Auckland Calls!

Morning came quickly, but we were pretty happy to laze about before starting the day.  Mona and I went to the grocery store we'd seen the previous night and rounded up food for breakfast.  Unlike Australia, the prices at the grocery store seemed a bit more reasonable - in the last week, we'd paid some pretty outrageous prices for food and drink.  

Back in our room, Mona and Angie made a fantastic breakfast for us, consisting of oranges, fresh(!) kiwi fruit, yogurt and crumpets.  I'd never had one before so I thought it would be the equivalent of an English muffin.  Oh how wrong I was!  The crumpet was now the tastiest way I'd found to start my morning.  If you've never had one, you must try one.  Oh my.

With such a delicious breakfast behind us, it was soon time to venture out.  Mona and Angie had spent much of their time scouring the Internet, planning the Australian portion of our visit.  NZ had it's own treasures to discover, so we would spend part of the morning planning this portion.

We walked along the major road to the wharf, passing through a corner of the business district.  There were plenty of souvenir shops and a wide variety of restaurants.  We saw all manner of Indian, Thai, Japanese, Korean and other exotic eateries as we marched along. 

Our travels took us to the local information booth, where we collected pamphlets and brochures from the many attractions across the country.  There were precious time to see and do, so we wanted to arm ourselves with information to make the best of our short time.

With travel info in hand, we headed out for lunch.  We were only a few blocks from the marina where we found a large shopping mall.  Adjacent to the mall was a Turkish food stand.  A little Mediterranean food sounded like a good plan, so we picked up a bite and went straight to work on lunch.  With a little food in us, we were fueled up and ready to go!

Mona and I decided to take the ferry to an island near to Auckland.  Waiheke Island was a short 45 minute ferry ride, and would give us a chance to see something other than glass, steel and concrete.  The ferry ride was quiet and smooth - there were plenty of passengers, but for a Friday, I guessed everyone was just getting ready to start a relaxing weekend.  

Upon arrival in Waiheke, we hopped on a bus that would circle the island.  The island was known for many wineries, and it was common to take the bus to a winery, hop off, tryout the spirits, then move onto to the next stop.  I'd never been on wine-tasting tour, so this would be a first for me.

The bus wound up and down the hilly streets of the island.  We had great views of the many bay inlets around the island.  The wind picked up and drove the rain a bit, but it wasn't a detraction from our excursion.  After a time, we decided to stop and visit one of the wineries.

Stonyridge vineyard seemed like a nice stop.  It was nestled between the hills, surrounded by tall trees and fields on either side.  A long, paved path led us up from the road, to a quiet building.

As it was already 4PM, we soon discovered they would close around 5PM.  One of things I've noticed on this trip - Australian and NZ businesses are just not open very late.  It could have much to do with the season - May corresponds to the start of winter in the southern hemisphere.  Perhaps business are open later in the summer months - who knows?  Still, we had plenty of time to try out some of their wines.  I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I found their wines to be rather nice.

As Stonyridge prepared to close, we walked back to the road and awaited the next bus.  It wasn't too long before another bus came along.  We followed the bus route, winding around through the hills.  Much of the terrain, roads and weather reminded much of Hawaii, and the island of Kauai.  

At the end of the bus loop, the driver informed us she was taking her 30 minute break.  This gave us a chance to get out, stretch our legs and see what we could see.  We took a short stroll down the road and headed onto a nearby beach.  

The evening wind was really beginning to pick up, bringing the temperature down a bit and lapping the waves along the shore.  There were a handful of people sitting along the water, walking dogs and enjoying the last bits of daylight.

As we walked along, the only restaurants and pubs in the little neighborhood were closed for the evening.  On the plus side, it made the surroundings even quieter - it was easy to hear the lapping of the waves and the calls of faraway birds.  All-in-all the quiet evening walk was quite relaxing.  Back at the bus stop, the evening light finally faded and a cool, quiet night settled in.

The bus brought us back to the Waiheke Island Ferry in ample time to catch the return ferry home.  The return ferry was even quieter than the outbound trip - very few passengers were on this trip.  

