We're Home!

We made it home safely from our fantastic 3 week vacation to New Zealand and Australia. We had an absolute blast hiking and driving our way through the North and South Islands of NZ and exploring the Great Ocean Road, Great Barrier Reef, and Rainforests of Australia.
I promise pictures and our trip journal are coming soon. We've just got to unpack, recover from jet-lag, and sort through over 4000 pictures first. Stay tuned as I'll post (back-dating) each day's journal with pictures soon. This means you'll need to scroll down many pages since the posts will be dated the day they happened.

Sydney - Spot On!

With only two days in Sydney, we knew we would only get a small taste of Australia's largest city, but we definitely made the most of our limited time. Our first afternoon and evening was spent at the top of the Sydney Tower with 360 degree views of the CBD and harbour. We stuck around to enjoy the sun setting down over Darling Harbour. Included in the tower ticket was a ride on OzTrek-- similar to the Te Papa ride in Wellington, but dissimilar in that it didn't break another rib!

After sunset, we strolled over to Hyde Park where a concert and film festival was going on. After seeing St. Mary's Cathedral, we sat down on the park grass and enjoyed the music and independent film clips. We ate pizza from the local Doughboy vendor in the park but it wasn't enough to fill us up, so we grabbed food from a local Turkish shop downtown. It was delicious! On our walk back to the Westin hotel, we found a McDonalds with free wi-fi.... and McFlurries! I have missed blended soft-serve almost as much as I had missed having internet access, so it was quite a good combo. Funny how I haven't been to a McD's in the states in nearly a decade.

Our last full day of vacation was spent enjoying everything Sydney had to offer. We stuffed ourselves with a fantastic (and free!) hot breakfast buffet at the Westin before heading to the botanical gardens. We walked through most of the beautiful open space before heading out to Mrs. Macquarie's Chair. This is the point far out at the end of the gardens that is bus-accessible where the classic shots of the opera house and bridge are taken. I think we were probably the only walking tourists here and definitely the only ones who spoke English! The views on the walk out there were second-to-none.

From here, we walked along the shore of Farm Cove and through the Opera House before reaching Circular Quay where we did a bit of shopping before boarding a harbor ferry (what'cha call me?) to Darling Harbour. The ferry ride gave us excellent views of the CBD under the harbor bridge with the opera house in view.

We explored Darling Harbour's shops, restaurants, and walked through the expansive pedestrian area (this really was a nicely designed walking area!). Rather than taking the ferry back, we chose to walk across the Pyrmont bridge and back through the CBD to our hotel. After all this walking, we needed to clean up!We knew we wanted to head back to Mrs. M's point for a sunset shot with this incredible iconic view of Sydney. The botanic gardens closed their gates at 6 pm so we thought we'd have just enough time. We walked the 3km each way to Mrs. M's and got some pretty wonderful shots of the bridge and opera house at sunset. We lingered a bit too long and ended up getting warned by the police to vacate the gardens. Not wanting to get in trouble, we sprinted out of the park nearly causing me an asthma attack. Totally worth it though!
For our last dinner of our wonderful vacation it had to be none other than the best seafood restaurant in Sydney-- Peter Doyles'. Sitting on the end of the pier in Circular Quay, we had fantastic views of the bridge and opera house at night while enjoying the marvelous fish of the day. The turkish pesto appetizer and garlic bread were also great!

Kuranda

Almost every tourist that visits Cairns goes on the Kuranda Scenic Railway and Gondola, but because of the recent record-setting rainfall, mudslides had closed the Kuranda railway while we were there. We elected to drive up and enjoy the shops and village on our last day in the Cairns area anyway. Unfortunately, the rain still hadn't let up, so our views of Barron Falls were both hurried and impeded. We had a good time wandering the village and even picked up a few souvenirs (these were extremely hard to find in Port!).

Barron Falls in rain

Mossman Gorge

We begin our day in the rainforest with a visit to the Mossman Gorge. As if it knew of our arrival, the rain started the minute we opened the car door. Honestly though, I think this is the best way to experience the rainforest. We saw all kinds of unique trees, rocks that were growing moss, and vines that made us joke of being Jane and Tarzan. Everything was so wet, leaves were just dripping water-- what a truly different climate than Colorado!

Mossman Gorge

Unfortunately, because it was wet season, they warned against actually going in the gorge. Apparently levels can change and the rocks are super slippery.

