The End

Tues 4/28 If you are reading this we are probably already on our way home. The last week has been an all day every day marathon. We flew to Uluru and took a walk around part of the base of the rock with a 90 year old aboriginal woman who told the myths and legends of her tribe and stories of what life was like when she was a child. It was great. I wished we had several more days there. Next was Kakadu National Park, one of the main places we wanted to see. We did a scenic flight over it and Arnem Land - all aboriginal country and bigger that you can imagine. Then we went on a boat trip in the Yellow Water Billabong and had a close encounter with a salt water crocodile and hundreds of beautiful birds. Very exciting. Then it was off to Cairns on the beautiful tropical north east coast. Yesterday we snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef. I couldn't believe we were actually there. Today we took a train up into the mountains to a small village and a rainforest preserve then rode back down the mountain on a cable car just barely skimming the top of the rainforest canopy. Tomorrow we go to a rainforest that is older than the Amazon and swim in the Coral Sea. And then it is over. The trip has been everything we hoped for and more. But we are tired and probably couldn't keep going at this pace much longer. We do miss everyone and will be glad to be back with you again. See you soon.

Great Ocean Road

Mon. 4/20 We are off on a two day road trip along The Great Ocean Road west of Melbourne. It was built as a tribute to those who died in WWI and the views are magnificent with beautiful little resort villages along the way . Today we saw the coast along Bass Strait that runs between Tasmania and the mainland and tomorrow we will follow along the coast of the Southern Ocean that is between here and Antarctica. The road is a narrow little strip cut into the sides of the mountains that run down to the sea. We are glad we are on a bus and not driving it ourselves. We leave for the outback and the tropical Northern Territories on Wed. It has been in the 90's up there so it should help prepare us for returning to Texas. You can stop worrying, Nanny. There have only been 3 dingo attacks since we have been here and they have all been on children. Apparently they don't care for fat old ladies. One sixty-seven year old woman was attacked by a kangaroo last week but she thought she had probably startled him when she woke him up from his nap. And only one person has been eaten by a crocodile in the last month. He was swimming in the river where they live which isn't something I am likely to do.

Koalas and Penguins

Sun. 4/19 We toured Melbourne this morning. It is a city of contrasts - beautiful 18th century Victorian buildings and the most bizarre contemporary architecture ever. In the afternoon we went down to Phillips Island to see the Penguin Parade. On the way we saw 10 or 12 koalas. Most were sleeping - they do that 18 hours a day. One little guy climbed down and entertained us for 10 minutes or so then climbed up and went back to sleep. Koalas are very appealing animals. At sundown we saw the little penguins come back across the beach to return to their burrows. They are only about 12 inches tall, the world's smallest. They gather together in a group to get up the nerve to cross the beach. Very cute. Tom continues to work on his goal of trying every beer made in New Zealand and Australia. He says he may have to extend his stay if he runs out of days before he runs out of beers.

Goodbye to Tasmania

Fri. 4/17 We have fallen in love with Tasmania and don't want to leave. Our last day was wonderful. The hosts at our B&B recommended a jet boat trip around the bottom of the Tasman Peninsula so we decided to go for it. The coastline was rugged & beautiful with stone cliffs rising 900 feet straight up out of the water. We saw lots of wildlife and I discovered that I really like fast boats and big waves.

Magical Forest

Mon. 4/13 Another perfectly wonderful day in Tasmania. We took several walks in different areas of the park and learned so much about the plants and animals and how they have adapted to life in this environment. Our favorite place was a forest about halfway up the mountain. There is an old chalet up there that was built as a guesthouse in the last century by the man who pushed to have this area declared a national park. The forest was filled with King Billy Pines which are as tall and big in diameter as redwoods and are many hundreds of years old. The other predominant trees are pencil pines which have clumps of long thin evergreen foliage. Then everything is covered in moss that is the greenest green I have ever seen. I wish my pictures could do it justice but they don't. I'm pretty sure the elves and fairies live here even if I didn't see them. We love the mama and baby wombat who live down the road from us.

