Category: International Travel

A “severe” magnitude 6.2 quake has damaged homes and closed roads in the lower North Island, toppling walls and chimneys and sending rockfalls across roads. No worries it was centered about 75 miles northeast of here. But just a few days earlier we were about 20 miles from where it hit.

Little damage here in Wellington. The severe rated earthquake occurred at 3:52pm on Monday 20 January and there have been many after shocks but none have been felt here.

Today we depart the North Island by a 3 hour ferry crossing Cook Strait and arriving on the South Island.

Air show – David HAPPY!

Traveling north on the Coromandel we took a break from sun, sand, surf and bicycle riding and went to Whitianga Warbirds and Wheels. This is an event with roar of Warbirds aircraft performing aerobatics and precision flying displays right with stockcar demos.

It was difficult to leave Hobbiton and knew it would be difficult to match the sights that we had just experienced. The Coromandel Peninsula combines beautiful beaches and stunning coastlines with lush forests and a dramatic mountain range.
Thames (pronounced Tims) is a small coastal town, gateway to the Coromandel (one of NZ’s best-loved holiday destinations) and three hours northeast of Hobbiton. Thames was our home base as we toured the Coromandel.

A truly unique Kiwi experience is Hot Water Beach! An underground river of hot water flows from the interior of the earth to surface in the Pacific Ocean at Hot Water Beach. The stunning beach overlooks the Pacific Ocean and offshore Castle Rock, with cliffs at either end of the beach. Two hours either side of low tide, visitors flock to the usually deserted Hot Water Beach to find hot water bubbling through the sand. Families, kids and couples dig their own spa pool in the sand to lie back in and relax while the steam from their hot pool envelops them. With the ebb and flow of the tide each individually created hot pool is washed away clearing the way for the next influx of visitors.

Another highlight was the four-hour kayak tour of Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve and Cathedral Cove recreation reserve. They are a sea kayaking paradise full of beaches, islands and rock gardens that are just waiting to be explored. We paddled through sea caves, checked out local marine life and discovered the thrill of kayaking with the wind on our back and sometimes on our face. To top it off we landed at Cathedral Cove where we were treated to flat whites (expresso) on the beach!

In Whitianga, the far northeastern part of the peninsula, we found an airshow. Stay tuned for this post.

One for the bucket list. I loved JRR Tolkien’s trilogy:The Hobbit. Everyone knows it is filmed in New Zealand and the original set for hobbit town still exists in its entirety. We got to go there! It was incredible. There were no hobbits and my feet did not become large and hairy bit it was great, the guides bring parts of the movie we all remember. . . . Like Frodo jumped over the fence right there . . .. Or that is Sam Gamshee’s house . . . . . Or other tidbits that happened during filming. It was so cool,

Dave told me we took 441 pictures of Hobbiton, that alone should tell you how enthralled we were. Lucky for you you get to see just the very best ones.

A couple of hours north of Auckland is Paihia and the fantastic Bay of Islands. Our primary reason for enjoying this part of the world is New Zealand Cycle trails. The Twin Coast trail has 14kms of rail trail converted but it was so cool. The location is near several Maori tribal areas and the community blessed the trail with statues of their own. One of the most unexpected things was we met another couple who were geocaching and they showed us how. How nice and friendly they were and David and I have a new component to our travel and cycling.

New Years is spent with a Busker festival in town followed by news year fireworks.

The bay of islands, as I indicated before, has many tribes in that region. It is also the location of the tribes signed a treaty with Britain. The treaty house is now a cultural centre and they had an excellent overview of the tribal lifestyle, song and dance, boats and history. David had his picture taken with one of the guys. One of my friends aptly believed them to be brothers by different mothers. See the resemblance?

I weighed my suitcase the night before we set sail from Sydney, thank God there is no weight restriction in place for all the crap we bring. Sitting on a cruise ship feels so comfortable now. Drop the bags out front with a porter, unpack into drawers and closets, and sleep in the same bed for 12 nights while traveling between two wonderful destinations, it doesn’t get better than this.

A cruise ship is like living next to a dinner theatre with a constant moving picture show. Each night after a delightful dinner and great table mates there is a choice of entertainment. We even learned how to sneak into the last half of the early show to preview the act and determine if that should be our venue of choice. Of course, we had to check out the magician . . . . He was pretty funny and the volunteer from the audience seemed like he was having a good time. We stayed for the whole show.

Since we were early arrivers, we chose aisle seats, and sure as bright eyes and a winning smile, will attract attention, David was chosen as the volunteer for the second show. We had even seen the punch line from the previous show, but all that flies out the window when it is you or someone you know on stage. The crux of the show was Dave taking a $50 bill, writing his name on it, and the magician finding it 20 minutes later in the front zipper of his trousers. Dave was up to the challenge and was practically taking over the show with his antics. (The preview we had really did play into Dave’s ability to bugger up the magicians best laid plans). The guy kept admonishing him by calling his name, DAVE, DAVE. For the remainder of the trip DAVE was a celebrity, literally everywhere we went, the other passengers would call out there’s DAVE. Those twinkle-filled eyes and bright smile lives another day.

