Noosa Heads

Craig:

Dear Noosa Heads,

We are just writing to thank you for your great surf conditions… not too big and not too small.  Your beach is so nice and the free parking was a huge plus.  A fun time was had by all.  We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Sincerely,

Craig and Bridget

Next Stop: Paranella Park via many little beach towns

The Australia Zoo

Bridget:

The Australia Zoo came highly recommended to us by many people:  coworkers in NZ, Roger & Lisa, and the many billboards we passed with Steve Irwin’s face blown up to larger-than-life proportions.  I was of course excited to see some more kangaroos, but also to get up close and personal with some koala bears, none of which we were fortunate to spot in the many gum trees (eucalyptus) we passed on our drive thus far.  We paid the admission fee and entered the park early in the morning, pleased to find out you could feed the elephants…for free.  

"Three little elephants went out to play..."

Feeding the elephants

We could also walk through two different kangaroo areas where you could just walk up, pet, and feed them some “roo food.”  I had died and gone to heaven. 

We then walked through one of the many the koala enclosures, and I was able to pet my first koala.  It was snoozing….okay, actually sleeping is about all they do (18-20 hrs. day). The koala zoo keeper said that the bears have a plate of cartilage on their back, so you can pet them there without them actually feeling it. 

The for the rest of the day we visited dingos, some of the most poisonous snakes in the world, cassowaries (an endangered, flightless bird of Australia), Tasmanian devils, kookaburras, komodo dragons, and even caught a “wildlife warriors” show where the daring zoo keepers hand-fed some saltwater crocs:

  Cassowary

Australian Green Python

If you are ever in Australia, make a point to visit this zoo.  It was one of the most memorable zoo experiences we’ve ever had. 

Next Stop:  Noosa Heads

A Visit to Australian Farmland

Craig:

Growing up as kind of a farm kid, I still love to learn about farming.  In Toowoomba, we had a very unique opportunity for this.  Roger Gwynne came to the U.S. in 1987 on a trip to see some of the American farmland.  He just happened to meet the good folks at Logan Valley Equipment in Wayne, NE.  Ever since then, he has been a loyal customer of the Wayne John Deere dealership and now talks to my dad on a regular basis and visits the U.S. when he can.  My dad told me a long time ago when I had talked about going to Australia that if I went, I should look his friend Roger up, so that is exactly what I did.  I got in contact with him, and Bridget and I made the drive out to his farm for the night. 

Roger’s farm is about 15 miles outside of a small town in Queensland called Jondaryan.  Some say Nebraska is very flat land but it is mountainous compared to the land that Roger farms.  We first met Roger’s parents, Alec and Barbara.  We had a cup of tea with them and then went on a drive around the farm to see the crops of sorghum, corn, and cotton.  We then drove to Roger’s house and met his wife, Lisa, and their three children, Brady, Sarah, and Harrison.  It was cool to see Brady had a Nebraska Cornhuskers hat on his wall.  Lisa prepared a fantastic meal of rack of lamb and roasted vegetables, complete with the traditional pudding (dessert) and tea courses.  We talked the night away about U.S./Australian similarities and differences and they explained all the new Australian lingo we had been hearing.  We learned that in Australia, “tah” is thank you, a spanner is a wrench, a header is a combine, bichman is blacktop road, and fenders are little shields that go around your ankles to keep things out of your boots (they are definitely not called “skirts” as Roger pointed out to Bridget).  We awoke to a fantastic Australia “brekky” of bacon and eggs.  After another drive around the farm and another cup of tea we said our goodbyes and got back on the road.  A very warm thank you goes out to Roger, Lisa, Alec, Barbara, Pete, Brady, Sarah, and Harrison for showing us a great time out on the farm.  We enjoyed ourselves very much! 

Sunset over Queensland farmland

The farm windmill

Roger and I discussing important farm matters

looking over the very flat sorghum fields

a proper "tea" with pikelets and biscuits

Next Stop: The Australia Zoo

It’s Roo Time!!!

Bridget:

Kids say funny things.  Myself?  No exception.  One day, when I was just a little girl, I was riding in the car with my Grandma and family and proclaimed, “GRANDmaw!  I saw a kangarOO!!!”  This of course, was not possible as we traversed the long Texas highway.  Although I’m still not sure what provoked me to say that, nonetheless, the statement has been a long-running inside joke in my family.  After that day, I received stuffed kangaroos of all sizes for birthday presents, and to this day, my Grandma still attaches kangaroo stickers to my birthday card envelopes. 

Naturally, coming to Australia, I had one primary objective:  to actually spot a real, live kangaroo….in the wild!   After Sydney, Craig and I picked our next camping spot at a national park close to the beach:  Crowdy Bay National Park.   