Cradle Mountain National Park

Happy Easter all. We drove from the coast up into the highest mountains in Tasmania. It is alpine country with plants found nowhere else in the world. We are staying at Cradle Mountain Lodge which is like one of the old national park lodges in the US with cozy lounges where people sit around in front of the fireplaces reading or playing games. We drove up to Dove Lake at the end of the road in the park hoping to see the mountain. We got glimpses of it as the clouds moved over but never saw the whole thing. We are the look for wildlife and have managed to see wallaby and wombat. Probably won't see the Tasmanian Devil as they are nocturnal and shy in spite of their reputation. We took several short hikes through the rainforest to waterfalls. It is very beautiful here.

Tasmania

Sat. 4/11 We flew to Hobart on the east coast of Tasmania yesterday. We have a wonderful hotel in an old mansion on a hill above the harbor. This morning we went to the Salmanaca Market, a big local street market with everything you can imagine. We were short on time but I could have spent all day. We bought local fruit & bread & cheese for our lunches. We have been quite happy picnicking everyday. We found Tom's Australian hat at the market. We had looked all over Sydney but couldn't find exactly the right one. That's because it was waiting for us in Tasmania. It's made of kangaroo and ostrich & made by an old German man who has lived here for 20 years. As some of you know we collect national parks so Tasmania is going to be a bonanza for us. We drove through the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers NP today. We took several short hikes on the Franklin River and drove up and over a big mountain range. The last 30K were very scary. The roads were narrow with constant hair-pin curves and very steep grades. We were both glad to arrive in the little fishing village of Strahan. Our hotel is an the old mansion built for the harbormaster in the last century and is quite lovely. We "had a bit of a wander" around town then drove out to Ocean Beach to see the sunset. It is a long wide sandy beach with big sand dunes and big waves rolling in from Antarctica across the Great Southern Ocean. Lots of people came out with their wine and beer and sat up on the bluff to watch the sunset. It was gobsmacking!

The Blue Mountains

We took a small group tour to the Blue Mountains about 70K west of Sydney. The are quite beautiful - the blue is partly because they are mostly Eucalyptus and release the oils. Some of the oldest rock on the planet is exposed there and the views are amazing. We rode the world's steepest train straight up the side of the mountain and a cable car over the canyon. We were looking down 1000ft. through a glass floor. I wasn't scared on any of this stuff including the bridge. I'm getting awfully brave in my old age. And Kookaburra really does sit in the old gum tree.

Wed. 4/8

We did it! We did the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb - up and over the top of the arches. It was 1500 steps and I'm pretty sure at least 3/4 of them were up. The views were beyond spectacular. We walked all afternoon and were nearly incapable of getting back to the hotel. I am not at all sure I will be able to get out of bed in the morning.

Sydney

Tues. 4/7


We took a walking tour through the Rocks, the historical art of Sydney where the convicts landed. In the afternoon we went to the zoo across Sydney harbor. It has to be the best zoo location in the world. As a matter of fact if there is a more magnificent city in the world than Sydney I am incapable of imagining it. Here's what I know about bushwalking in the southern hemisphere. New Zealand - no bears, no snakes, no worries. Australia - the ten most poisonous snakes on the planet and salt water crocodiles that grow to 30 feet and eat people. Do you actually think I will be doing any hiking in Australia?

Sydney

We arrived in Sydney today and are experiencing some culture shock. The city has more people than the entire country of New Zealand. So far the Aussies are brusque, impatient and not inclined to be helpful. The city center where we are staying is crazy busy and a bit overwhelming. You can't walk a block without hearing twenty different languages and seeing an amazing array of characters. Everyone smokes here so half the people on the street are drinking coffee and smoking. The other half are walking at warp speed because they are so wired on coffee and cigarettes. This has to be one of the all time great people watching places.

