Victoria

Our second Australian state is Victoria. Home to the glorious city of Melbourne.


Our time there was way too short, but we packed in as much as we could. A free tram ride gave us a good look at the central city and we walked across the footbridge over the Yarra River to join the cosmopolitan crowd enjoying a hot Sunday afternoon.





Then on to Chinatown



for a fun dinner with interesting clientele.


The next day we wandered a bit in the lanes to find a refurbished warehouse called Captains of Industry where we had breakfast and bought a hand crafted kangaroo skin wallet for Bill (displayed on ladder).



Kathy managed to do a bit of damage when the department stores opened. Very stylish Australian designers!
Then on to the drive down the Great Ocean road. Our journey there included a stretch of road where there were literally dozens of koala bears hanging in the Eucalyptus trees and an evening walk to watch thousands of shearwaters returning to their roost.


The high point of this part of the drive was the Twelve Apostles. Formations of limestone that have been formed from wind and water erosion. Breathtaking!









We headed inland next to the Grampians National Park. Here we visited the Brumbach museum of aboriginal studies.



We added cockatoo and kookaburra to our wildlife sightings



And watched dozens of kangaroos outside our door.

Tasmania

Our overnight trip to Doubtful Sound left wonderful 'wind up' memories for our New Zealand journeys. The crew were masters at feeding, transporting, and informing about our trip and the boat was quite comfortable. The landscape on the way to the sound was the flattest we have seen with the now usual sheep,deer and cows in the foreground and mountains behind. Note our favorite Oreo cows (Belted Galloway).



We even saw a cute (but polluting) steam train.



We had a lovely sunny day to enjoy the fiord (480 meters deep at it's deepest, almost unbelievable considering the narrow width).



And the hundreds of waterfalls as we wended our way down the various arms. So much water that it is unclear what the source is...


We saw our first crested penguin, albatross and gannet as well as the endangered kea parrot (rumored to be the smartest bird in the world).


Great fun! Tom and Kathy enjoy tea aboard our ship.



Then a long travel day to Tasmania. We landed in Launceston where we took a bit of time exploring the next morning. The cataract gorge was a must see where we rode the chairlift across and took the suspension bridge to return.







Then we set out on the "longest journey" to Freycinet National Park. We chose what looked like a scenic route but it turned out to be a VERY windy and hilly road, about one and a half lanes wide. We made a 3 hour trip into 5 plus. We did add wallaby, emu and echidna to our wildlife list.



The rest of our time inTasmania included an overnight in Hobart where the 67,000 English convicts were sent in from 1803-1856 to work off their bondage, sometimes for stealing a loaf of bread. Our hotel was right on the pier. One of the convicts is pictured in front of our hotel.


Then on to Cradle Mountain after another way too long drive for a quick stay in the national park and some lovely hikes and splendid vistas.


This is Dove Lake in the park - we hiked around it this morning.

Tomorrow, the Australian mainland...

Good bye to Kiwi land

We have had some really wild adventures in this land of extreme adventures! The spelunking in a natural cave begins with a wet suit,boots and lighted helmet. Then hike up 130 rough hewn stairs carrying your inner tube. Proceed into the cave exploring stalactites and stalagmites often bending over or climbing over rocks. All this concludes with entering an underground river (this is where the inner tube comes in) and gazing up on galaxies of glow worms. Then out the cave and paddling the rapids back to a narrow gauge train. Oh my! If you are dying for more details(doubtful) you can check their website caverafting.com.nz and look for the afternoon of 2/15/12.
Next was a flight over the Franz Joseph glacier with a landing to walk about.



Jet boating on Shotover river was just one of the wild options available here in Queenstown. This involved driving as close to the boulders as possible at break neck speed and spinning over rapids with an occasional 360 thrown in for good measure.



We've covered a good deal of the south island enjoying vistas of the Tasman Sea,


Lovely reflection lakes,


Mountains and glacier fed lakes,


Rainforest walks,


And exploring the Saturday market.



Tonight is our last dinner with Black Sheep and then on to an overnight in the fiord of Doubtful Sound.

Black sheep continues

Our activities with Black Sheep have included...
Swimming with the seals in Kaikura



Whale watching from the air..saw sperm whale and orcas.



Hiking in the forests.


