Australia and New Zealand Trip Summary

I am just writing a few more thoughts about our trip. Maybe they will be helpful to other travelers and maybe it will help me remember some day how great of a trip we had.

4600 Pictures - This is how many we took with two cameras in three weeks. Many were redundant, some didn't come out (but you have to try), and some were continuous mode shots (so they add up quick). I categorized almost every night on the laptop, broken down by day in separate folders, and I created a notepad for each day with a rough outline of what the pictures were from (this helps significantly). Also, it is important to keep the two cameras time synced with local time; this makes sorting after the fact much easier.

Flights - Traveling from the US to Australia and New Zealand actually is not that difficult. Going there we basically had two dinners, and then a nighttime for sleep. We arrived in Sydney in the morning and the day was actually useful and productive. Coming home, we flew from Auckland (around lunch) eight hours to Hawaii (around dinner time). We ate dinner, and flew 7 .5 hours to Denver (sleeping). We arrived in Denver in the morning of the day we had just lived. So by time we reached Indy, it was the afternoon and we were close to a regular schedule. Planning flights for this trip is not too hard, and it is worth your time spent.

Transportation - We rented a car for one day in Melbourne so that we could travel the Great Ocean Road, and one day in Cairns to see the rainforest. Other than that, the public transportation is great (of course Ayers Rock doesn't count, you have to rent a car there) and if you stay in the right part of town, you can walk almost everywhere. In New Zealand, buses and trains are much harder to come by. You will need a vehicle of your own (or camper!) and most car rental places have a transfer option to get between the islands (it is frequently done).

Cities Visited and Durations - We arrived in Melbourne on a Monday morning and left Thursday morning. I recommend less time in Melbourne. If planned appropriately, two full days and a half day would be more than adequate. I would skip this zoo especially if you are traveling to Sydney which has a much nicer zoo.

From here we flew to Ayers Rock on Thursday. We arrived around lunch which gave us a half day. We stayed until Saturday afternoon. This is too much time for Ayers Rock. Had we planned on arriving in the afternoon, a full day to visit the area is more than enough. Keep in mind this will be a very full day if you want to catch the sunrise and the sunset. If you can only pick one, pick the sunset.

From here we flew to Cairns. We arrived late at night, so we had two full days and then left after lunch the third day. I recommend a partial day and a full day, then leave in the morning. This would be time to use the full day to go snorkeling, and the partial day (upon arrival) to take the car to the rainforest.

Next we flew to Sydney. We arrived late at night and then had two full days, leaving early in the morning on the third day. Getting in earlier would have allowed for at least one more fun activity in the city, which we had a couple we would have liked to attempt. One other comment on Cairns, renting a taxi to get to town from the airport is cheaper for two than using their bus option, and its much faster.

We started in the south island of New Zealand from there. With the additional days we would have saved from the above changes, we would have an extra day on the south island and an extra day on the north island, and possibly even one more day to split between the two, depending on your preference. We could really have used another day on the north island to visit Rotorua and the geological sights of the area. On the south island, another day would have allowed us to visit Fiordland National Park.

Sights - List of things we saw that I really liked
Melbourne-Great Ocean Road, Royal Botanical Gardens, Queen Victoria Market
Ayers Rock-Uluru, interesting planned town concept
Cairns-Snorkeling!
Sydney-Taronga Zoo, walking around the Opera House
South Island, New Zealand-Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, Christchurch square
North Island, New Zealand-Glowworms, Tongariro National Park, and of course learning we were pregnant is Taupo was pretty cool and unforgettable

A list of things I really would have liked to see
Melbourne-Penguins. This is a very touristy stop off of Philip Island so we avoided it, but we probably should have tried to fight the crowds with a tour to see this sight.
Ayers Rock-Star gazing. We had arranged this, but it was too cloudy so we didn't get to go to the observatory.
Cairns-We were good here
Sydney-Going up the Sydney Tower and viewing the OzTrek Ride.
South Island, New Zealand-Fiordland National Park
North Island, New Zealand-Rotorua and north of Auckland
Tazmania!-I really wanted to work in a day trip here, but just could not make the days and flights work out. Maybe another time... :)

Food - Food in general in Australia is nothing fancy. Although we tried to eat at non-touristy, local restaurants, we had only a few good meals. Never bad that I can recall, but don't expect great things. It was an opportunity to try some new foods (kangaroo, crocodile, emu).

