Over already?

Well our time here on the other side of the planet is unfortunately coming to a close. The luggage is packed, we've said our goodbyes, and are waiting for the taxi to take us to the airport.

In some respects it feels as if we have been away longer than 4 -weeks, and in other respects it feels as if we have only just arrived.

We have had a wonderful time in this part of the world, seeing so many interesting and wonderful places, meeting great people, spending time with family, and seeing old (not in age of course) friends.

We have no doubt that we will be back, the only question is when.

Many thanks to Roxy and Ed who have graciously and generously let us stay with them while in Syndey. It's been wonderful to have had the time together; now they can get back to their regular routines.

This will not be the last time we write you, as we will each give you our highlights of the trip in one final post.

Thanks to all of you for coming along. We hope you've enjoyed the trip as much as we have.

Looking forward to showing you all of the pictures at some point.

G&D

Barefoot Lawn Bowling

Who knew that lawn bowling was not just for the blue rinse set?

A cross between curling and bocce, this game is quite addictive, and can be picked up rather quickly by anyone.

The bowling balls are weighted so that one side is heavier than the other which means that each bowl has a definitive break/curve. Much like putting in golf, bowling requires the correct weight and correct line.

In and around Sydney various lawn bowling clubs open their doors for a few hours and let the younger generation play.

This afternoon we spent three hours on the grass bowling our balls trying to get closest to the Jack - the little white ball that is thrown at the beginning of each end - and is the target.

This game, the players, and the ambiance is likely much different than the picture you have in your mind's eye. There is no white clothing, it is not quiet, and everyone is in their bare feet with a beer in their hand. Nothing like the bowling you might see at the Boulevard Club.

So this summer cut your grass a bit shorter, fill your cooler with ice and beer, kick off your shoes, and get bowling.

Or just drop by a local club, jump the fence, kick off your shoes, and join a game.

Sydney Part II and Surfing

So we are back in Sydney, which is becoming much more familiar to us. Sydney is made of many little communities, each with their own unique flavour.

We are getting quite comfortable navigating our way around the city using public transit, and we've used all forms available to us - bus, train, and ferry. The most enjoyable by far was the ferry from Circular Quay to Rose Bay. It provided a great view of the city from Sydney Harbour, as well as a better perspective of how large Sydney Harbour actually is.

We've also visited the Aquarium, walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and received an education about the history of the bridge while visiting the little museum and viewing area in one of the southern pylons.

Yesterday we tried surfing for the first time. In short, it is not easy as it requires multiple skills - paddling though the breaking on-shore waves (a.k.a getting out the backside); board safety (i.e. holding onto the board); balance; reading waves; and not getting in the way of other surfers.

I was able to get up on my feet [once] for a very short amount of time, and Ginny got up on her knees.

The waves, even at three feet, seem tall, and their power is easy to underestimate until a wave crashes down on you, or rips the board from your hands. Ginny was hammered by two quick breaking waves, but she was very resilient, getting back on her board and paddling out to catch more waves.

We both now know why surfing is so addictive.

Tomorrow, I'll be visiting with a great friend who's lived in Australia for the past 12+years. Really looking forward to that.

We cannot believe that we have only but a few days left so we will be enjoying our final days to the fullest before we return to the Northern Hemisphere.

Until then, G&D.

Queenstown, Sheep, and back to Sydney

It's been a while, but we've doing quite a bit of moving around, and access to a computer was a bit challenging.

The last time we posted we were in Wanaka, NZ. Leaving Wanaka we headed to Queenstown, via the Crown Range pass. We learned this is the highest pass in NZ, and the multiple switchbacks confirmed the steepness of the mountains. Our little 4-cylinder hard to work extremely hard to get up each section.

Queenstown is quite busy and over developed in our opinion. Hundreds of shops, bars, and restaurants all crammed into a very small footprint. The place seemed to be overrun with adventure junkies, hippies, and people who had planned to be in Queenstown for "6-months before heading to Europe or Asia".

We had a great excursion across the lake on coal-fueled steamship to a working sheep station. Our guide/host Lindsey who was a laugh-a-minute showed us how to shear a sheep [not something I'd be good at], and how he and his dog [Storm] work together to bring in the sheep.

NZ has 40 million sheep, which is about 10 per NZ'er. That's a lot of sheep!

After Queenstown we were faced with a long journey back to Christchurch. We decided to break this into two days with the longest section on day one. This allowed for a short drive on day two, and enough time to visit the Antarctica Exhibit.

On the way out of Queenstown we stopped to watch the bungy jumpers leap off a 120ft bridge

Christchurch is known as the gateway to the Antarctic, and many counties, including the USA, have stations and bases in Christchurch.

The exhibit was amazing and included a sample of an Antarctic storm, a penguin feeding, and a drive in a Hagglund all-terrain vehicle, driven by a Canadian from Cambridge, ON.