Sunrise over the beach at Crowdy Bay National Park

The park literature said your campsite “was sure to be supervised by a resident kangaroo.”  As we turned off the main highway onto the long, long, gravel road out to the site, I had high hopes of seeing kangaroos hopping around in the forests on either side.  About 15 km later and no roo sightings made, we arrived at the campsite, accurately named “Crowdy Bay,” by the way.  We paid our camp fees and asked the attendant why there were so many people there.  He said there was a group function and then directed us to a smaller, less crowded site also by the beach.   He also said there would be some wallabies hanging around the smaller campground.  We thanked him, got back in the car, and decided to at least take a couple pictures of that beach before heading to the next one.   As we drove through the mass of campers, we pulled into a parking spot and low behold…..kangaroos!!!  How anti-climatic is was…searching and searching for some, then effortlessly pulling into a campground and bam!  Kangaroos of all sizes chillin’ with the campers and trying to mooch off their stock of food.  We spotted at least eight just from the little walk we took to and from the beach.

The amazing part of it all was the fact that the locals didn’t act surprised, intrigued, or interested in the roos at all.  It was just another day in “OZ,” as they call it.  There were even more of them at the next campsite which is where I was able to get very close as they munched away on their dinner of green grass.  We watched them until dark and again the next morning when they all came out to eat again. We even witnessed a roo play-fight:

 After that, I felt like we were officially in Australia.

Next Stop:  Toowoomba

Sydney

Craig:

We started off our Australia experience in the largest city of Sydney.  Auckland to Sydney flights were selling like hot cakes, so we hopped on the band wagon.  The traditional backpacker trail in Australia is from Melbourne to Cairns, but Sydney seemed like a decent place for us to start.  We started our day out in Sydney with a visit to the fish markets.  The oceans around Australia produce some incredible seafood including blue/yellow fin tuna, pacific oysters, marlin, and prawns (shrimp like creature).  The fish markets are a very busy place at 8:00 in the morning with distributors and restaurants owners claiming their catch for the day.  Bridget could have prepared a feast for us if we would have had a refrigerator but we sadly had to leave empty handed.

Not too sure on how you get "Atlantic" Salmon in Australia

Our next stop was the “Rocks” district, which a cool little neighborhood right below the harbor bridge.  It is home to many of Sydney’s oldest restaurants, pubs, and shops.  It is also home to Sydney’s contemporary art museum.  We ventured into the museum and were pleased to find that admission was free.  Contemporary art is hard to understand sometimes, but I did my best.  I was surprised to find a lot of Barack Obama art.  Our President is fairly well liked in this part of the world.

We then headed down to the water to admire of the view of the Harbor Bridge and Opera House.  Sydney’s skyline has to be one of the best in the world.  The bridge, opera house, and skyscrapers make for a cool view.

We made our way over to the Opera House and walked around it.  The Opera House is very impressive.  I was surprised to find that the outside of it is covered in basically bathroom tiles and is supported by huge concrete columns.  The designers and architects did a great job putting that much weight up into the air. 

On our way out of Sydney, we took a drive out to famous Bondi Beach.  Surf life saving (being a lifeguard) is very popular in Australia and Bondi Beach is the mecca for it.  It has its own TV show called Bondi Rescue.  It is one of the busiest beaches in Australia being so close to Sydney.

Our plans for the next day included a side trip to the Blue Mountains which are located about an hour west of Sydney, so we made the drive out to Katoomba to camp for the night.  We got up in the morning and drove into the Blue Mountains National Park.  The Blue Mountains are known for their deep, wide canyons and great rock climbing.  We visited the popular lookout called Echo Point to get a good view of the “Three Sisters” which are three rock spires that tower above the canyon floor.

After exploring Katoomba’s outdoor gear stores, we got back in the car and headed north.  We were ready for some of Australia’s great beaches.

Next Stop: Crowdy Bay National Park

Australia Bound

Craig:

According to a Bill Bryson book that I read once, there are more things in Australia that can kill you per square foot than any other country in the world.  I could not help but think as our airplane touched down that we were walking into certain death.  My thoughts of undergoing a painful death at the fangs of snake quickly turned to those of green beer and leprechauns as we strolled out of the airport.  It was St. Patrick’s Day in Sydney and we were on our way into the heart of it all.

After making it through a very lax customs process and getting our rental car, we started our drive through the outskirts of Sydney to the downtown.  Our first lesson in Australia driving came quickly as we learned that Sydney has some fairly expensive toll roads.  Bridget managed to navigate us through the highway network without going on any toll roads.  We discovered that Sydney is a lot larger than we expected as it took almost an hour to get from the airport down to our hostel.  We found our accommodation and settled in. 