Laptop - Taking the laptop was a good move. It helped out with extra movies on the trans-Pacific flights, and allowed for picture backups and sorting each night. My mind was at rest knowing I had backups each day of what we had experienced. Also, most laptop's power supplies operate on dual voltage and frequency, which means you only need a simple adapter, not a converter (BTW, I try to only buy devices that are 110-220VAC 50-60Hz, it makes traveling a breeze). The weight was not really noticeable. Additionally, we could search for available free wifi every once in a while.

Google Maps! - I pre-printed Google Maps of the hotel area in each city at different zoom levels (to see big and small views). This was somewhat helpful and didn't take much effort. I have been doing this for a few trips now (Italy was helpful). Along the way Google Maps were helpful in finding business info along the way.

Prepping for New Zealand - Not too hard, and you will probably come across this in your own preparation, but have your e-reservations printed out and with you. You will need proof of exit when trying to enter. Also, if you visit Australia first, be careful what you purchase and try to take to New Zealand. They really limit what you can take in, but all the information you should need is available online.

New Zealand, Playing It By Ear - We decided to plan our last night only in New Zealand (in Auckland, before flying out). Every night, we would figure out where to go and what to do the next day, and search online where we would be able to stay. Sometimes, we would just get to a town and hope to find something between a few favorites based on guide book reviews. This possibly worked because we were not there during peak tourist times (winter or summer). Also, we had a rough idea of travel from Christchurch to Auckland so we knew we would make it in time to catch our flights home, but we didn't even figure that out until we spent a few nights in Australia looking it over.

So Basically...
It was a great trip! It was great visiting a place on the other side of the world, experiencing new cultures, seeing historic sites, not working for three weeks (which really allows you to get lost in visiting another country), eating new food, it was all wonderful. If any reader ever has questions about our trip, feel free to hit me up in the comments.

North Island, New Zealand

Wednesday November 28th, 2007 (Picton to Wellington to Ohakune)

We started off the day on an Interisland Boat Ride from Picton to Wellington. We didn’t do much on the boat; I watched a movie and took a few pictures, and Kacey slept (she had been really tired lately). Once we got in, we got the rental and got going on the road. We hadn’t made much of a decision of where we were going, just roughly toward the central part of the island, probably around Tongariro National Park. Once we reached Bulls, this is where the highway split and we needed to make a decision. As Kacey was just sleeping the whole way, I woke her up once in town. We were hoping to get information packets on the parks, but could not find anything. So with the information we had, we decided to head toward Ohakune and the National Park. We got to Ohakune after much driving and started looking for a place with internet as we wanted to plan the next couple days. We found the Hobbit Motorlodge after driving for a few minutes and they had a vacancy sign with a wireless internet sign. We stopped in, got a room, and asked about dinner. We ended up going to town, filling with fuel, buying a couple groceries, eating at the Mountain Rock Café, and going to bed (after some internet time of course). Dinner was pretty good and since it was not ski season, it was mostly locals just hanging out.

Pictures from Wednesday can be found here.

Thursday November 29th, 2007 (Ohakune to Hamilton)

We got up and headed toward Tongariro National Park and stopped in the Whakapapa Village for some information. We got information for a couple hikes, but as Kacey was not feeling to well, we went to Tawhai Falls and got going. We had a lot of nice views of the volcanoes as we drove, so we stopped for pictures along the way. As we approached Turangi, we stopped for some views of Lake Taupo (map). We stopped in Turangi for some lunch at the Mustard Seed Café. The sandwiches would have been better toasted, but we moved around Lake Taupo toward Taupo. In Taupo we stopped at the doctor to make sure Kacey was ok. Turns out she wasn't tired from hiking and traveling for three weeks, she was pregnant! So as you can imagine, this is a most unique way and place to find out you are expecting, so we will probably never forget this day as long as we live. We then headed to Huka Falls. These were a little cheesy as it is a man-made falls and river that empties from Lake Taupo and it is used to generate electricity. We then headed across the road to Crater of the Moon Park. This was interesting as Kacey had not seen geothermal activity before. There was not much activity or water pools, but there was one bubbling mud pool. We got on the road for the two hour drive to Hamilton. When we arrived, we drove to the place we were hoping might be available, the Barclay. It was, and it was a pretty big and nice room. After some dinner at Pasta Mia, which was pretty good, we got to bed.

Pictures from Thursday can be found here.