New Zealand is an amazing place and we feel as if we only scratched the surface. It definitely requires a return visit. As one person we met told us,"I've travelled 30,000 km across NZ, and still know that I have not seen it all."

The next day we were up early for a flight back to Sydney.

We have a few days left, and plan to do more things in, and around Sydney. And this weekend we will have our first surfing lesson - should be interesting.

Until then, cheers.

Photo: Storm working the sheep.

Franz Josef to Wanaka

It's been a while since we last posted but that's because we've been very busy enjoying many more wonderful adventures here in NZ. Tuesday afternoon found us doing a heli/hike of the Franz Josef glacier. If ever you want to do something like this, take the chance, no matter the cost. We were fully outfitted so no worries about not having the correct gear. A short 10 minute helicopter ride took us way up the glacier --- way beyond where even the full day hikers go! We disembarked and met our fantastic guide, AJ who took us on a fantastic 2 hour hike of the glacier. What an experience; even the pouring down rain couldn't dampen (pardon the pun) anyone in our groups attitude. It is very hard to explain the feeling of standing on a ice field hundreds of metres up but awesome would be a good word! Incredibly beautiful and peaceful; especially neat when we heard the rumble of falling ice! We can only hope we caught the true majesty of the glacier through our many photos!

After coming back down to earth, we headed for the Fr. Josef hot pools which were very conveniently located across the road from our motel. Gorgeous hot pools, the hottest at 40 degrees. A wonderful way to warm up from our time on the glacier! Much less human traffic than the Hanmer Springs pools which was nice!

Wednesday was our last morning in Fr Josef so we did one final walk, The Douglas Walk, which took us up to Peter's Pool, a reflecting pool. This pool was named for a boy named Peter who at the young age of 9 went camping beside it all by himself. Not bad for a 9 year old; to have a gorgeous lake named in your honour!

From Fr Josef we made our way to Haast. Yet another stunning drive south along the west coast. Around every turn (hair pin and otherwise) was yet another gorgeous view. We lunched beside lovely Lake Paringa --- Tim Tams for dessert. If you've never had a Tim Tam, off to your local Loblaws and treat yourself --- but leave some for us!!!!!!!!!!!!! On the advice of a native NZer we met, we stopped at Shipp Creek and did a great dune, beach, lagoon walk. For the most part, we had the gorgeous beach to ourselves.

We finally arrived in Haast, or really Hannah's Clearing, which is 19km outside of Haast. This is where we spent Wednesday and Thursday, at Hannah's Homestead! Haast is gorgeous but in order to really appreciate it, you need to love wilderness and be fine with leaving the shopping, fine dining, etc. behind. We spent our first afternoon walking the beach; beautiful and again, remote, but never warm enough to become a summer playground. Dinner was served at our B&B which was great fun as in total we were 9 people, one of whom was Neil the owner. A great evening drinking, eating and meeting people from around the world! Next morning we were up and off to do a 4 hour hike to Smoothwater Bay. Hike is not actually an accurate term for what we did; bushwhacking, wading through very chilly waters and rappelling would better describe our outing! A little nerve wracking at times but finally arriving at the bay was worth the journey as it was yet another hidden gem! After all our hard work, we treated ourselves to fantastic fish and chips at The Cray Pot (in Jackson's Bay). If ever you find yourself in this part of NZ, off you go to see Maggie for she will feed you well! Andreas had an exploding chocolate doughnut for dessert. Nothing like it ever served at Tim's, that's for sure!!!!!!!!!!! That night we watched the sun set from Haast Beach, very conveniently located to our B&B, then another great dinner with Neil and gang!

The next morning, Friday, saw us up and heading further south to Wanaka. Along the way, we stopped at Roaring Billy falls and then at The Blue Pools. The Blue Pools are on the list of 100 things one must see when visiting New Zealand and we now know why. Gorgeous is the only way to describe them, besides being very popular. Then on to Wanaka.

Wanaka is lovely, surrounded by Lake Wanaka and the drive into the city centre is breathtaking with the lake on your right surrounded by the peaks of Mt. Aspiring. A lot of NZers holiday here as there are activities galore from water sports to bungy jumping to mtn. biking to skiing in the winter. We visited the local i site (information) where we had our accommodation for our final 3 nights in this part of the world booked along with a visit to a sheep station which will be part of our Queenstown visit. Then off to play Golf Cross. Golf Cross was developed by a NZer but if it will become as popular as bungy jumping is yet to be seen. It's golf with goals, not holes, and the ball is oval shaped. You do play with golf clubs. Andreas proved to be quite good at this; me, not so!