Akaroa

We had the best day ever. It was completely unplanned and spur of the moment based on a picture we saw in a coffee table book in our fancy hotel room. Akaroa is a small town at the bottom of the crater of an extinct volcano. At some point the Pacific breeched the wall of the crater, came roaring in and formed a spectacular bay. We choose to take the scenic route around the top of the crater. It was one of the most terrifying rides of my life - winding, steep, narrow, 1000 ft. dropoffs with nothing between us and thin air but one of the best experiences ever. We were on the top of a ridge looking down into this beautiful bay on one side and out at the Pacific on the other. We took a boat trip out to the Pacific and saw two endangered species, the Hector's Dolphin (world's smallest dophin) and the Blue Penguin (also the world's smallest) as well as NZ fur seals and lots of birds. As the Kiwis say, "It was brilliant!"

The Great Alpine Highway

We left Franz Josef in the rain and fog. This place gets the most rain in NZ and apparently has big floods - sometimes 4 meters in 3 days. Fortunately it's just a shower today. We drove over the Alps again and the scenery was very different. It wasn't as dramatic as the Haast Hwy. partly because the high snow-covered peaks were in the clouds but very beautiful anyway. We arrived in Christchurch late in the day and to our great surprise we were given a suite in a 5 star hotel. That's pretty cool for us since we tend to think high living is a Hampton Inn.

The Haast Highway

Today was a long driving day from Queenstown to Franz Josef Glacier. It took us 10 hours to do a 5 hour trip but we stopped at every photo op and took every short hike available. The road goes over the Alps to the Tasman Sea. It is hard to take it all in - beautiful wine country, fall foliage, dense rainforests next to high snow covered mountains, waterfalls and then the Tasman Sea with turquoise waters like the Carribean. The grand finale was a hike to a viewpoint where we could see the Fox Glacier. These two glaciers are the only ones in the world that come so close to the sea in a temperate climate. New Zealand has exceeded our expectations and that is saying a lot.

Glenorchy

Thurs. 4/2 Our guide from yesterday recommended a drive up the lake to Glenorchy. The guidebooks say it is considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world. For about the first 15K I thought it was really pretty but certainly not one of the world's best. Then we rounded a curve up on a high bluff and a vista opened up that simply took our breath away. The books were probably right. My picture aren't great because the sun wasn't right but you can get some idea. We took a long walk around the wetlands and drove up to an area where some of the Lord of the Rings was filmed. All in all a low key, relaxing, wonderful day.

Milford Sound

We boarded the BBQ Bus for a day trip to cruise Milford Sound, one of the fjords on the west coast of the south island. We travelled through a landscape of native Beech forests, incredibly clear lakes and rivers snow-capped mountains and gorgeous farmlands. I'm running out of adjectives but words aren't adequate to describe Milford Sound anyway so I'll just show you my best picture.

Queenstown

We flew from Rotorua to Queenstown. I nearly had a stroke during the landing because it was so scary. Later we were told that pilots consider it one of the most challenging landings in the world. The town is in a spectacular setting strung along a beautiful lake with The Remarkables in the background. It is the adventure hub of New Zealand. Every adventure sport you have ever heard of is here.

Rotorua

We toured the geothermal area. It was like a mini Yellowstone with geysers, mudpots, fumeroles etc. It was a two and a half K walk but up and down stairs constantly and our calves were screaming. About halfway through a warning siren started going off. It's a little intimidating to hear that when you are in an area prone to tsunamis and earthquakes and whose local volcano is 600 years overdue to erupt. But we figured we were having fun and it would be as good a way to go as any. In the afternoon we went to the Rotorua museum located in an old Victorian bathhouse from the last century. It was surrounded by beautiful gardens and parks - very English. In the evening, we went to a Maori village for a hongi (dinner cooked in the ground) and a performance. They told Maori stories and myths, did songs and dances, and displayed weapons and fighting techniques. It was a really entertaining and informative evening. There were guests from 19 different countries and I think we were the only Americans. Everyone at our table was very friendly and they love to tell you where they have been and what they have seen.