Demonstration of sheep herding at Sheepworld. Smart dog!
Monday, March 07, 2005
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Day 7- traveling to Auckland
We took a 45 minute flight to Auckland this morning. We thought about driving, but it would have taken all day to drive up here and we have lots of driving ahead of us.
So today was the day- we rented a car at the airport and I drove into Auckland. Driving on the wrong side of the road is quite a trick, but I have been a passenger in many countries where they drive "wrong" before. The confusing part is the traffic circles, which are extensively used instead of traffic lights. It's like DC, but they are all two lanes and they go the other way.
So far, we haven't hit anything. However, I have a strong tendency to drift over to the shoulder for some reason. Right hand turns are also fun. Remember- "It's a right. That's like a left. I have to end up in the far lane, not the closer one with cars pointing at me."
We looked around the city for a while- pictures are here. We're coming back here for another night later on, and we'll try to hit the other highlights then. Tomorrow, we're off to the northland and the countryside. I'll be diving at Poor Knights Island on Monday. YEAH!
-Rich
So today was the day- we rented a car at the airport and I drove into Auckland. Driving on the wrong side of the road is quite a trick, but I have been a passenger in many countries where they drive "wrong" before. The confusing part is the traffic circles, which are extensively used instead of traffic lights. It's like DC, but they are all two lanes and they go the other way.
So far, we haven't hit anything. However, I have a strong tendency to drift over to the shoulder for some reason. Right hand turns are also fun. Remember- "It's a right. That's like a left. I have to end up in the far lane, not the closer one with cars pointing at me."
We looked around the city for a while- pictures are here. We're coming back here for another night later on, and we'll try to hit the other highlights then. Tomorrow, we're off to the northland and the countryside. I'll be diving at Poor Knights Island on Monday. YEAH!
-Rich
Friday, March 04, 2005
Thursday, March 03, 2005
day 6 - Lord of the Rings tour
Wow, Rich is a good sport! We spent the entire day listening to stories about the filming of Lord of the Rings and trivia. We were picked up this morning in a minivan, and toured with a group of "geeks" from around the world. People from Scotland, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, and Australia; all of whom had seen the movies at least once. We began the tour at the highest lookout in Wellinton. We stopped at various movie sites all around the area. We stopped at big sites such as "Isengard garden, where Saruman and Gandalf walked" and "the River Anduin", and small sites such as "where Frodo decided they had better get off the road, because he suspected that the Black Riders were coming" and "where Viggo Mortensen liked to go fishing when he had days off". We also were treated to film production stuff, such as the WETA workshop, where the special effects were produced; we drove past Peter Jackson's house (this is true- his Oscar statue sits in the window of a bedroom!); we saw a leftover catapult prop from the last movie; and also fun, we looked down on Miramax studio, and happened to see filming of a scene of 'natives' chanting for the upcoming King Kong movie (Peter Jackson's soon-to-be smash hit). We were not allowed to take pictures there, so we'll wait for the movie.
We ate lunch near Rivendell. We walked across a wobbly suspension bridge, hiked through a gorgeous rainforest. I wore elf ears, and stood where Orlando Bloom stood for his publicity photos. Rich claimed that I was the biggest LOTR fan among the group, but I think many people were bigger fans than me. Our tour guide, in fact, was a wealth of information about the books and the movies. He told us that this winter, we can expect a 25 disc set, with perhaps every scene ever filmed (and edited). Well, I can't think of every site we visited today- perhaps a dozen or more. Guess I'll attach the pictures now. Enjoy!
-Carol
We ate lunch near Rivendell. We walked across a wobbly suspension bridge, hiked through a gorgeous rainforest. I wore elf ears, and stood where Orlando Bloom stood for his publicity photos. Rich claimed that I was the biggest LOTR fan among the group, but I think many people were bigger fans than me. Our tour guide, in fact, was a wealth of information about the books and the movies. He told us that this winter, we can expect a 25 disc set, with perhaps every scene ever filmed (and edited). Well, I can't think of every site we visited today- perhaps a dozen or more. Guess I'll attach the pictures now. Enjoy!
-Carol
Day 5 - end of Sydney and arriving in New Zealand
Our last day in Sydney was anticlimatic, mostly due to the dramatic change in weather. The thunderstorms passed early, but the clouds and wind rolled in. We ate dinner at a meat and wine restaurant in Darling Harbour - I had the most fantastic pork ribs I've ever tasted! Then we headed next door to the IMAX movie theater to see Titanic: Ghosts of the Abyss in 3D. Pretty cool.
