At first I thought he was going to say, “What do you want? You can’t be video taping this…” But of course a friendly Kiwi wouldn’t say that and he invited me to come through the gate and have a closer look. I waved Mike and Gregory over and we had the best time watching them whistle and whoop and holler as they prodded the sheep and banged on the metal chute to get the stubborn Pirendale (?sp) sheep up the ramp and into the back of the truck. The dogs barked and hopped over the railings of the chute and ran right along the backs of the sheep to keep them moving. I’m not kidding! It was a sight to see.

Trevor (owner of the sheep station) and his helper Morgan were up to their knees in mud and the owner of the semi (who Trevor hired to move the sheep at $.80/sheep x 1,000 sheep = $800) was up on the rear of the truck manhandling the stubborn ones as they tried to turn around back down the chute. If a lamb made it into the chute he was grabbed by the scruff of his wooly neck and thrown over the rail with the other young ones. The lambs would be off to the freezer works while the sheep would be going to Trevor’s other paddock to be shorn after Easter. (We were assured things pretty much close down around here on Easter.) I think Trevor said he gets about $7.00/sheep for the wool but $3.50 of that goes to pay the guys who are doing the shearing. So, what he makes from the wool is nothing compared to what he gets from selling the lambs for their meat. I asked Trevor if with the change in weather would the sheep be able to handle the cold once they are shorn and he said that the day after shearing is the critical day but after that their skin actually gets thicker and that protects them from the cold.

Another interesting point is that he said it doesn’t really matter if different kinds of wool are all bundled together when it is sold. I said, “Oh, so if you have a sweater that says it is made with “wool” it could be any kind of wool unless of course it says 100% merino wool?” He said that was right but he said that the finest merino wool comes when the sheep are actually given very little to eat. So, think about that next time you go to buy a sweater!

The semi was finally off with a full load but would be back for the rest in an hour and a half so Trevor had some free time. He invited us on a drive up the mountain to the top of his property and of course we said yes! We all piled into his Holden pickup truck for a slippery and bumpy ride. Some of his sheep had already been shorn and their bright white bodies fled from the fence lines as we passed. We had spectacular views of the Haldane Estuary and Haldane Bay. Recently purchased, Trevor’s property is a work in progress with much clearing of brush in process and plans to plant seed. He said the brush remains in piles and acts as shelter for the sheep from the southerlies that can come in. He won’t burn because his property borders DOC (Department of Conservation) land and there is too much risk that the DOC land could catch fire. He recalled that another farmer caught DOC land on fire and was taken to court and fined $600,000. These farmers carry insurance but that is still a hefty fine! Trevor said he imagined that was what it cost DOC to do the cleanup.

Trevor recently sold his Central Otago farm (which was relatively flat) to a dairy farmer from the North Island and bought this property in Southland. Times change and you have to change with the times he said. He also said he was too young to retire and had to have something to get up for in the morning. He was raised on a sheep farm and said that he can remember having to pluck the wool from the sheep (versus shearing). Years ago his grandfather came over from England to set up a sheep station in New Zealand and he carries on the tradition. We’d heard that many dairy farmers from the North Island are coming to the South Island for the inexpensive land. We noticed that there are considerably more cattle here in New Zealand than there were 15 years ago. We even heard they are trying to put in a feedlot in Mackenzie Country. Somehow that just doesn’t go with the eco-friendly clean and green image that New Zealand generally exudes.

After saying goodbye to Trevor we put in some miles in the rain enjoying the lush green countryside (you can’t have this beautiful green countryside without the rain!) and the mist that hugged the mountains and paddocks. We made our way to Invercargill and set ourselves up in a caravan at the Lorneville Holiday Park, a farmlet 10 minutes from the city centre with a peaceful surrounding. After hanging the tent up in the caravan, on Mike’s makeshift clothesline, we made our way to town to see the world’s fastest Indian.

Burt Monroe, a Kiwi who was born just 30kms north of Invercargill, set the World Record Class S-A 1000cc, on his Indian motorcycle at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, with an average speed of 183.586mph, (one way 190.07mph) and this speed record is still held today. If you haven’t seen the movie (The World’s Fastest Indian) with Anthony Hopkins you should rent it today! In 1967, after a partial stroke, Burt sold his record-breaking Indian to the brothers Norman and Neville Hayes who owned a hardware store in Invercargill. He wanted the bike to stay in the Southland. It is on display in the E. Hayes and Sons Ltd. hardware store today along with may other collector bikes. Not only was the collection of motorcycles something to see but the hardware store is something pretty special also! They have a tool wall that is 100m long (that’s 328 feet!) and the store is 4,000 sq. metres (43,056 sq. feet!) taking up a whole city block! We had a great time poking around. With stores closed tomorrow (Good Friday) we picked up some items for Easter Sunday (also Mike’s 47^th birthday) and plenty of groceries. Back at camp there were the usual chores of dinner, laundry and showers but it has been nice to be able to get these things done after dark on a rainy night and have a warm dry caravan to come back to.