Today we enjoyed the Rob Roy Glacier walk (hike as far as we were concerned). You drive about an hour out of Wanaka, much of the drive done on a rough (bone rattling, teeth jarring rough) road all the while watching out for huge boulders, fords to cross, sheep to avoid as they cross from one side of the road to the next! Very worth it though because the views from the walk, beginning with the stroll through the meadow full of cows are spectacular. Up and up you climb, with the glacier in front of you and a glacial river below you. The weather cooperated 100%; not too hot, brilliantly blue sky with not a cloud anywhere. Once at the top, you soak in all the majesty of your surroundings --- and then down you go to check on the cows. What a day.

Now it's time to head to our great B&B, Beacon Point, to relax and get ready for yet another yummy dinner --- with more tasty NZ wines to be tried. They sure know how to make good wine here, on the other side of the globe!

Until our next post, be good and have fun.

Photo taken on Franz Josef Glacier.

South along the West Coast

The day we left Hamner Springs was grey and wet. This is good news as wet weather on the East Coast means good weather on the West Coast.

We headed over the Lewis Pass with intentions of arriving in Hokitaki in the evening. Even with the wet conditions the drive was spectacular as we drove through lush forests, and wound our way up and down the hills and mountains.

Our first stop was at Cape Foulwind, named by Captain Cook in the 1780s for its unfriendly and constant winds. There we saw a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals playing in the rough waters, and lounging on the rocks. There were many young pups scrambling among the rocks, but not brave enough yet to enter the waves.

From there we travelled another 100km to Panikaiki, also know as Pancake Rocks. They are so named for the interesting way the rocks have formed to look like stacks of pancakes. And then there are the blow holes that shoot water and mist 100s of feet into the air.

Given it was a long day of travelling we stopped in Greymouth and had a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant.

For many parts of the drive the coastline was always on our right hand side. According to travel books and magazines this is one of the world's Top 10 drives. If you ever have the chance to do this drive - take it.

And if you get lost you can always ask for directions from the thousands of sheep or cattle along the way.

The next day we left for Hokitaki and did a walk through the Hokitaki Gorge. The glacier water that runs through the gorge is an amazing blue, and quite cold. We made our way to the edge of the river, and could only keep our hands in the water for a few seconds.

After the Gorge we booked accommodation in Franz Josef and made our way there. The Franz Josef Glacier, along with the Fox Glacier, are two of the most accessible glaciers among the hundreds that are in this part of New Zealand. We arrived in a mist, but did a short walk to the bottom of the glacier. In a word it is spectacular. Also amazing is seeing how far the glacier has retreated since 1750.

We are staying two nights in Franz Josef, and on our second day we'll be doing a heli hike. A helicopter trip will take us far up the glacier, then we'll do a two hour hike on the millions of year old ice.

Talk again soon.

Photo: Blowholes at Panikaiki

In the NZ

In a word New Zealand is spectacular.  As we flew in from Sydney we were greeted with an amazing view of the Southern Alps.  We were both very excited to land, and begin our explorations.

After making certain we had no contraband - fresh fruit, food items, etc we cleared customs. New Zealand Customs officials are absolute zealots about making certain that anything that might interfere with their ecosystem is kept out.  The airport is filled with signs about an instant $200 fine if one does not declare what they are bringing into the country.  They even cleaned my hiking boots of mud that was still in the tread.

Our first two days were spent in Christchurch roaming around the Arts Center, touring the Cathedral, and walking among the trees, plants and flowers of the Botanic Gardens.  We even took a punt on the Avon River.

Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island, and is built upon an aquifer.  The water is so pure that we drank from an open spring located in the Botanic Gardens.

On our first evening we stumbled upon a wonderful Thai restaurant, Chinwag Ethai.  We ate at the bar, people-watched, and peppered the poor bartender with endless questions.  The restaurant is so good that Ginny and I already have our reservation for our return to Christchuch on the 13th of April.

After two days in Christchurch we drove north to Hamner Springs.  As the name suggests there are natural springs and thermal baths to soak away one's aches and pains.  It is a popular place because of its proximity to Christchurch - only about 1 hour and 45 minutes drive.  And being Easter Weekend the place is filled to capacity.

We are staying at a wonderful B&B (Mira Monte) a short drive from the center of the village.   

On our first day we hiked, including an ascent to the top of Conical Hill, then had a soak in the hot springs.

Breakfast was DELICIOUS!  Fresh fruit, Hot Cross Buns, pancakes, and plenty of coffee.  Filled to capacity we rented mountain bikes and hit the many trails - all leading back to the village, which means one should not get lost.  Ginny did extremely well gaining confidence with each loop, and only hitting the deck once.  

Tomorrow we leave Hamner Springs and head to the West Coast.  The weather report suggests that the West Coast will have better weather,

 so again we are following Mr. Sun and Mrs. Warm Temperatures.

As we've learned good weather on the West Coast means poor weather on the East Coast, and visa versa.

So that's it for now.  Wishing you all a very happy Easter.

Ginny and Drea

Photo: On top of Conical Hill