A very unique tree

Free in the Daintree

In the interest of saving $350, we elected to tour the Daintree on our own. Free to stop, hike, and go wherever we wanted, we elected to take a 1.5 hour wildlife cruise on the Daintree River. We spotted hatchlings (baby crocodiles), juvenile crocodiles, and even a 3-meter adult female. We also saw a baby fruit bat, many birds, and the largest hanging peas I've ever seen! It wasn't an overly thrilling cruise, but we enjoyed relaxing in the sun.

A baby crocodile that we spotted on the shores of the Daintree river

In order to enter the Daintree coast, one must take a ferry (what'cha call me?). It had to be the world's least fancy and most unnecessary fairy, but we paid our $20 to cross (with return). The river wasn't very wide and I'm really not sure why they didn't put in a bridge, but you can guess what ensued with 2 engineers and 10 minutes to kill-- that's right, a cost-benefit analysis.
Our first stop was at the Alexandra lookout where we had views of Snapper island, the Daintree river, Low Isles and even Port Douglas. We also saw our first "Cassowary Crossing" sign. It was at this point that we became on a mission to find one of these rare and endangered giant flightless birds. Dave also wanted to see a tree frog, so our new forest chant became "Cassowary!?" ... "Tree Frog!?" It became almost a Marco-Polo type game between us. We never did see either one in any of our hikes.

Our first hike was at the Jindalba boardwalk. We saw tons of really large and unique trees including ones that looked like snakes were wrapped around them, one that were slanted with geometric patterned holes, and of course, the fan palm trees.

Noah's Creek

The second boardwalk hike we did was our favorite. The Marrdja boardwalk let to a lookout platform at Noah's Creek that yielded green bluffs reflecting in calm water. After hiking, we had become pretty hungry and with not much along these windy coast roads, we picked Mason's Cafe where we enjoyed chatting with the owner about the area while eating very yummy sandwiches.

Our last hike was at the Dubiji boardwalk where a group of locals warned us of a blue snake off the trail that had us focusing so much on finding him that we missed out on enjoying much of this hike. We never did spot him, but as we reached the end of the loop, the remainder of the trail going back to our car had been made impassable by flooding from recent rain. We weren't thrilled that we'd have to hike back the entire distance we had just covered when we could see our car just meters away. Luckily we found another route that saved us from hiking the entire distance again.

We reached Cape Tribulation by early afternoon and spent a few minutes enjoying the view and walking on the beach. We walked to the Kulki lookout and ran into what must be Australia's version of a turkey. They ran away from us quickly though.
On our way back, we knew we wanted to stop at the Daintree Ice Cream Co. where numerous books, locals, and brochures and recommended we sample the tropical ice cream. We made it there just before they closed and had passionfruit, waterseed, macademia, and mango ice creams. I prefer the less-healthier flavors of ice cream, but it was nice to have a fresh-picked and homemade treat on such a hot day.

The GREAT BARRIER REEF!

Our second day in Port Douglas was spent on one of the natural wonders of the world: the Great Barrier Reef! We enjoyed breakfast downtown at Java Blue Cafe where pancakes and french toast were not only affordable, but tasty too. We boarded the Quiksilver V for our journey to the Agincourt Ribbon reef in the Outer reef. About 90 km out in the coral sea, it took about 1.5 hours to reach the pontoon. We immediately jumped off the boat and threw on stinger suits and snorkel gear.

The current was rather strong and the seas a bit rough, but we still had about 14m visibility. Most of the area we snorkeled, the reef was ~1m deep, so we weren't even able to tread water without risking kicking the reef. It was neat being so close to such colorful coral.

We were amazed by the thousands of fish-- it was like nothing we'd ever seen (not even in Hawaii) and the pictures just don't do justice. We saw parrot fish, clownfish ("Nemos"-- my favorites), fish that mate for life (can't remember their names), and dozens of other types. We liked the yellow and black fish who always swam in pairs and when one dies, the other typically does within days (how romantic, huh?).

We snorkeled for so long, we lost track of time and nearly missed the seafood lunch buffet. We got the leftovers as they were putting them away, but no worries, the reef was well worth missing lunch. After lunch, we took a semi-submersible for a 30 minute underwater tour of the reef. While it took us farther and faster, it just wasn't the same as swimming along side the fish and getting up close to the coral. We did see a turtle, sting ray, sea-cucumbers, and giant clams though!

After a full day on the water, the ride back was a bit rough and rainy. We sure enjoyed our day on the reef and were tempted to cancel the rest of the trip and book more snorkel tours!
For dinner, we grabbed a seriously wonderful buffet at the Sheraton. Except for the green electric ants who joined us for dinner, I really enjoyed the food, view and company.