Friday November 30th, 2007 (Hamilton to Waitmo to Auckland)

Today we got going pretty early and headed down SH3 toward Waitomo for our 10am tour of the Glowworm Caves. I had been looking forward to seeing the Glowworms. This was a pretty cool boat ride through the cave with a nice tour. At 11am, we then had a tour of Aranui Cave which is a dry cave, so no glowing worms. We stopped in Otorohanga for some lunch at the Copper Tree Café. We each got a small pizza that was not too bad. We then started the three hour journey to Auckland. Once we got near the city, traffic got very bad. Driving downtown was a nightmare as the streets are not straight, and many one ways and no turns made it take a while to figure out how to get to the hotel. At the City Life Auckland, we got put up on the 15th floor with some nice views. We walked through a few stores, ate dinner at the Middle East Café, and got some gelato down at the Harbour. We headed to the room to get ready for the long plane ride back home tomorrow.

Pictures from Friday can be found here.

Saturday December 1st, 2007 (Auckland to Honolulu to Denver to Indianapolis)

Tired, because we lived Saturday December 1st twice.

South Island, New Zealand

Saturday November 24th, 2007 (Christchurch to Arthur’s Pass)

We arrived in Christchurch (CHC) around 2pm. We decided to change our reservations and not stay here; we instead looked around downtown for about an hour, and then headed to Arthur’s Pass to stay for the night (originally, we had pre-booked our first and last night in New Zealand only). The drive was nice; there were many nice scenic views and they were covered with interesting rock formations. This was also Kacey’s first time driving on the left, which went pretty well as I had been telling her points here and there throughout the trip thus far. We arrived at the Arthur’s Pass Alpine Motel around 7pm and got checked in to our little cottage. We drove in to "town" for dinner at the Wobbly Kea. It was pretty good, actually, and priced pretty well too, considering there is nothing in any directions for miles (or kilometers). The town consists of a DOC (Department of Conservation), a train station, a small general store, a couple places to eat, and a couple small motels. We got back to our cottage and surfed the web a bit to figure out where to stay the next night.

Pictures from Saturday can be found here.

Sunday November 25th, 2007 (Arthur’s Pass to Fox Glacier to Hari Hari)

Today we got up and hiked a trail in Arthur’s Pass National Park. We hiked to the Devil’s Punch Bowl. It was fairly steep, but a well maintained and mostly graveled trail. We headed back to the car and got on the road toward the west coast. Again, the drive was pretty fun as these mountain pass roads are twisty and steep with great views. Even though the weather was light rain and overcast we still stopped for pictures along the way. We also got to experience the Kea bird for the first time. We stopped by the side of the road and we noticed a few of these birds that look like a distant cousin of a parakeet. After we got out to take in the view, the birds started jumping on top of the car like they wanted in. Then we a bird on a nearby rock eating a gasket, which seemed very strange. Then, we read the sign at the overlook which informed us that these birds have taken to eating rubber! This means that the birds were not trying to get into our car, they were eating the rubber from it! Once we reached the coast, we started the drive south along Highway 6. We stopped in Hokitika (map) for some quick lunch, petrol, cash (as there were possibly no ATMs south of town), and a view of the sea. It was a gray sand beach and the crashing of the waves put a mist in the air. We made it to Hari Hari and stopped to see if we could check in early at the Hari Hari Motor Inn and leave our suitcases. Sure enough we could and we did. Kacey also ran in the wool store in town and bought some beautifully dyed combed wool for her grandma to spin. We then headed toward Franz Josef Glacier for our first glacier experience.

We arrived in town and stopped for a few maps. These told us which hike to hit to really see the glacier. We took the Franz Josef Valley Walk which takes you as close as they will currently let you get unguided. With the overcast skies, you could not see all the way up the mountain, which made the glacier look like it was infinite. The walk was through the river beds that fill up during the summer when lots of ice starts melting. There was plenty of little water falls throughout the valley and the walls were very high up. After this walk, we headed south to Fox Glacier. We first went to the lookout for the glacier which was a walk through the rainforest for a not-so-big view of the glacier. We then drove over to the carpark for the hike up to Fox. It was trying to rain just a little so we were attempting to keep the cameras covered up. This walk also had plenty of signage to keep people away from the glacier but as we were very close to the glacier and the melting water river was far away, many people were going up to it anyway. We followed suit as we really wanted to touch it. We took some nice pictures and got going as the rain started to come down a little heavier. We looked funny with our little purple umbrella, but our heads and cameras were dry. We ate dinner in Fox Glacier at Café Neve which for the area was probably ok. We then drove back north to Franz Josef to try to find some dessert. There were more options, but the dessert was disappointing for the cost. We started the trek back to our hotel to get some rest.

Pictures from Sunday can be found here.

