Traveling with Grandma Alice and Uncle Eddie, we spent three weeks in Australia and New Zealand in December 2001 and January 2002. Of the many memorable adventures, some of the highlights included Christmas Day on the Great Barrier Reef, a sunset "parade" of hundreds of Fairy Penguins, cuddling a koala and feeding kangaroos, a gala performance and fireworks on New Year's Eve at the Sydney Opera House, snowball fights after landing a skiplane on a glacier on Mt. Cook's flanks, millions of cute lambs, a wonderful evening spent with a New Zealand family at their home, encounters with the Aboriginal and Maori cultures, and cruises on Milford Sound and Sydney Harbor. Chloe enjoyed the local flora and fauna, and Celeste was delighted to have so many sheep companions, both the live and plushed stuffie varieties. We dined on everything from kangaroo and emu to local lamb and of course chicken nuggets. Unscheduled activities included traversing a mudslide in a motor coach, trying to see through thick smoke caused by bush fires near Sydney, and visiting the world's largest sheep and kiwi statues.
After flying many hours from a wintry U.S., it was a wonderful culture shock to visit Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef during the Austral summer. We saw remarkable coral formations and other ocean life, took nature walks, and swam in the ocean (in places deemed to be jellyfish-free). We toured the rainforest by skyrail, walking, and amphibious vehicle, learning about all kinds of nasty indiginous plant and animal life. A visit to the Tjapukai Cultural Park provided an interesting introduction to Aboriginal music, dance, folklore, and traditions. Then we traveled to Melbourne and enjoyed its beautiful parks and gardens, even participating in a children's pixie concert. On Philip Island south of Melbourne we watched a remarkable nightly event, as several hundred of the world's smallest penguin species marched past us at sundown to get from their fishing places across the beach to their burrows. After Melbourne we made a quick stop in Canberra, Australia's capitol, where we toured the parliament buildings. Heading toward Sydney we had encounters with koalas, wombats, kangaroos, cockatoos, and dingos at the Sydney Koala Park. Sydney was a terrific city--at least what we could see of it through the intense soot resulting from the biggest bush fires in a decade--with its glorious harbor, Opera House, and bridge. The girls enjoyed the Aquarium and our dinner at a revolving restuarant atop the Sydney Tower, the city's highest point. We had a scenic cruise of the harbor and a tour of the Opera House. On New Year's Eve, we attended a dinner and performance at the Opera House, with one of the best views in the city of the spectacular fireworks from a private balcony.
Early on New Year's Day we flew to the South Island of New Zealand, visiting Christchurch before traveling over Arthur's Pass en route to the West Coast of the island. At Franz Josef Glacier we observed one of the few places on Earth where glacial ice terminates in a tropical rainforest. Our visit to the South Island coincided with the heaviest rains in years, resulting in swollen rivers, massive waterfalls, and a mudslide blocking our highway. We spent three days in and around Queenstown, cruising by steamboat to an operating sheep farm for dinner and a shearing and sheepdog demonstration. A full-day excursion to Milford Sound (really a fjord) afforded spectacular viewing of waterfalls cascading from mountain peaks into the clear water. A pity that the rain obscured much of the mountain viewing. We also tasted wines at several wineries in the South Island's emerging wine industry, watched Ed bungy jump off a bridge over a river gorge, and took an exciting jet-boat ride. Dinner at the home of a local couple gave us a great chance to learn about life in New Zealand as well as a great meal. In Mount Cook National Park we had incredible views of the highest peak in New Zealand from our hotel, nature walks in the park, and from a skiplane tour which landed on a glacier on Mt. Cook's slopes and gave us an opportunity for an impromptu snowball fight.
A short flight to the North Island brought us to Rotorua, the center of Maori culture as well as an area of great geothermal activity. We visited geysers, bubbling mudpits, and silica terraces. We also toured trout springs, saw live kiwi birds, and learned all about sheep at the Agrodome. Celeste adored feeding milk to and cuddling the lambs there, but Ed's experience was less pleasant, as an ill-fated on-stage drinking contest of cow's milk from bottles intended for the baby lambs left him quite ill for two days. We had a farewell dinner at a Maori "hangi" feast and concert, briefly visited Auckland, and then headed for home.
We hope you enjoy these pictures from this fun, varied, and highly memorable trip!