Cairns and Port Douglas

After our time in Victoria (southern Australia), we headed far north to Queensland. We flew to Cairns where it was 31 degC when we landed and about 99% humidity. Living in Denver, we are definitely NOT used to the sticky humid weather and all the bugs. It was a nice change of weather from the rest of our trip. Finally- we got to wear the shorts we packed!
We went to the Cairns Tropical Zoo our first afternoon in town. We saw emus, a cute red panda, dingoes (no we didn't get our arm bit! haha), pelicons, cassowaries, other exotic birds and gigantic crocodiles.

I know it's totally a touristy thing to do, but one of my 30 things to do before I'm 30 was to cuddle a koala (okay, so I don't really have a list, but if I did, it would've made it!). Many of Australia's states don't allow this (including New South Wales-- Sydney), but Queensland did. I was so excited to get the 6 month old baby named Willow. She was cuddly and precious. Although by the time they were done taking pictures, she was starting to get antsy and her claws are sharp!

For $1 AUD, we also got to feed dozens of little kangaroos. They were surprisingly gentle and very hungry! They ate right out of your hands and even let you pet them! We found a mom with a Joey in her pouch. You could only see his legs, but how neat!

After leaving the Cairns Tropical Zoo, we drove up the scenic Cook Highway to Port Douglas. We stopped at Rex's Lookout to see the rainforest bluffs meeting the reef. We checked into the 4-star Sheraton Mirage on Four Mile Beach. Our hotel room was a bit dated, but the resort had an endless amount of saltwater lagoons and freshwater pools. They flowed right up against the rooms. We played volleyball in the pool for hours with eachother. It reminded us of pool time in Pasadena from many years ago.

We enjoyed a romantic sunset off the hotel property on Four Mile Beach. We miss walking hand in hand on the beach like we often did in Cali.
We went into town for dinner at Pokies Verandah. We sat outside on the patio on stools made of straw. Port Douglas was a neat little town with a great vibe and relatively energetic nightlife.

The Great Ocean Road!

We spent a couple days south-west of Melbourne staying in Torquay and exploring the Great Ocean Road. We booked a room at the Crowne Plaza and upon check-in were delighted to be upgraded to the oceanview penthouse suite. It had a balcony that reached from the dining room to the kitchen and into the master room.
After a breakfast buffet in the hotel, we hit the Great Ocean Road. Our first stop was at the Anglesea Golf course-- a bit off the main road, but we knew we had a good chance of spotting kangaroos in the wild. Sources were correct-- we saw dozens of big, hopping kangaroos. We ignored all the signs saying we weren't allowed to walk the course to photograph them because seriously, how often do we Americans get the chance to see wild kangaroos? (Go ahead and laugh at me Aussie friends!)

Further west and just outside of Lorne, we made a detour to see the Erkshine Falls. As we drove the rainforest, I made the comment "wouldn't this be a great place for a koala to be?" which got me scanning the trees for them. About two minutes later, I spotted one in the tree above the road. I screamed "KOALA!" to Dave and he immediately stopped. Took him a minute to find him and he was seriously impressed I spotted the guy while we were driving.

Erkshine Falls

He was seriously cute and would rotate his body to follow us as we snapped photos. Being a nocturnal animal, you could tell he was a little annoyed that we were keeping him from napping. The annoyance didn't stop there as many cars passed, saw us taking photos of something and stopped. Everyone of them were shocked and delighted we had spotted a koala.

We spotted a koala in the wild!

The waterfall wasn't overly impressive and probably not worth the 700+ steps we hiked, but had we not taken the detour, we wouldn't have seen a koala in the wild! From here, we headed west to Apollo Bay where we stopped for gelato at Dooley's. Winner of many awards, our mint chip and toffee treats were both yummy.

We were now heading into the more gorgeous stretch of coastline as we entered into Port Campbell National Park. We hiked yet more stairs to the Gibsons Steps overlook where my creative brain saw a bear kissing a wolf on the top of one of the rocks. For those who have been to Kissing Camels in Coloardo, you'll appreciate this.

The fantastic gold color of the limestone and sandstone stacks was just breathtaking. We made stops and did short hikes at the Razorback, Loch Ard Gorge, the Blowhole, the Arch, the Grotto, the London Bridge (which collapsed in the 90's making it more of an arch now), and of course, the famous 12 Apostles.