Back at the dock in Auckland, Ramona and I meandered from the dock back towards our lodging.  The Friday night crowds spilled out into the streets, making the streets lively and bustling.  Mona and I headed up to our room, then made a quick trip to the grocery store.  There was no way our limited supply of crumpets would survive the morning, so we restocked for the next day.

Once we finished our shopping trip, we headed out for dinner.  The Parnell Hill area, just a few blocks from our hotel, was recommended as a good spot for dinner, so we headed out into the street.  It was a short walk, which included a very steep hill - good exercise for someone who hasn't been spending enough time at the gym.  We found a nice Italian restaurant to grab a quick plate.  There were plenty of tourists and locals, so it seemed like a nice place to stop.

After a filling dinner, we headed back down the street to our hotel.  For a Friday night, I was surprised there were so few people out.  Until we turned a corner.  Wow!  We passed several streets with youth hostels and backpacker hotels.  Many of the hostels featured bars on the first floor.  This allowed the kids to crowd around on the sidewalks and enjoy themselves.  It was almost as if all of the kids in the area were all condensed into just a few city blocks.  We circled the block and its revelers, then headed up the street.

Back in our room, Ramona and I were quickly greeted by the return of Angie and Matthew, and their guests Erik and Nasreen!  The foursome had been out for dinner, and came up to check out our swanky digs.  It was great to spend a bit of time with them, before we got to see them at fellowship on Sunday.

With a full day behind us, it wasn't long before we were ready to call it a night!

Kiwi Country

After spending a week in Australia, it was finally time to (briefly) depart for our next port of call, New Zealand!  While NZ also got its start as a British Commonwealth (colony), it was different country, with its own national pride and identity.  We learned that Australia and NZ have a strong sense of sibling rivalry.

Our itinerary to NZ required us to fly from Cairns to Brisbane, then from Brisbane to Auckland, New Zealand.  Our flight to Brisbane was sunny and uneventful, and we had plenty of time to hangout in the airport before our next leg.  Matthew caught up with us in the terminal, and we boarded our flight.

The night-time flight to NZ was pretty uneventful.  Ramona and I played a Scrabble game that Angie had picked out in the terminal.  The passenger seated next to us was a gentleman from South Africa, who was working in Sydney for the International Firefighter Games.  We chatted throughout the flight.

When we arrived in New Zealand, we learned that the country has extremely tight controls on fruits, nuts and seeds entering into the country.  We were instructed to dispose of all fresh fruits, nuts and seeds or face stiff fines.  As NZ is an island with no natural predators, an infestation of mice, rabbits or fruit flies would be disastrous.




After picking up a rental car, we were off to our hotel.  We were staying at the Waldorf Service Apartments, a swanky condominium-style hotel in downtown Auckland.  Our room was a literally a cross between a hotel room and a condo (complete with washer/dryer, fridge, microwave, dishwasher and electric range).

The hotel was located not too far from the wharf and the business districts, so there were a few restaurants in close proximity.  Better still, a nearby grocery would make it easy for us to provision breakfast in the morning.

It didn't take us long to settle in; as it was already 1AM local time (the latest Mona and I had been up all week), it was time for bed.

The Great Barrier Reef

With another sunny day in Cairns, it was time to go to the Great Barrier Reef.  Large enough to be clearly visible from space, we were going to see one of the natural wonders of the world.  Ramona and Angie found a great tour that included a day's sail with snorkeling or scuba.  It would be a nice opportunity to see the reef - up close and personal!

We met the boat, the SeaStar, at the wharf in Cairns.  The friendly crew brought aboard and quickly got us underway.

Cairns receded into the distance quickly, and we were off into the Coral Sea.  Oddly enough, it was only the second sea I'd been to (the first being the Sea of Japan).

With smooth seas, it was a pleasant hours' sail to the reef.  Our first stop, Michaelmas Cay - was our first opportunity of the day to snorkel.  Since it was still jellyfish season, we had to cover ourselves - head to toe - in stinger suits.