Monday November 26th, 2007 (Hari Hari to Nelson via 6)

We woke up and got on the road toward Greymouth. This is where we would stop for lunch and gas. We ate at Café 124, which was not too bad, just small portions. We searched for free wireless internet, but no luck. We then headed to Paparoa National Park. Along the way, we thought we spotted a whale off of the coast, but upon review of the pictures on the computer, it looks like it was probably a rock formation. We stopped at the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. This was pretty neat and we took lots of pictures of water splashing and a few videos to hear the blowholes. We then drove straight through to Nelson and found a place to stay downtown. We ate at Stefano’s, an Italian place, which was not too bad, spent a couple minutes on the internet looking at places in Picton, then went back for some rest.

Pictures from Monday can be found here.

Tuesday November 27th, 2007 (Nelson to Motueka to Picton)

We woke up and got going to the northwest toward Motueka and Abel Tasman National Park. We drove over the mountain to arrive inside Abel Tasman NP and stopped to hike for a bit. We then realized that the main entrance and Visitor’s Center was north near Takaka and would have taken another hour and a half to reach it. We decided to just walk out to one lookout and then head out. It was a little disappointing to not get to hike more, but the views of the water were pretty nice. Abel Tasman is mostly known for ocean kayaking and boating, so there probably was not much more hiking had we headed north. We stopped in Mapua for some lunch at Café One (or something like that). Their salads were pretty good. We got on the road for the long haul towards Picton. Highway 6 between Picton and Havelock had some pretty nice views, along with several logging trucks. It is very noticeable as you view the mountain sides that logging is very heavy here. Many of the hills were bare and areas not bare were lined with “rows” of trees from replanting. We had noticed on the maps a side road from Havelock to Picton, but had not found much information on it. We saw what we thought to be that road, but without much information and wanting to stop in Blenheim for wine/olive oil/chocolate, we stayed on 6.

We arrived outside of Blenheim and started looking for signs. We searched for the information center in town, but could not find it. As it was getting late, we knew shops would start closing soon, so we hurried on in hopes to see some north of town. We found Annie’s Wine Room and Café and stopped in. We got there about 10 minutes before closing. We tasted a few local wines and one olive oil. I did not really care for their particular Rieslings, but Kacey found one red she liked. So, we picked up a bottle of red and a bottle of Omaka Springs Olive Oil and headed out. The woman there told us how to reach one other winery so we headed that way. We arrived there about 10 minutes before closing but unfortunately they had very little wine to try. There was only one that Kacey wanted to try, but she didn’t care for it and we moved on. On our way to the car, we saw down the road a chocolate shop, so we rushed over. To our luck, it was the one store we had read about to stop in; Makana Confections. We got there about 30 minutes before closing and had a look around. We bought some chocolate for us, parents, family, and a few friends and got moving once north once again on Highway 1 toward Picton. We arrived in town and it was somewhat smaller than we had imagined. We first stopped at our first choice of hotels, the Jasmine Court. They had a vacancy sign out front, so we knew we had a place to stay for the night. This place was pretty nice and we quickly did a load of laundry and headed to the Yacht Club for dinner. Do not eat at this place, it was quite disappointing. There was really no one else there and we waited 30 minutes for a poorly prepared dinner, part of which involved a microwave that we could see from where we were sitting. We headed back to the hotel, did a little web browsing and trip planning and went to bed.

Pictures from Tuesday can be found here.

Australia & New Zealand Pictures are Up!

http://www.chrisandkacey.com/Vacation/

You will find a link for Australia & New Zealand on our site. Feel free to browse through our pictures, or try the Favorites link if you have a slow internet connection or less time. Sorry for the delay in posting, but I had web hosting problems. So, please let me know if you find any problems. Also, I am not sure when the guest book will be working, but I am trying. Feel free to leave picture comments on this post.

I hope to pull out the journal we kept on the trip and write a post about each city we stayed in; not just for you the reader, but for us to reminisce our wonderful trip. Maybe I will have time this weekend for that.

Enjoy!

Home, Cold Home

So the reason I have not posted in a while is we were in Australia and New Zealand for three (3) weeks! It was a blast, and exhausting, and memorable. I believe we took around 4700 pictures, so I have a lot of sorting to do. I will post links here when they are all up. Our itinerary...

4 nights in Melbourne
2 nights in Ayers Rock
3 nights in Cairns
3 nights in Sydney
1 week driving from south to north island New Zealand

I wrote a journal through the trip, and I intend on writing a little about each city or area on here as time allows.