Sheep Talk

As in most businesses, those who work with sheep have their own vocabulary. Today shearing is still done by hand using electric shears. Teams of people, called sheep gangs, work and travel together from farm to farm. Here are some of their slang terms:

Blades – hand shears

Ringer – the fastest shearer in the shearing shed

Gun – a fast shearer

Jingling Johnnies – shearers using hand shears

Gummy – an old toothless sheep

Wigs – short bits of wool from the top of the sheep’s head

Smoko – a tea break

Hockey Stick – lamb chop

Hash-me-gandy – sheep-station (farm) stew

(Taken from: New Zealand, Enchantment of the World by Donna Walsh Shepherd)

The Catlins Continued ~ Yellow-eyed Penguins/Petrified Forest

2010-04-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Petrified Forest ~ Curio Bay

Petrified Tree

First sighting of this Yellow-eyed Penguin. I was out on the rocks and he came out of the sea just near me! It was amazing!

I was able to zoom in with my little Canon to get this incredible shot!

Petrified Tree Stump

I love this shot of several petrified trees. You can only see these at low tide.

Here Mike stands before a massive petrified tree.

Count yourself lucky....

I did count myself lucky having seen a yellow-eyed penguin up close but as I held the camera ever so still to get my video clips and pictures, the sand flies attacked my wrists. Here is my reaction after only a couple of minutes...

This sea lion parked himself right beside our tent site!

This was our camping spot.

Showing Nick and Summer (from San Francisco, California) our video of the Yellow-eyed Penguin. We are huddled under the picnic shelter and watching dolphins play out in Porpoise Bay in front of us.

Cleaning up in the cylindrical concrete camp kitchen at Curio Bay.

Porpoise Bay

Chilly Morning!

We were happy to not have to set up a wet tent in the morning and to be able to sit at our bench in our snug cabin and have breakfast while looking out to sea. We set off from Pounawea under gray skies and drizzle but it didn’t dampen our spirits. As a matter of fact this day rates pretty high on my list, for it was filled with so many scenic wonders and incredible animal encounters! We were following a map of The Catlins that we’d received at camp and also the advice of our Dunedin friends but I became known as “The Taskmaster” because as navigator I told Mike where to stop and which hike I wanted to do next! At one point I said to Mike, “Hasn’t this just been the most enjoyable day?” His reply was, “Yes, but I’m almost enjoyed out.” That was a gut-buster for me and I couldn’t stop laughing for the longest while! We’d done quite a lot of hiking at this point and with only tennis shoes (joggers) our toes and feet were beginning to ache. Also, it was a lot of driving, stopping, hiking in, hiking out, and driving on again to do a repeat. The majesty of the many waterfalls, dense forest filled with a wide variety of trees and ferns and even a historic milling tractor made it just so breathtaking. What topped it all off was that we arrived at Curio Bay around 4:30 PM in hopes of viewing the petrified forest, which can only be seen at low tide, and wah-la, it was low tide! As we walked out across this ancient petrified forest, where fossilized trees are embedded on coastal bedrock, and we examined the many textures and colors of the trees, stumps and the tide pools that nestled amongst them. It is a bit overwhelming to think that these are the remnants of a 180 million year old Jurassic era forest.

In one moment I was looking to my right at Mike just a few feet away and Gregory beyond him in the distance and then I looked left and there was a Yellow-eyed penguin coming ashore just a short distance from me! I couldn’t speak. I just looked over at Mike and made some sort of grunt with erratic arm motioning and pointing to announce my discovery. As he got Gregory’s attention I began taking some video clips and many photos. He waddled and hopped along the rocks all the way across this petrified rock landscape and up to his burrow on the edge of the cliff for his evening rest. The next day at dawn he would be off again for his fill of fish. How amazing is that!! And Mike said he was almost “enjoyed out”! He too had to admit that it was one of those experiences that you will never forget. After saying goodnight to our yellow-eyed friend we continued to wander along the rocks and make our way closer to the sea where waves were crashing violently against the rocks. Gregory was mesmerized and kept calling us to come closer and closer. A couple of waves almost caught him off guard and he was almost drenched but he narrowly escaped. Actually, we all ended up with at least one soaked shoe. My feet have felt damp for two days now and I keep changing socks but my shoes never quite dry out.