I chose to rent a digital camera, hoping I'd end up with at least a few pictures.  Once outfitted, the crew gave us more safety instructions as we approached Michaelmas Cay.  This was the beach side of a small island on what was called the "Inner Reef", closer to the Australian side of the Great Barrier Reef. It was essentially a protected wildlife reserve, as turtles used parts of the beach to spawn, and birds covered the grassy portions.  We were directed to stay just on the center of the beach, for those who weren't taking a dive.

The crew ferried us to the island and began to unload us on the beach.  Nearly all the guests were going snorkeling here, so I was sure it was going to be a bit crowded underwater.  Once we hit the beach, we were broken up in to groups and headed out.  At first, most of what we saw were living coral - forests of color, swaying in the current.  Tiny fish darted in and out of them, snacking up on even smaller fish or plankton.  The shallow waters allowed plenty of sunlight, so we could easily see the sandy bottom, small fish darting just under the surface and every detail of the reef.  It was very breathtaking.  I tried my hand at taking as many pictures with the underwater camera as a could, hoping they'd all turn out.  I won't be posting any of them here, as I'll need to clean them up with the GIMP (open-source Photoshop equivalent).

Forty-five minutes in the water seemed to evaporate in minutes, and we were called back onto the boat.  The crew was hard at work, getting lunch ready and preparing to get under way.  Now that we were out of the water, the wind quickly made things a lot colder.  Fortunately, hot tea and coffee was available, which warmed things up considerably.  We ate lunch and talked about the many things we'd seen underwater.  A short while later, we were underway to our second stop, Hastings Reef.

Hastings Reef was on the "Outer Reef", closer to the open ocean.  It was only twenty minutes away, and would show us different wildlife than what we'd seen earlier.  Once we arrived, we donned our stinger suits and got ready to dive.  Since the water was colder, many of us donned wetsuits over the stinger suits, to help ward off the cold.  Fortunately, the water wasn't nearly as cold, so the extra layers weren't as necessary.

Once underwater, it wasn't long before we saw a sea turtle, poking its head in between the reef.  I took several pictures, hoping some of them will turn out (they'll most likely be posted to Flickr).  As we moved along the reef, the currents here were much, much stronger, making swimming between the reefs a challenge.  On several occasions, the current pulled me over the reef or forced me to swim through shallow water over a portion of it, to get back to deeper water.  I'm not a strong swimmer, by any means, so this tired me out pretty quickly.  So much, in fact, that I managed to drop the digital camera I'd rented.


I was worn out and headed back to the boat.  It wasn't too long before other divers were back in as well.  Thankfully, one of the crew retrieved the camera, so I was able to get the pictures and video I shot.

Part of the reef visit included a glass-bottom boat tour.  One of the crew helped us aboard a 20' skiff, and motored a few dozen yards from the Seastar.  He took us over a portion of the reef, so that we could see the reef walls, coral and other sea creatures below.  We could see nearly all of types of coral described earlier on our tour, as well as hear a little bit about the preservation projects underway to help keep this natural wildlife sanctuary pristine for generations to come.

Before long, we were back aboard the SeaStar and getting underway for Syndey harbor.  The trip out was about 90 minutes, and the return trip was expected to be the same.  However, once we got under way, the wind and waves seem to be against us, making things VERY bumpy.  We were seated on an open deck at the rear of the boat; the wind whipped the sea spray around the deck and drenched all of the passengers seated there.  Even from where were seated, we got dripped on fairly often.  Yet, the water wasn't nearly as bad as the jostling we received as the boat crashed through the waves.  Angie was clearly not enjoying the trip back, but was trooper to the very end!  Our roller coaster ride jostled more than a few of the other passengers, but no one seemed to suffer any serious crashes.  When we finally approached the shoreline, I think everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

After we pulled into the harbor, we disembarked at the marina and made our way back to our hotel.  As this was our last night in Cairns, we packed up and made ready to travel to our next destination - Auckland, New Zealand!

