Melbourne & Penguins

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(Dec 27 - 29, 2005) One thing we will all remember about Melbourne is the continual annoyance of flies, circling, buzzing, landing on us or our food. We were constantly waving our hands to shoo them away. Jan says she plans to put a fly on the corner of every Melbourne page in her trip scrapbook.

The weather was more comfortable, still warm in the high twenties, but much less humid. So, getting out and about a walking was much easier. We all felt more comfortable than we did in Cairns or Brisbane.

Just at the corner of the hotel was a free “City Circle Cable Car” that allowed hop on and hop off service to many of the highlights in Central Melbourne. I spent two afternoons exploring around Federation Square which features some innovative modern architecture (only the architect and his mother could really like it) and is surrounded by some buildings featuring architecture I like (See Pics). Jan Jennifer went shopping.

For me, the highlight of visiting Melbourne, located on the southern coast of Australia, was a trip to Phillip Island to see the Little penguins, formerly called the Perry penguins They are about 13 inches tall and the smallest of the worlds 17 different penguins. They come ashore at dusk to avoid predators and so their young will stay in their nests until dark as they wait for their evening meal of regurgitated fish. The parade of penguins, as they call it, has been going on for thousands of years and it is an amazing natural spectacular to behold. The cries of the young standing outside the nests way up on the hills and the waddling gate of the penguins as they climb was a thrill to see in person. Photography is not allowed but we have photos taken by rangers that I will scan and post when I return.

Greymouth & Cave Climb

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By about 10 AM (Jan 8), after a pitstop at Starbucks (how civilized) for coffee and muffins we began our trip through to the west coast (Haast) and then up the west coast to Greymouth.

The winding, twisting, two-lane roads without shoulders continue on this stretch of our journey but the rise and fall of elevations are steeper than yesterday. Many of the roads turns require speeds of 25 km/hr. One hairpin turn required us to slow to 15 km/hr. Although the maximum speed is 100 km/hr, I think we actually average about 75 km/hr., at best, for the day.

The scenery constantly changes as a series of micro climates reveal different plant life. The highlight is Mt. Aspiring National Park, a dense rainforest so thick the forest looks like one mass of green right to the ground. Ferns fill in the bottom, then shrubs and very tall trees. There doesn’t seem to be any way to enter the forest because there are literally no openings. The mountains are covered in brilliant green vegetation right to the top and spectacular waterfalls are commonplace. The road is steep up and down and after a brief rain the mountains are shrouded in mist. The breathtaking views seem unreal, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The photographs don’t show the scale or do the brilliance of the greens justice.


The next day begins (January 9) with Jan, Jennifer and Stepehn going on Dragons Blackwater Glow-worm cave rafting in the Taniwha Caves just outside Greymouth. When they arrive at 8 AM, the owner looks Jan up and down and asks, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Why?”

“Well, looking at your shape I’m not sure you’re fit enough. It is a half hour walk to the caves. Can you walk?”

Restraining herself, being a little sarcastic Jan said, “I walk golf courses.”

“Oh, well, maybe you can do it.”

The hike is uphill through the jungle in a full body wetsuit (covers head) with big boots on a path cleared but with steps, logs and tocks 2 feet deep. By the time Jan reaches the entrance of the caves she is exhausted and dripping with sweat, her hair is absolutely soaked and dripping. The guide tells them it’s pee break time. “Boys in the jungle there, girls in the jungle there…” (See Pics)

All she could say for the next two days was, “I am trooper. I am a trooper.” Walking, bending, moving, even breathing was difficult.

Queenstown & The Jet Boat

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About 9:30, Saturday morning, Jan 7, 2006 we set out for the first leg of our tour of New Zealand’s south island. Our seven hour driving trip took us from Christchurch to Queenstown, further south and about halfway across the south island. We take the main highway which is two-lane paved road with no shoulders and has numerous one lane bridges. The farms have sheep, deer, antelope and cows. As we get deeper inland we encounter terrain much like the Okanagan with massive lakes, dams and later vineyards, fruit orchards and vegetable farming. Queenstown is a resort town (population 7,500), like Banff or Whistler on Lake Wakatipu and the Shotover Canyon. It is New Zealand’s self-styled outdoor adventure capital. White water rafting, parasailing, mountain biking, hiking, jetboating, skiing are all available,

At 8:30 the next morning Jan, Stephen and Jennifer took a 1 hour jet boat tour up across lake Wakatipu and down the Shotover canyon. I got the van organized, checked out and went to meet them at the main dock. (See pics)

Christchurch

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We arrived in Christchurch about 11:30 PM, Thursday, January 5, 2006 after our extended stay in Sidney over New Years. We took a taxi van to the Latimer Hotel on Latimer Square. The plan was to rent a van in Christchurch and use it to drive around the south island, take it across to the north island on the ferry and drop it off in Auckland where Jan and I catch our Air New Zealand to Los Angeles (the kids leave a day earlier to fly to Sidney and catch their Air Canada flight home).