We pitched our tent on a wet grassy spot bordered on three sides by flax hedge barriers and overlooking a turbulent sea. We parked the car across the front of our site to block the wind and I set out to cook dinner in the wee concrete cylindrical kitchen while Mike and Greg set up camp. Before long Gregory came running in to show me video he took of a sea lion that entered our camp! At one point they had him coming right for them but fortunately they got the car between them. They have pictures of the seal lion kicking back right by our tent site! Meanwhile, in the kitchen, I had met Mark and Tim, brothers who were brought up in Riverton, who were on a fishing holiday. They were filleting some green bone fish and when I offered them some of my red potatoes for their tea they gave me a fillet to try. It is a beautiful white fish and tasted delicious. Mark and Tim also told me of their father’s paua (abalone shell) jewelry making business in Riverton and told us to stop in for a tour. Mark is also in the business but works out of Dunedin while brother Tim just returned from two years in Scotland and was catching up on the family traditions he’d been missing out on such as the spear fishing. We sat in the near dark, at a damp picnic table, out in front of the office, eating our green bone and a pot of lentil soup, and even though the wind bit at our cheeks, and our toes were damp, we were content, for we had a warm meal before us and we’d shared a most memorable day.

It poured all night long and to say the tent was soggy is an understatement. Big Agnes held up well though and we were toasty dry, that is, until we unzipped and had to get out to take care of necessaries. Mike packed up sleeping bags and mattresses but we left the tent in hopes of a lull in the rain after breakfast. We boiled some water in the kitchen and then headed for the shelter of the picnic area where I’d met Nick and Summer the night before. They are from San Francisco and have just two weeks left of their yearlong journey. We joked that they would go into reverse culture shock when they returned but they assured me they had things to do to keep them busy when they got back. Summer was fighting a cold so we gave her the rest of our Dimetapp. Just as we’d arrived under the shelter, Summer pointed out two dolphins that were feeding just below us out in Porpoise Bay and we watched them frolicking about while we had breakfast and a chat. Last night a couple told us they had gone surfing and had the dolphins come right up to them! Gregory and I have wet suits so we did contemplate taking out boogie boards but by the time we’d packed up our wet tent and made our way down to the beach we couldn’t see any dolphins and besides that it was bitterly cold and raining. Nick pointed out that the rain shouldn’t matter because you are just going to get wet anyhow!

The Catlins ~ Nugget Point Lighthouse

2010-04-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

Keith and Judy Sutton with Mike and Gregory at their business Sutton Canvas Products Ltd. in Dunedin (One last goodbye...)

I took a picture of this sign (on the outside of a building) because I just found it interesting that Kiwis say it is time to do "maths" versus in America we would just say "math" with no "S" on the end. It makes sense though because it is short for mathematics.

We watched seals frolicking down in the rocks from this viewing point at the base of the lighthouse.

Nugget Point/Roaring Bay/Pounawea

When it was time to say goodbye to our Dunedin friends, The Sutton Family, Gregory was begging to stay just one more night. We all felt the same way but we knew our time left in New Zealand was nearing an end and there was so much more to see. I love what Judy said to Gregory, “Good things come to an end so more good things can come along!” We promised to try to see them Easter weekend at their bach (“batch”) up in Twizel, gave them big hugs, and then headed south to The Catlins.

It was late in the afternoon when we finally reached Nugget Point and the 40-minute return hike out to the lighthouse. Though rain threatened we put on our rain jackets and headed out. It was only spitting now and again and we were soon warmed up enough that we peeled off the outerwear. The sea was amazingly calm and we stood on the cliffs watching the kelp dance along the rocky coastline. From the viewing platform at the lighthouse we could see seals playing in the rock pools that formed in the massive rocks that peaked up above the oceans surface. [I read that Nugget Point is the only place where New Zealand fur seals (kekeno), New Zealand sea lions (whakahao) and the southern elephant seal (ihupuku) co-exist.] Though we met with occasional sprinkles, the night was warm and we delighted in the fragrant scents we encountered as we made our way along the track back to the car park.

On our return to the main road we stopped at Roaring Bay to see if we could spy some more Yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho). Though we’d seen several at Oamaru we were eager to see one a bit closer. (This hide was closer to the beach and the penguin’s point of exit from the sea as well as the hillside where they have their burrows.) We sat up on the cliffs in the hide for quite some time and though others on the track reported seeing four penguins earlier, we only just saw one climbing in his burrow as we arrived.

A late arrival and rainy weather lead us to rent our second cabin on this trip. We camped at Pounawea with our cabin view overlooking the water. Our bunk bed had a double on the bottom (complete with linens) and Gregory had his own twin bunk up top. Their was a large group of teens running about the camp and the kitchen was packed so we got ourselves organized and then had a late dinner when things settled down a bit. As long as we were splurging for a cabin we decided to rent The Chronicles of Narnia ~ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to watch on our laptop. We’d recently been to Elephant Rocks on The Vanished World Fossil Trail, and in the film, Elephant Rocks is the site used for Aslan’s camp. We all snuggled together on the bottom bunk, on our bellies with hands on cheeks glued to the computer screen. It was fun to watch it together and try to pick out the specifics of where we’d just been. (For those of you who aren’t aware of it The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was filmed here in New Zealand as well. I understand that fans of the movies flock here and make their way to the many sites where the filming took place.)