Call it Cairns, or they'll make fun of you

After several fun days in Sydney, it was time to see off for Cairns.  And yes, they do make fun of you, if you can't pronounce it properly.  It's pronounced "Kah-rns", as if it had a silent "I".  However you pronounce it, Cairns is effectively the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, being home to dozens of helicopter tours, boat tours, scuba excursions and a dozen-odd other ways to get out and see the Great Barrier Reef up close.  My vote for the most original was a hot balloon ride from Cairns to an island near the reef.  Sadly, it only ran from January to February...

Air travel for this leg of our trip was handled by Virgin Airways.  I called a taxi, who promptly fetched us from the apartment and took us to the airport.  I've never flown Virgin before, but was pretty impressed with their organization.  When the taxi driver dropped us off at the international terminal, instead of the domestic terminal, the staff was quick to get us routed to the domestic terminal.  The gate crew also called us to the head of the line and got us to our gate quickly.  After a short flight, we arrived in Cairns!

Something I hadn't experienced since Hawaii, we deplaned from both the front of the airplane, through the normal jetway and also from the rear of the plane, onto the tarmac.  I've always enjoyed this approach, since it gets us off the plane in half the time!  It also affords a good view of the surrounding area.

The next thing I noticed about Cairns - it was hot!  The weather was easily 15 degrees warmer than Sydney - which makes sense, as Cairns was much closer to the equator than Sydney.  The extra heat was certainly welcome!  There was no better way to beat the heat, than to dip my feet in the community pool.

Crossing the Sydney Harbor Bridge

Today's agenda included a trip over the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  Completed in 1932, its steel trusses connect the downtown Central Business District with the northern part of the city.  We wanted to walk over the very bridge we had sailed under just a few nights earlier on the ferry.

Getting to the bridge was simple, but was made even easier with a stop at a local cafe called Badde Manors.  It was a quaint, little spot, but the long black (espresso coffee) was piping hot, and the eggs nicely scrambled.  With an extra muffin in my pocket, we were ready to head out.

Sydney has a nice mass transit system, consisting of busses, trams and trains.  From our lodgings, it was half a block to the nearest bus stop and only a few blocks from the bus line we'd eventually take.  If you ever find yourself in Sydney, be sure to purchase bus tickets in advance - many of the stops are pre-pay only and aren't able to take cash or credit on the spot for bus fare.  Fortunately, plenty of stores - pharmacies, groceries, etc. - sell bus passes, so it rarely seems like an issue.  

We took the #431 downtown, and found ourselves underneath the main span, just a few blocks from the bridge.  As we started across, we were greeted with another view of the Sydney Opera House and much of the harbor.

When we reached the North Shore, we saw a few interesting shops and vendors.  There was ample time, so we meandered a bit and looked around.  Many of the buildings were hotels and office buildings.  Judging from the many corporate logos on the buildings, it was pretty clear this was the downtown business area.

As lunchtime drew near, we rustled up some grub before our walk back across the bridge.  We chose to spend to spend the rest of the afternoon, hanging out with Ron and Susan, as Ramona, Angie and I would be headed to Cairns the next day.

The land of marsupials

Our next day in Australia included a trip to the Featherdale Wildlife Park!   The brochure featured a wide variety of birds and wildlife we'd be able to see.

Our trusty driver, Matthew, drove us about an hour from downtown Sydney and deftly navigated to the park.  Inside, we were immediately exposed to many of Australia's wild inhabitants.  Unfortunately, there is no truth in advertising.  While the sign over the park entrance features koalas on the back of kangaroo, I was a bit disappointed when we did not observe that inside.

However, we did get to experience wallabies right off the bat! They were pretty docile, probably thanks to many hand feedings. Approach them with a cone of food in hand and they were more than happy to allow you to pet them.  

Mona seemed to find the ones that were most content to be touched.  The ones I touched were content, only as long as my cone had food in it.  Once empty, they seemed happier to find someone else's full cone.

I found that the wallabies and red kangaroos were touched felt pretty soft to the touch, not unlike rabbit pelts.  It never occurred to me until later that the animals might be brushed or groomed.  Not that I'm complaining, of course.

 

We made quite a day of our trip to the wildlife park.  In addition to all of the wallabies, kangaroos and wombats, there were quite a few species of birds - mostly owls.  The few dingoes we found were happy to lounge in the sun, but sadly, we didn't see any Tasmania devils.  I could find any echidnas, either, which was also a bit of a let down.  Ah, well.  Maybe we'll have to make another trip for that.