And on the beaches in Abel Tasman national park-the tidal flats


Sea kayaking in the Tasman Sea.



Picnics on the beach.


And crossing paths with old friends.

Kiwi land

Some observations.....
There are almost no native mammals in NZ (fur seals and 2 species of bats). The introduced furry tailed possums are their biggest worry as there are now 70 million (they say) of them and they eat the kiwi eggs among other things. Kiwis go out of their way to hit them on the road and we have decided that they also like to do the same to the tourists who look the wrong way when crossing the street.


Super highways are two lane roads with (occasional) one lane bridges. Heres one that shares with a railroad.



The road surface is crushed chip mixed with asphalt - very noisy to drive on and difficult to bike. Maximum speed is 100 km/hr (60 mph). Gas is $7.50/gal. There is no flat or straight road in all of NZ (it seems).

California pines are planted here by the acres because they grow twice as fast as they do anywhere else. They are harvested and sold to China as is a great deal of the milk.

There are 44 different kinds of ferns and they grow abundantly.


The silver leaf fern is the symbol for the All Blacks rugby team that won the world cup in 2011 when NZ hosted. They are very proud of this feat.
Grapes grow well here and all wine bottles have screw tops.

There are 44 million sheep and 4 million people.

Meals are usually three courses..entrees, mains and deserts. We have enjoyed the crayfish


And other local fish as well as lamb and steak. Pork belly is always on the menu. The meals are beautifully prepared. Tipping is not expected.

Black Sheep begins

We returned to Christchurch from Arthur's Pass via the afternoon train. It was a hard place to leave. A hiking Backroads group arrived our second day and we reconnected with several from our trip. Christchurch was again rainy when we arrived and we ended up with a late dinner at Sophie's which turned out to be a famous spot for mountains of food.


The next day we wandered into the neighborhood mall for some staples. The earthquake devastation was everywhere. Here is a Chinese Methodist church.



The mall was closing because of a recent inspection. The sign in the picture says everything is free.


The black Sheep tour began the following noon.
We met Moira, a woman with Maori ancestry, who is fluent in English as well as the Maori language. Very knowledgable.



We left Christchurch, the third largest New Zealand city with 330,000 people (Auckland and Wellington are 1& 2), heading back north toward Nelson. A wonderful lunch at a former but remodeled train station;


then continued through beautiful mountainous terrain


to a seaside village of Kaikoura, where we boarded a boat for a swim with the seals! A ride through heavy ocean swells to rock "islands", then into frigid water (wearing wet suits). A single seal swam by, although there were more than 100 on the rocky pinnacles. The ocean swim was an adventure, however - lots of fun but tiring. The huge bonus of our sea adventure was the pod of Orcas (killer whales) that appeared next to our boat and swam alongside us for hundreds of yards, sometimes at a distance of no more than 15 yards! No pictures, as our cameras were on dry land...darn!

This is the view out our motel window


Dinner tonight at the White Morph, named after a large Southern White Petrel. Outstanding crayfish, their term for lobster. Tomorrow, an airplane flight to search for whales, then on to Nelson.

Arthur's Pass

We have arrived at a glorious wilderness lodge in the middle of the NZ alps. Our cottage is nestled in the trees and overlooks spectacular glacier topped mountains. Notice the reflection in the window.


And the view...



We began our journey south, after leaving Backroads, by car. Our first night was in Martinborough. Then on to Wellington where we joined the crowds on the harbor as they celebrated Waitangi Day-the national holiday celebrating the 1840 treaty between the settlers and the Maori chiefs.





Tuesday was a mega travel day. First the ferry across Cook Strait to Picton:


A similar (but smaller) ferry, not ours...


With a very comfortable lounge.


Next we caught the trans alpine train for a 5 hour ride to Christchurch also known as chch. We played a good deal of bridge and enjoyed spectacular scenery.






We took a little spin around chch this morning viewing some of the 2000 buildings destroyed in the two earthquakes and took the early train here to Arthur's Pass with more spectacular views. Please notice the blue sky!










Tonight is a visit to the sheep corral for watching the dogs herd some of the 3500 sheep grazing here, watch sheep shearing (small cut on the poor sheep), dinner with the 7 other guests in residence and a viewing of the southern sky complete with full moon. Tomorrow, hikes!

Weather remains remarkable...