After a quick meal, we were off to explore downtown Sydney.  We walked around for a while and finally found a lively Irish joint which was celebrating in style.  Pints of Guiness, traditional corned beef and cabbage, and an Irish fiddle band were all part of the night.  We hung out here for while taking it all in until finally the time difference caught up with us and we were ready for bed.  We debated walking down to see the Opera House all lit up in green but we decided not to and see it the next day.

We did manage to come up with our official Australia “to do” list:

1. See the Opera House and Harbor Bridge
2. See, touch, feed a kangaroo
3. See the Great Barrier Reef
4. See a koala
5. Spend a lot of time on the beach

1.      

Next Stop: sights of Sydney, Australia

Farewell to New Zealand….for now

Bridget:

Since we were to fly out of Auckland, we decided to save NZ’s biggest city for our last night. We celebrated our last hours in the country with our favorite NZ beer and by whipping up a Kiwi favorite for dinner…lamb and mashed potatoes. Yum! We got organized, shipped a few boxes home, and were able to consolidate the rest of our belongings into two bags: one backpacking pack full of camping gear; the other duffel full of our clothes, shoes, jackets, and toiletries. Not bad, yet somehow it still felt like too much. We set out the next day to run a few last minute errands and to catch one last fantastic view of NZ. Auckland’s Sky Tower is situated in the heart of the city centre and allows visitors to travel the 700 feet to the top and check out the view of the harbour and sky line:

Some guy "bungee jumping" off the top of the Sky Tower

A "flat white" (similar to a latte) served at the Sky Lounge...

Most cafes serve espresso drinks only  and usually draw some sort of design on top with the foam - this one is of the NZ silver fern.

All in all, we leave NZ with heavy hearts, already missing the gorgeous scenery, Kiwi hospitality, café culture, and friendships we have come to love. It has been an amazing five months and 17 days. A short amount of time in retrospect, yet just enough time to fall in love with the country and see what it has to offer geographically and culturally. The only thing that eases this sadness of leaving is the road (or many roads) that lies ahead of us. Australia is only a 900 mile hop away.


Next Stop: Sydney, Australia

Poor Knights Islands

Craig:

The Poor Knights Islands sit off the east coast of the North Island about twenty kilometers offshore. There are two main islands and many other smaller islands that make up the chain of protected marine reserve. The islands themselves are very unique in that they have no foreign intruders such as rats, possums, etc. to disturb the native animals and plants. The only people allowed on the island are scientists and Department of Conservation workers. The Poor Knights are often seen in the top ten diving destinations in the world due to their abundance of sea life and thick kelp forests. Stingrays, eels, turtles, large snapper, and bottlenose dolphins are all year round residents of the waters surrounding the islands. Bridget and I got to see most of these creatures on our dive and snorkel trip to the islands.

Since Bridget is not certified to dive, she elected to still go and snorkel. We started out the day on the dive boat with a safety talk and were soon on our way out of the harbor. Just as we were coming out, a pod of bottlenose dolphins came up right beside the boat. The captain stopped the boat and we just sat there for a while watching them. The dolphins were so curious of us that they hung around so our captain told us to jump in and swim with them. Everybody scrambled to get snorkels and masks. We jumped in the cold water without wetsuits and got to swim with wild bottlenose dolphins. I have seen plenty of dolphins but these were huge. They would swim right by us, sometimes within an arm’s reach. Very cool!

Swimming with the gigantic bottlenose dolphins.

We went to two dive spots over the day. Each one was filled with sea life. We got to see a couple huge stingrays. One of them had a span of about six feet. I was able to swim in and out of the kelp forests seeing interesting fish and creatures around every kelp plant. I wish I would have had a spear gun because the huge snapper would have been easy pickings (but I didn’t have one and fishing is illegal there anyway). They call it “subtropical” diving but I beg to differ. Any water where you need a 7mm wetsuit to dive in is far from “subtropical.”

As we were driving over to our second spot of the day we drove into Rikoriko, the world’s largest sea cave (determined by some university students measuring the volume of it with lasers). We drove to the back of the cave and hung out for a while. The top of the cave is covered in ferns that actually grow upside down because the water seeps through the ground above them and they get their sunlight from it reflecting upwards off the water.

World's largest sea cave:  Rikoriko

After our last dive, we were supposed to drive around the islands to see some of the arches and caves on the other side but our dolphin experience in the morning had put us behind schedule. We headed back to the harbor and had a look at all the pictures. Here are some of the pictures of the day:

Cave Bay

 Poor Knights Island in the distance

Underwater view looking out of one of the many sea caves

School of blue fish

Next Stop: Auckland

Finally a surf town…hopefully.