The collapsed London Bridge

Our original pictures of the 12 Apostles had bad lighting and overcast skies, so we came back later in the day at sunset. Still cloudy, but the various purple and pinks of the skies made for a nice photo.

About 10 minutes before the sun fully set, it began to pour. Luckily we had purchased that waterproof camera. It came in handy as we would not have gotten any sunset photos of the 12 Apostles otherwise.
We took the inland drive home thru the rainforest and by Lake Colac. We ate dinner at a large Italian place with an indoor kids playground and arcade with an older brick architecture. I ordered the very yummy Pollo E Funghi (chicken, onions, mushrooms in fettucine with cream sauce) and Dave had lasagna. Everything (including the garlic bread, can't forget that!) was tasty.

Melbourne

After dropping $80 NZD due to insane luggage restrictions on international flights with Virgin (*would never fly with them again!) and paying $50 NZD in "departure taxes," we made our way to Australia. Passports wouldn't scan in customs, but no problems otherwise. Our rental car got upgraded and we were off for downtown.
Our first stop was the Queen Victoria Market-- the largest outdoor market in the southern hemisphere. It had everything from crafts to fresh fruit, vegis, meats, cheeses and breads to clothing and souvenirs. We purchased a homemade napkin holder made of bamboo as well as supplies for a picnic lunch.

We picked out fresh proscutio, goat cheese, spinach dip, BBQ chips, bread and fruit. There were so many choices! We took our lunch and drove to the Queen Victoria Gardens for a nice lunch in the park. We had a flock of birds waiting for crumbs to drop, but we enjoyed sitting on the bench overlooking the skyline as we ate our yummy food.

After lunch, we walked through the art center complex and along the Yarra River to the Eureka Tower. We purchased tickets to ride up to the 88th floor some 300m tall to the highest observation deck in the southern hemisphere.

We had some nice views of the skyline, the gardens, the cricket grounds, the Yarra River, and Hobson's bay. The top few floors of the building are 24k plated and the structure itself utilizes a basin of water to stabilize the nearly 1/3m swayings from wind.

After enjoying the tower, we walked through the Kings Domain and the Royal Botanic Gardens. We spotted many types of birds that we couldn't identify. On the way back to the car, we took a stroll further down the Yarra River.
Neither of us are big-city types and we were not thrilled with their crazy honking antics, but we enjoyed the one-day we had in Melbourne.

Punakaiki Pancake Rocks

After grabbing the west coast famous Whitebait fritter sandwiches in Hotikita (yumm!), we drove up past Greymouth north towards the most beautiful part of the west coast: Punakaiki. We got a glimpse of what was to come perhaps in Australia with the towers of rock that rose from the ocean floor. We came across a pull-out we thought for sure would yield an overlook of these towering rocks. Rather, it took us to a cemetery in the rainforest. Stubborn for a view, we hiked through the brush and Dave hoisted me on his shoulders. Holding me steady, I was able to take a photo. They should really blow out a trail and some trees so you everyone can see this! (Wow, doesn't that sound American?!)

We reached the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowholes at the golden hour-- just an hour or so before sunset. The sun at our back made the limestone layers of rock turn gold.

The layers are formed from soft and hard layers of marine and plant sediments smashed together over time. They get their name from the fact that they look like a stack of pancakes. The entire hike through this area yielded one spectacular view after another.

We sure were glad we took the detour from Greymouth to see this as it was one of the highlights of our New Zealand trip.

As we drove back towards Greymouth, the sun began to set. We stopped for a few photos and to walk on the beach together at sunset one last time in NZ.

Our time in New Zealand was coming to an end. We drove the last leg from Greymouth through Arthur's Pass back to Christchurch where we boarded a morning flight to Melbourne.

Franz Josef Glacier

Our next stop on the west coast was the Franz Josef glacier. Slightly shorter than the Fox, it's a 12 km long glacier that sits a bit higher than the Fox. Both are unique in that they descend from the southern Alps down nearly to sea level and land amongst the temperate rainforest. Definitely different being in a rainforest with such a pretty view of a glacier!

Peter's Pool and the Franz Josef glacier

We did the Peter's Pool hike for lack of not knowing which hike was the best. We got some very pretty reflections of the glacier and mountains in his pool. The shrubbery was pretty surrounding the pool and made for a pretty photo.

By the half-way point of the hike I had to go to the bathroom so bad that I RAN (yes, I ran!) back to the carpark. Dave was thoroughly impressed that I ran the whole thing without stopping. I guess when properly motivated, even I can run!