We enjoyed the bicycle rides at the port cities, and in Hobart we rode the path to Cadbury, Australia. The trail ended in a park with a small spur that left the park. We asked a young family where the spur went; they told us the factory was 1/2 mile away. The Cadbury factory–home of Cadbury fruit and nut bars; our absolute favorite. We had to take pictures, and visited the factory outlet store in another port city (Dunedin) and went only a little crazy.

Fjord lands National Park in New Zealand was another highlight of the cruise. The area is accessible by boat or plane, and the cruise ship managed to enter or depart through 5 separate fjords. Priceless.

The other towns were lovely seaside villages, mostly small and always so welcoming and lovely people. Knowing that we would be back for our land portion allowed us to relax and not try and see too much. We went about the business of settling into our new destination. NZ SIM cards, NZ internet. Finally we arrived in Auckland, with its distinctive skyline, this is a city with a heartbeat.

We departed Sydney, Australia on December 11th via a 12 day Princess Cruise. Track our location and the Diamond Princess at:
http://www.cleancruising.com.au/ship_location.asp?ship=PRIDIA

Arriving in Sydney with 4 days before would make you think we had plenty of time. Not in this city, bustling with things to do (jazz concert at the opera house); places to go (the beach, where else) and people to see (Serge and Gerry — our table mates from the repositioning cruise).

On a beautiful blue sky day, we found ourselves at the Sydney eye, a tall spire looking down and across the entire city skyline, a 360 degree panorama. Imagine our shock when a giant panda bear came along to hug us and ask for some eucalyptus. Of course we were frightened, see the look on our faces!!!! But all was well, because it was a senseless souvenir photo in the end. We just thought it was worth some drama.

There were hardly enough time to cover the highlights, and we were lucky to have locals as our guides. Sydney is said to be one of the top 10 most-livable cities in the world and it is easy to understand why. WE LOVED this place. Our apartment was well situated and walking distance to virtually everywhere. When our feet were just too sore, the public transport was excellent, and the free shuttle bus dropped us off right at the corner.

The Queen Victoria building the best in shopping, street buskers and musicians, the ferries were an excursion in and of themselves, made us so sorry to be leaving this wonderful place.

The cruise ship stops in Melbourne and Hobart, Tasmania but I can see a return trip in the stars.

The final skyline at night pictures were taken from the rear of our Diamond Princess pulling out of port, a beautiful ending to a magical place.

Folks that know David know his love for flying. He got a second opportunity to fly in Australia, this time over Melbourne in a Cessna 172. Although not as scenic as the flight over the Great Barrier Reef it afforded both of us to view this great city by air.

We flew to Melbourne from Sydney and rented a car to drive The great Ocean Road in the state of Victoria. We put another 700 km on a rental car during our 4 day trip to Victoria, one of the southern states of Australia. We drove the great Ocean Road, which is comparable to the Monterrey coast in California. Each turn is a ohhhh and ahhhh with a little “oh man, that was close” thrown in. The big draw is the “Twelve Apostles” (limestone stack formations) and erosion has claimed three of them. It was amazing. On the way we saw Koalas in the trees, kangaroos hopping across the road, rain forest and verdant green hillside with cattle and sheep grazing.

Once we got on the south ocean coast, the scenery was just calling us to play with the cameras. I think an angry sea is far more dramatic than a calm sea. There were intermittent rain showers but the flat light actually brought out the colors more. I hope you enjoy the results.

We set off from Abel Point Marina and sailed straight out to Hook Island to anchor for the night. Mr Go Go Gadget (David) had the ipad and app for stargazing at night with the rest of the group, it is something unseen and remarkable if you are used to the American sky.

The Witsunday’s are beautiful. We were privileged to be sailing where next years’ Americas Cup will be held, so now we are invested in seeing it again. The boat sailed perfectly and on our way, we where told interesting information about the area. We got off the boat several times, for instance at Whitehaven Beach and at a couple of other quiet beaches, to walk, snorkel and stand-up paddle. This was stunning….

Whitehaven Beach: we took an expedition to Hill Lookout. The stark white sand, the water and the beach made dramatic contrasts with each other. We then sailed round to the beach & because the Blizzard is a small boat, (10 guests) it can stop in the middle of the long stretch of stunning beach without a soul in sight. We spent a couple of hours on the beach, walking along, spotting fish, & swimming.

Snorkeling – we had three opportunities to snorkel, We saw amazing fish that came right up to us and barely any current. The coral was great at this spot we saw some amazing fish, turtles! AMAZING!!!!!

The sailing trip was our cherry on the cake, and our goodbye to the Great Barrier Reef. It was time for us to move south and begin the wrap up of our Australia adventures.

Camp Casa (RV) is in storage in Bakersfield. On October 3rd, we embarked on a 24 night cruise to the South Paciic on Holland Americas cruise ship, Oosterdam. The attached photo shows our itinerary.

Stay tuned for updates on cruising the South Pacific.