Craig:

New Zealand has many great surf spots on both islands. Perhaps the most famous is a place called Raglan. It is on the west coast of the North Island and is a regular stop on pro surfing tours. Our time was limited on the North Island so we elected to pass on Raglan and head for the closer Mt. Maunganui. This town is also known for its great surf but is located on the warmer, sunnier, Bay of Plenty. Mt. Maunganui is a little beach town on the outskirts of the larger city Tauranga. You get there by crossing a small strip of land with the city’s sheltered port on one side and the beautiful beach on the other. At the end of the strip of land is a lone mountain that towers above the water around it:

We were lucky enough to find a holiday park right at the base of the mountain in extremely close proximity to the beach. We changed, packed a bag for the beach, and headed out only to find the surf in a state of complete relaxation. There were no waves anywhere. We were a little bit disappointed but enjoyed the rest of the afternoon laying in the sun and swimming along the beautiful beach. We had high hopes for the next day.

The afternoon brought strong winds but we decided to make the hike to the top of the mountain anyway. We had dressed in thermals shirts and rain jackets to shield the chilly ocean breeze and felt like wimps when most of the people going up or down were wearing shorts and t-shirts. We made it to the top a little bit before sunset and sat down to take a little break and to wait for the sun to go down. The sunset was not as good as others we have seen here but the view of the city was great and we took this cool night shot of Mt. Maunganui:

We slept through the windy night and awoke with excitement again only to be disappointed again. The surf was still calm. We talked to some local surfers who said it was supposed to be better on Wednesday (two days away) because there was a big swell coming. So once again we had to put off surfing for just a little bit. Instead we strolled through the shops along the beach. One good thing that came from not surfing was Bridget found a set of Global chef knives at a ridiculous sale price so she got her birthday present a little early this year. We also found a cool little spot with hot saltwater pools which we spent the rest of the afternoon soaking in.

That night we had booked a kayak glow worm tour. New Zealand is one of the few places where you can see glow worms, which are the larva stage of an insect that have a bioluminescence shine at night. The tour started with a walk out to a little waterfall accompanied with some local history:

We got into the kayaks just before sunset and kayaked up a lake and into a narrow canyon. When we got into the canyon, it was pitch black except for the little tiny blue glow coming from the worm:

The further we got into the canyon, the more there were. We stopped right in the middle of the canyon for about fifteen minutes to just sit and stare at the hundreds of shining worms. Very cool to see! We kayaked out of the canyon and back down the lake under a big sky filled with shooting stars. Our guide pointed out to us the Southern Cross, which is the formation of stars on the New Zealand flag.

We awoke the next morning with hopes of trying surfing one more time. It didn’t work out.

Next Stop: Poor Knights Islands

Rotorua: “A Geothermal Wonderland”

Bridget:

There are three places in the world known for their geothermal activity. They are Yellowstone National Park, Iceland, and Rotorua area in New Zealand. If you ask, any Kiwi will tell you Rotorua is a “must-go.” After driving around the city centre and checking out the info centre, we realized that most of the activities located right in the city were either cultural Maori shows or thermal hot pools, all of which will put a sizable dent in your pocketbook. There was, however, a place called Wai-o-Tapu Valley which came highly recommended by my most recent boss and his wife. Wai-o-Tapu is a self-proclaimed “geothermal wonderland” which simply put, is a two-hour self-guided nature walk in and around one of the most active thermal areas in the region. Lucky for us, it was also pretty affordable. So off we went early in the morning ready to be impressed. Of course we tried to compare every sight to its Yellowstone competition back home, but then we realized that despite the obvious similarities, this area was unique in its own right. With each step we grew more and more fond of the place. Here are just a few of our favorite points along the walk:

Devil's Ink Pots

Artist's Palette

Champagne Pool

Bubbling Mud Pools

Devil's Bath

As the end of the walk approached, we quickened our pace in order to get back to the car and make the short drive to the “Lady Knox Geyser.” This geyser is somewhat of a mystery to unknowing visitors like us. They only give directions to the geyser (which erupts at exactly 10:15 a.m. each morning) upon purchasing tickets. Again, my boss’s wife had told me about this geyser, but we still thought it a bit odd to be on a 24-hour erupting cycle. That’s even more precise than Old Faithful. Well, we made the quick drive, parked the car, and rushed into this separate site trying to beat the crowd. We arrived at the seating area and…Jackpot! …two seats right in the front row. We couldn’t believe how close they let the people sit to the geyser. Well, we waited about ten minutes until the highly anticipated 10:15 a.m., when the parking attendant/geothermal expert stepped right up to the geyser, tapped into his microphone headset, and explained to the crowd about the history of the area. He then proceeded to drop large chunks of biodegradable soap into the geyser:

Apparently there is a compartment of cold water that sits just under the geyser and below that is another compartment of hot water. The soap breaks the seal between the two and this is the result:

Lady Knox Geyser erupting

 A perfectly spectacular show for all paying customers. Well done, Rotorua, well done.


Next Stop: Mount Maunganui