This morning we left for the airport. Flew from Sydney to Wellington. Took just 3 hours, and the in-flight movie was Finding Neverland (yeah!). Seems I left my copy of Lord of the Rings in our hotel room, so I bought and began re-reading a copy of Two Towers (that's, of course, the 2nd of 3 Lord of the Rings books). I find it appropriate reading now that we're in Peter Jackson's hometown and the country of "Middle Earth". Wellington is beautiful, and refreshingly smaller than Sydney. The skyline is shorter, the water is bluer. We checked in to our hotel, and walked over to the Te Papa Museum. It was excellent! Full of interesting exhibits about Maori culture, native animals, geologic wonders (NZ sometimes has big earthquakes and active volcanoes), and our favorite was an exhibit about NZ in the 70s. Apparently in NZ, they had a similar cultural revolution - full of protests and tacky fashion. Unfortunately we were getting tired and hungry long before we had a chance to see all the various exhibits. We had dinner in our hotel, which was ok.
So, here we are. We like New Zealand so far. Rich wishes we had rented a car here, and were driving north through the country. Oh well. Guess we won't risk dropping any rings into 'Mount Doom'.
-Carol
This morning we left for the airport. Flew from Sydney to Wellington. Took just 3 hours, and the in-flight movie was Finding Neverland (yeah!). Seems I left my copy of Lord of the Rings in our hotel room, so I bought and began re-reading a copy of Two Towers (that's, of course, the 2nd of 3 Lord of the Rings books). I find it appropriate reading now that we're in Peter Jackson's hometown and the country of "Middle Earth". Wellington is beautiful, and refreshingly smaller than Sydney. The skyline is shorter, the water is bluer. We checked in to our hotel, and walked over to the Te Papa Museum. It was excellent! Full of interesting exhibits about Maori culture, native animals, geologic wonders (NZ sometimes has big earthquakes and active volcanoes), and our favorite was an exhibit about NZ in the 70s. Apparently in NZ, they had a similar cultural revolution - full of protests and tacky fashion. Unfortunately we were getting tired and hungry long before we had a chance to see all the various exhibits. We had dinner in our hotel, which was ok.
So, here we are. We like New Zealand so far. Rich wishes we had rented a car here, and were driving north through the country. Oh well. Guess we won't risk dropping any rings into 'Mount Doom'.
-Carol
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Day 4- Manly Beach
No new pictures today- we took a few pictures at manley beach in the , but it was overcast and windy. We had thunderstorms in the morning, which is pretty unusual for us California kids.
Spent the morning shopping at the mall, and picked up all our Australian souveniers. Now we're going out to dinner and maybe an IMAX movie or the Aquarium.
-Rich
Spent the morning shopping at the mall, and picked up all our Australian souveniers. Now we're going out to dinner and maybe an IMAX movie or the Aquarium.
-Rich
Day 3- The Blue Mountains
Today was a very long day. It started at 7:15 am, when we were picked up by our tour bus. Destination- the Blue Mountains, northwest of Sydney.
First stop- the Featherdale Wildlife Park in the Sydney suburbs. Here we ate breakfast and got to pet koalas and kangaroos. Carol held a snake on her shoulders, and we got to see lots of other animals and pretty birds.
Next, we went on a 4WD road and explored the Eucalyptus forest. Here we learned about forest fires and other interesting stuff. The Eucalyptus trees are very resistant to fire. One of the forests had burned badly just a few years before, but the trees had recovered nicely. We saw a pair of wallabys hop by.
After lunch at a hotel, we visited a scenic lookout (see below). Next, we went down into the rainforest and got to walk along the forest floor. We got down into the rainforest via a super steep gondola, and rode back up on the steepest incline railway in the world. It has a 51 degree incline, and it scared Carol half to death. I thought it was fun!
Last stop- a meadow where we got to sip sparkling wine and hang out with Kangaroos in the wild.
Instead of driving us back to the hotel, the bus dropped us off at the ferry, which took a scenic trip down the river, under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and back to the Circular Quay (still "Key").
-Rich
First stop- the Featherdale Wildlife Park in the Sydney suburbs. Here we ate breakfast and got to pet koalas and kangaroos. Carol held a snake on her shoulders, and we got to see lots of other animals and pretty birds.