Penguins do have their special day and that is on January 20th every year. This is the Penguin Awareness Day, the day when the adorable tuxedo-clad birds are celebrated. The day is a scope for all to know a bit more about these little creatures and to pledge to protect their endangered existence. Not a lot of people know that not all penguins love snow and cold climates; Galapagos Penguins are found near the equator.  We visited these South African Penguins south of Cape Town.

One should never confuse between Penguin Awareness Day which is observed on January 20th and World Penguin Day that is celebrated on April 25th because both of them sound almost the same.

We have been busy editing hundreds of photos and many more to go.  For now here are of some our favorites from the last 5 months of International travel.

Elephant SequenceClick on this link for an Elephant Hug.

We have been in Denver for the past three weeks. David had right rotator cuff shoulder surgery. The two months in Denver gives us enough time for David’s recovery and to catch up with appointments, file taxes, etc. And of course catch up with the kids and grand kids.

We are renting a lovely town house in Greenwood Village.

What’s up next: By May 11, Pack up the Acura and drive to Bellingham, WA and get our RV out of storage and ready for a 4 month trip to Alaska.

While in Denver we will be sorting thru our many photos and posting them here on the blog.

Located at the southwestern tip of Africa, in the Cape of Good Hope section of the Table Mountain National Park, Cape Point has captivated travellers for centuries with its dramatic scenery and fascinating history.

The discovery of Cape of Good Hope – a geographic location with one of the most romantic names in the world – is due to Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias. At the end of the 15^th century Portugal was literally obsessed with discovering the seaway to India sending one expedition after another. In 1487 this task was entrusted to Dias.

His voyage, as well as his predecessors’, was filled with adventures, shooting incidents with local tribes, and threats of mutiny from his crew. Dias ended up sailing only around Africa thinking that if one continues to sail forward, he would arrive to India sooner or later. After coming to this logical conclusion he turned around, and on his way home in May of 1488 he landed at what he thought was the southernmost point of Africa.

[mappress mapid=”13″]

These are photos of Cape Town Botanical Gardens, Wineries and Table Mountain.

hyenna2 Click Here for video.

We woke up early to do a self drive in Kruger and came across these two Hyenas.   They were just as interested in us as we were to them.  With the window open we took many photos (earlier post) and this one video.  One of them decided to check me out, as the Hyena approached my window, while licking his lips, I needed to decide to continue taking a video and leave the window open or close the window.  See video.  They got so close, they enjoyed jumping on our trunk and chewing on our front license plate.  Please do not report this to our rental car company.

The African (Jackass) Penguin is a black and white patterned penguin. It is a distinctive bird with largely black upperparts and white underparts. The face is black, separated from the black top to the head by a broad white “C” shaped marking. The info board said there are 4 species of penguin: one on the southern coast of Africa, one on the southern coast of South America, and two native to Antarctica. No native penguins in the Northern Hemisphere.

The penguins spend most of their life in the water, molting and hatching their eggs are the only reason they spend extensive time on land. Most of the penguins we saw were sitting on their eggs. Curious as to why they had their mouths open, the Internet research showed penguins remove heat through panting (hence, the open mouth), by spreading their wings for better air circulation, and by sending blood to their eyes because with the least amount of blubber the blood can cool (hence, the pink eyes). The best part of travel is our new factoid every day, who knew.

We are visiting many great sights of Cape Town, including several more wine estates.

Please check back for new posts and great photos including photos of those South African Penguins.

At the far eastern point and a last visit with the South African National Park Rest camps. I cannot give enough praise for the ease of registration, high quality and value for dollar their rest camps provide. During one drive, we came across several elephants enjoying a watering hole, the elephants had a well protected newborn elephant that stood no taller then it’s mom knees. So cute! We estimated the elephant as one week old, and larger elephants included several juveniles. We watched those big guys use their trunks as a nose, a siphoning device, a spray mud or dust to keep the flies away, wrap it around their tusks, or to place it lovingly on the head of a smaller member of their herd. We learn something new every day, and lucky to be so inspired by what you see it keeps you asking questions.

Goodbye to Zambia, and hello Garden Route….. The Garden route is described as a region of pristine beaches, mountains, forests, lakes and rivers all along the southern route of South Africa, between Cape Town and Addo Elephant Park, 6 hours east, our first stop was Plettenberg Bay. The drive took us along the South Africa’s Indian Ocean — the warm water ocean. The scenery was constantly varied, and a great road trip segment of our visit to South Africa.

The distance from Cape Town to furthest east stop (Addo Elephant National Park) was 500 miles. The return trip took us thru the town of Kynsna where we went canoeing (kayaking) In their lagoon. One hour east of Cape Town we spent two nights in the wine country town of Stellenbosch. We visited 7 wineries and sampled both white and red wines. We found a few that we liked and bought a few bottles to enjoy while in Cape Town.

We did not see any Cheetahs during our game drives, so we decided for a close encounter.

What a great experience and photo opt this was. Like the canoeing on the Zambeze, we were briefed on the do’s and don’ts. There were 3 Cheetahs and 2 other crazy tourists like us and 4 guides to help if the Cheetahs get hungry or get out of control. Keep in mind we did this before the Cheetahs had their breakfast.