After a brief stop for grub, we pressed onward towards the Blue Mountains.  It was nice to see such less greenery so close to the wildlife park.  At just under 1km elevation, the altitude provided very different weather.  The wind was considerably stronger than down in the wildlife park.  It also rained quite a bit more than expected.  Fortunately, everyone seemed willing to brave the wind and rain to run out and take a quick picture of the majestic cliffs and waterfalls.  After our last pictures, it was back on the road to Sydney!

Out and Around

Today's itinerary included a trip down to Syndey harbor.  We wanted to take in the view of the harbor, so we figured out the bus routes to get us there.  The bus took us from Glebe Point down to the Rocks area, a touristy area of the city center.  We meandered through an open-air market, sprawling throughout several of the city streets.

The steals and deals weren't too bad, but there wasn't much that caught my interest.  It was neat to see so many Australian souvenirs - boomerangs, license plates, assorted knick-knacks.

From the Rocks, we continued towards Sydney harbor for our next stop - the Sydney Opera House! 

The Sydney Opera House was truly a unique structure.  This winning design from an architectural competition was both breathtaking and scientifically challenging.  While it was originially forecast to take three years and $7 million dollars, it took over 16 years and a cost of over $102 million. 

Our tour took us inside the structure, were we got to see the drama theater, playhouse and the Utzon room, named for the Danish designer.  Utzon  used a lot of natural materials, which gave the building a unique, pleasing look.

From the outside, the Sydney Harbor Bridge was a common sight, and became the backdrop of several of our pictures later - I'll have all my pictures uploaded to Flickr at the end of the trip.

We took the harbor ferry to Manly, a northern Sydney suburb just a few miles a way.  The beautiful beach featured deep blue waters and wonderful, white sand.  Mona stepped in and found it a bit cold.  The boardwalk of Manle featured storefront after storefront - everything from surfing gear and souvenirs, to bars, clubs and eateries.  But before too long, it was time to say goodbye to Manly Wharf and board the evening ferry for Sydney.

The evening ferry ride afforded us a great nighttime view of the city skyline.  The bridge and Opera House were sprinkled with lights below, as the first few stars in the night sky twinkled above.  After another full day, we were eager to get home and gear up for tomorrow:  a trip to the Blue Mountains and a petting zoo!

...and dawn came on rosy fingertips

Apologies for lifting a few lines from Homer's Iliad, but the metaphor was quite apropos.  Our view of the morning sunrise was obscured by the clouds and adjacent buildings, but the pink and purple clouds had a nice hue.  For a Saturday morning, I was surprised at how quiet our street was, considering how busy it seemed only a few hours ago.  In the late evening hours, many people filled the streets, getting an early start on the weekend revelry.  Every corner was packed with people - patrons of pubs and clubs littered the sidewalks.  While the thought of stopping in a pub for a genuine Australian pint was appealing, being a dozen hours off my schedule meant that a beer or two was probably not in my best interest.  Still, the weekend is ahead of us, and there will be ample opportunities to find a good pub.  With luck, Matthew and I can step out for a beer before his work duties pull him away.

The street sweepers were out and about in the wee morning hours, hosing down and sweeping the narrow city streets.  While the noise a little unwelcome, it didn't last long.  When the morning light made the streets visible, there work was readily apparent.  I noticed yesterday that the streets and sidewalks were dusty - that evidence was all but erased when they were done.

Breakfast was quick and relaxing.  Ramona was happy to make her "European style" breakfast of fruits and cheeses.  After a rough night, I was happy to simply have plenty of coffee.  I have no doubt that today I will be relying on coffee for much of my consciousness throughout the day. 

With the sun up, we could see things that weren't visible when we checked in.  In the distance, we could see the Sydney Tower, a common sight on the Sydney skyline.  Our wanderings today may take us in that direction, so we'll see what happens!

V.R.B. Oh my!