Next, we went on a 4WD road and explored the Eucalyptus forest. Here we learned about forest fires and other interesting stuff. The Eucalyptus trees are very resistant to fire. One of the forests had burned badly just a few years before, but the trees had recovered nicely. We saw a pair of wallabys hop by.
After lunch at a hotel, we visited a scenic lookout (see below). Next, we went down into the rainforest and got to walk along the forest floor. We got down into the rainforest via a super steep gondola, and rode back up on the steepest incline railway in the world. It has a 51 degree incline, and it scared Carol half to death. I thought it was fun!
Last stop- a meadow where we got to sip sparkling wine and hang out with Kangaroos in the wild.
Instead of driving us back to the hotel, the bus dropped us off at the ferry, which took a scenic trip down the river, under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and back to the Circular Quay (still "Key").
-Rich
Monday, February 28, 2005
Sydney - day 2
Had the best breakfast buffet of my life this morning. Everything one could imagine was available, including Lichee fruits, which are pretty yummy if not slimey. Then we took the ferry to Taronga Zoo, across the bay. The sun finally came out, and it got nice and warm. We saw many animals, including many native to Australia. I was excited to see the famed platypus: half mammal, half duck(?) Couldn't take its picture, though! Also fun to see potaroos and other outback hopping animals. What a strange place this is to have evolved such creatures. Saw the koalas, kangaroos, emus, wallabys, wombats, and, the tasmanian devil - scurrying around so fast in its pen. Man, the elephants, giraffes, and zebras had fantastic views of the city - wonder if they appreciate it?
Returned to the city and wandered around "the Rocks" area. Interesting shopping - we found some aboriginal art for our entry. Relaxed at a cafe, and headed back for a soak in the hottub. Walked to Darling Harbour for dinner, and discovered that Sydney is so damn beautiful, it just keeps getting better! Had dinner at a Malaysian restaurant, and then walked to the casino. We quickly lost some money at blackjack, and came back "home".
I've been jotting down some notes. Australia is very similar to America in many ways, but here are some things that differ. "Way out = exit"; look right (or get hit by a car); half flush and whole flush toilets; it is an urban legend that water goes down the drain differently - it goes down clockwise; Fries = chips, Chips = crisps; "mind your head"; "no worries"; red hair, freckles, sunburn; five Starbucks and counting...; hazelnut Snickers (mmm); "Carpark lifts" - two words familiar, but not; outlet switches - down = on; no left turn on red arrows; "females/males" bathrooms; Princess Mary just got married to some Danish royalty - made quite a stir.
That's it for now. Had a lovely day "on holiday" today. Sydney reminds me of many cities rolled into one.
-Carol
Had the best breakfast buffet of my life this morning. Everything one could imagine was available, including Lichee fruits, which are pretty yummy if not slimey. Then we took the ferry to Taronga Zoo, across the bay. The sun finally came out, and it got nice and warm. We saw many animals, including many native to Australia. I was excited to see the famed platypus: half mammal, half duck(?) Couldn't take its picture, though! Also fun to see potaroos and other outback hopping animals. What a strange place this is to have evolved such creatures. Saw the koalas, kangaroos, emus, wallabys, wombats, and, the tasmanian devil - scurrying around so fast in its pen. Man, the elephants, giraffes, and zebras had fantastic views of the city - wonder if they appreciate it?
Returned to the city and wandered around "the Rocks" area. Interesting shopping - we found some aboriginal art for our entry. Relaxed at a cafe, and headed back for a soak in the hottub. Walked to Darling Harbour for dinner, and discovered that Sydney is so damn beautiful, it just keeps getting better! Had dinner at a Malaysian restaurant, and then walked to the casino. We quickly lost some money at blackjack, and came back "home".
I've been jotting down some notes. Australia is very similar to America in many ways, but here are some things that differ. "Way out = exit"; look right (or get hit by a car); half flush and whole flush toilets; it is an urban legend that water goes down the drain differently - it goes down clockwise; Fries = chips, Chips = crisps; "mind your head"; "no worries"; red hair, freckles, sunburn; five Starbucks and counting...; hazelnut Snickers (mmm); "Carpark lifts" - two words familiar, but not; outlet switches - down = on; no left turn on red arrows; "females/males" bathrooms; Princess Mary just got married to some Danish royalty - made quite a stir.
That's it for now. Had a lovely day "on holiday" today. Sydney reminds me of many cities rolled into one.
-Carol
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