I had reserved a van with National Car rental, who allowed the drop-off in Auckland for $160 extra. Since National Car wasn’t located at the Christchurch airport and I didn’t want to find my way to the Latimer Hotel in the dark I had arranged to pick up the van the next day.

In the morning, January 6, 2006 Jan and I took a cab to the address on our rental confirmation, while the kids slept in. As we got out of the cab we noticed that the rental company name was different and turned to stop the cab but he had already driven away. We went inside and the agent told us that National Car Rental had closed their New Zealand business a couple of months ago. “They used to be here but since they closed we’ve taken this space… I think Europcar took over their business. They’re located a couple of miles down the road.”

I stood there stunned, running through the options in my mind. (There may have been some profanity in my thoughts)

Then, the agent said, “I’ll call them and see if they’ll come and pick you up.

I managed to say, “Thank you. Yes, thank you, that you be great.”

The manager of the Europcar office picked us up and we quickly got our Silver Toyota Previa eight passenger van and we were on our way back to the Latimer Hotel. The new arrangement called for us to drop the van off in Picton at the Europcar office at the ferry terminal and pick up a second van at the ferry terminal in Wellington. When we arrived back at the hotel the kids were still sleeping (now noon) so Jan and I walked the three blocks to Cathedral Square to finalize our travel arrangements with the iSite office (tourist services) located there.

Greg, our tourist agent at iSite, was a great help in planning our itinerary, booking excursions and hotels. In about an hour we were organized for our New Zealand trip. We spent the rest of the day touring Christchurch.

Christchurch (population 331,000) is located about midway up the east coast of New Zealand and very British and Anglican and reminded us lot of Victoria. It is comparatively dry (.75m of rain per year versus 5m on the west coast) and flat. Christchurch, like Victoria, B.C., is known as the garden city and there are parks, squares and gardens everywhere. The Christchurch Botanical Gardens are beautiful with the Avon river running through it. (see pics)

New Years in Sidney

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On New Years Eve Jennifer and Stephen met with some friends from Edmonton and went to the fireworks display and street party at the Sidney Harbour. Jan and I watched the 9:00 "Family Fireworks" on TV, although we could see the light flashes in the sky behind the buildings beside us and hear them from our hotel. We were in bed by 10:30 asleep by 11 PM.

New Years Day Heat Wave

New Years Day was the second hottest day on record for New Years Day, 43.5 degrees celsius. Aside from its effect on us it had a significant effect on everyone. The train schedules were abandoned as trains were ordered to travel more slowly, because over 37 C the railway tracks can bend with the force of full speed trains and cause trains to derail!

We took a train in the morning to Circle Quay (pronounced "Key"), the main port where the Opera House is located and the Sidney Bridge, to take a seafood luncheon harbour cruise, without incident. At that point the air conditioning was keeping up. On our return, in mid afternoon, it was stifling in the train. The scenery was beautiful but the ship was hot because the air conditioning couldn't keep up, and the food was acceptable (maybe).

When we returned to the hotel we stayed in for the rest of the day in air conditioned comfort. Thank God there was no power failure! At about 6:30 PM we decided to go out for dinner. We planned to go to Darling Harbour a short monorail trip from the stop a block from our hotel. Darling Harbour has many excellent restaurants around a harbour centre with a wide paved promenade and is cooler because of the breezes off the harbour.

As we stepped out of the front of the hotel, the evening breezes were up. It was like being hit with a blast from a furnace. When we got to the monorail stop we were told the monorail was closed because it was too hot. We flagged down a cab and jumped in. The taxi driver told us it was still 42 degrees. Fortunately, his air conditioning was working. We had him take us to Harbourside the far side of Darling Harbour and then searched for the first restaurant that was cool inside. Cuisine was a secondary consideration.

After dinner we caught another taxi and had him take us on a tour includung driving across the Sidney Bridge.