The rental property we'd be staying in, was over a local furniture business.  While the property might have lacked airconditioning, it had the other essentials - cable TV and Wifi Internet (without which, these posts would have been far less frequent!)  The decor was very unique and homey, with all the ammenities we'd need to cook and provide for ourselves for the next few days.  While I wish the street traffic was a bit quieter, everything seemed like we'd be all set for the start of our adventures.  The pictures themselves were far better than any written description I could provide.

Downtown Sydney - Bus Tour

Angie, Ramona and I started our Australian adventure with a sightseeing bus tour of Sydney.   Starting just a few blocks from Ron and Susan's hotel, we hopped on the bus and took a meandering, oval-shaped tour of downtown Sydney.  While the pre-recorded audio tour droned on, I snapped a few pictures of interesting sights of the city.

After a short trip around time, it wasn't long before we ready to head to the rental property Angie and Ramona had picked out.

Arrival in Sydney!

After a thankfully-brief trip through customs, we claimed our luggage and met up with the rest of the family at the airport!  I was pleasantly surprised to see that Mr. Potato made the trip as well!  Matthew surprised us by meeting us at the airport.  We had a vehicle large enough to transport us and our luggage from the airport to downtown.  Since our flights arrived in the early morning hours, we had to navigate the morning rush hour traffic.  Fortunately, Matthew was an old salt at driving on the opposite side of the road!  I bet many of you didn't realize that Australians drive on the left side of the road, and that automobiles here have the driver on the right-hand side of the vehicle....

The clear sunrise we saw as we landed, quickly faded to cloudy, overcast skies, by the time we got underway.  Downtown Sydney felt very much like many other metropolitan city centers.  The morning rush felt like a morning in a Chicago suburb, or something to that effect.  However, whacky traffic patterns and turning from the "wrong" lane seemed like a sure-fire way to aggravate an ulcer.  It's probably best to leave the driving here to the experienced driver - or at least take public transportation!

Loooong flight!

Our flight from LAX to Sydney was, well, long.  Not just long - really long!  With a slight gate delay, we spent almost 15 hours on the plane.  Thanks to the many time zones we crossed, we left on Wednesday and arrived Friday morning (more on that later)!  This was my first flight on a Boeing 777 (aka the Dreamliner), the newest airliner from Boeing.  I was plesantly surprised we'd get such a new craft for an overseas trip; the 777 rollout to commercial US airlines has been rather slow in the last few years.

Ramona cleverly researched our flight options, and upgraded our seats to 'Economy Comfort'.  This gave us a few extra inches of legroom and wider seats, as well as a power outlet beneath our seats.  Better still, we chose seats on the starboard side of plane with a seat between us, which made things very easy.

We got two meals on the plane, with a snack and a fair amount of beverage service.  Fortunately, the crew filled our water bottles, so we had a decent chance to stay hydrated.  I think we got was a few hours of sleep at the start of the flight - after that, there wasn't much to pass the time, other than in-flight movies.  There were ample in-flight movies to keep Ramona interested, and the power plug kept my netbook charged to watch movies I had already downloaded.  We stayed entertained for hours, despite the possibility of immense boredom.

As the night turned to early morning, the crew started breakfast shortly before our touchdown in Sydney.  All-in-all, my first flight on Dreamliner was almost as comfortable as the first-class seating we had from Amsterdam to India in 2009.  Still, I wouldn't have minded the kind of pampering we'd received in first class.  Ah, well!

Heading Down Under - from Detroit!

Our exciting adventure down under is mere hours away!  Ramona and I are writing this from the Delta Sky Club at Detroit Metro Airport.  We chose to spend a little time at the airport, resting up before our marathon sitting begins!  We have three hours on a plane from Detroit to LA, then nearly a day in the air from LA to Sydney.  To ward off the long sitting, we picked up compression socks (thanks for the tip, Angie!) and plan to stay well-hydrated.

The Delta Sky Club is pretty nice - there are plenty of snacks (Karl loves biscotti!) and drinks to enjoy.  I highly recommend taking the time to break up long flights.  For just $25, you can visit multiple Sky Clubs - we'll be at the LAX location shortly.  Our trip begins!