Saturday, April 29, 2000

Fiji

Fiji

The Fiji Islands are located in the South Pacific, and are not Polynesian; they are Melanesian. Fiji, like the rest of Melanesia, is dirt poor and practiced cannibalism up until very recently.



Fijian beer (despite the label's claim to be a "Bitter" it was a Lager)


Flag patch for our backpacks


Passport Stamp

Wednesday, April 26, 2000

Our trip to Otago and Canterbury

23-Apr-2000 thru 26-Apr-2000

Otago and Canterbury are regions on the East coast of New Zealand's South Island


 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Stuffed giant albatross at the albatross colony

Molting Yellow Eyed Penguin named Ed.   (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
The head of a Yellow Eyed penguin named Ed.  .   (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

This is Ed; a rare yellow eyed penguin who is currently in molt

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)


A yellow eyed penguin in full plumage

Small A-frame shelters (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

This is a man-made nesting area for the yellow eyed penguin. They are built because all of the native shrubbery is missing

Purple church (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

The church in Green Acres on the Otago Peninsula

The Green Acres Garage (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

No, the train station here is not named " Petticoat Junction"

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

A view back on Dunedin from the Otago peninsula

.  Lanarch Castle on the Otago peninsula.    It's a mansion built by an early Kiwi whom later committed suicide on the floor of Parliament because his son was having an affair with his wife (the son's step-mother) (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Lanarch Castle on the Otago peninsula. It's a mansion built by an early Kiwi whom later committed suicide on the floor of Parliament because his son was having an affair with his wife (the son's step-mother)

A view down the corridor in the center of a hedge covered path (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

A hollow hedge in front of Lanarch Castle

Gryphon statue.   (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Statuary on the stairway to the "Castle's" main entrance

Lion statue (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
Eagle statue (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
The Queen of Hearts (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Lanarch Castle's gardens have a lot of statuary in them - some to the Alice In Wonderlandtheme

A big white chicken (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Fuzzy Chickens In The Garden

Spherical boulder (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
Line of Spherical boulders (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

On the way from Dunedin to Christchurch there are these weird boulders on the beach

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

SGK on a boulder

Hollow boulder (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

The boulders are hollow

cross hatch pattern on a boulder.   (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

And they have a weird texture

Fuzzy yellow flowers (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Flowers

pasture full of sheep with snow covered mountains in the background.   (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Pastoral New Zealand

Saturday, April 22, 2000

Greetings from Dunedin NZ!

Hi Everyone!

When I last left you, it was almost exactly one month ago and we were about to take a cruise through the Bay of Islands then onto the Kauri Forest and Sheep World.
Unfortunately we didn't get to go through the hole in the rock on our Bay of Islands cruise (the surf was too rough) but the scenery was still fab though.
From Russell in the Bay Islands, we headed north along the east coast to 40 mile beach at the crown of the North Island. While it's not really 40 miles long, it was pretty big. It was also mostly deserted; a nice change from the tourist packed Bay of Islands. Unfortunately, finding a place to stay on this deserted coastline proved trying (plenty of dorm beds at the backpackers - but we didn't want to subject Helen and Andy to that) so we continued on down south.
The next stop was the giant Kauri forests - Kauri trees used to cover the whole of the north end of the North Island until the time that the Europeans arrived and decided that these magnificent trees would make great ships spars (due to the fact that they are all straight and knot-free up until about 50m in height). Currently there are only a few acres of these guys left - so the wood trade has been reduces to digging up old trees that were buried in the swamp for the last 20 thousand years. Real neat. I also found out that I am alergic to kauri gum - the sap from these trees which is used for all sorts of things including varnish for kauri wood furniture. I was in agony - I couldn't breath for all of the sneezing and had to go to a clinic for medical help.
From the kauri forests, we headed back through Auckland to Rotorua. We missed Sheep World as the timing of the shows was off for our visit. Rotorua still stinks - Greg claimed credit for it but I think that even SGK's brother Joe would have a hard time laying an egg that we could smell all the way from Auckland. Whilst in Auckland we went to the Gates of Hell (a geothermal park - remember this place Eric?) and took SGK's parents to a Hangi (Maori Luau). We also did the alpine slides - Andy loved it, but Helen wasn't sure. But before we hit the alpine slide we checked out the zorbing. Zorbing is a thing unique to Rotorua - you get inside a big plastic sphere full of water and get rolled down a hill. Sounds great, but while we watched, it didn't look that fun as the hill was so small that you never gathered up any speed.
We also hit "The Agrodome" - An animal husbandry exhibit. The best value tour that we have done in NZ. for a lowly $20.00NZ (under $10US) you got a sheep shearing demonstration, a live show with about 20 different varieties of sheep - and get told what breed is for what, a sheepdog demonstration, and a guided tour around the farm where you get to see and touch other staples of NZ animal husbandry - cows, deer, and alpacas. Great value and highly recommended.
From Rotorua we headed south to Lake Taupo - a bit disappointing - and through the desert to Turangi - home of the NZ army and a great big snow covered volcano that is one of NZ's most popular ski resorts. Very cold but extremely pretty.
Next stop - boring old Wellington for the ferry to the South Island. Once again it was raining in Wellington - as it always is when I'm there, but we did have time to hit their great outdoors stores. The Ferry ride wasn't as spectacular as it should have been due to the rain, but good nonetheless.
From Picton (the southern terminus of the ferry) we were off down the west coast of the South Island. Boy oh Boy what a fantastic drive!!!! Puts Australia's Great Ocean Road to shame. It even makes California's Pacific Coast Highway and British Columbia's Sea to Sky Highway look shabby. We drove from one amazing view to the next. Along the South Island's west coast is also Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers. SGK and I put crampons on and gave it a go climbing Franz Joseph. Glorious!
Next stop after the wild and wooly west coast was world famous Queenstown - a traveler's ghetto for adrenaline sports. From Queenstown, we went south to Te-Anu and the glowworms, and thence to Milford sound. Milford has to be seen to be believed. The scale of the place is just incredible. The cliffs rise out of the Fjord to reach heights of over a mile and plunge into the depths for thousands of feet down. You are tiny compared to this majesty. The volume of water pouring over the sides of these cliffs into the Fjord is something to behold. It is so great that the top 5m of water in the sound is salt-free! Wow.
From Milford we headed out to the east coast where we are now.
Where do we go from here??? Well, after checking out the Yellow eyed penguins and Dunedin Castle, we are heading up north to Christchurch for My and SaraGraces birthdays (the 28th and 25th of April respectively - we expect emails full of birthday wishes!!!!) and plan on catching up with my old friend Jo and her husband over a Super 12 Rugby match, and finally meeting little Miguel (Peter and Ava's child) before winging out to Fiji!
Cheers!
MRA

Friday, April 21, 2000

Our Trip To Fjordland

19-Apr-2000 thru 21-Apr-2000

Fjordland is the south east corner of New Zealand's South Island and was literally carved up by glaciation. It contains Milford Sound, also known as Piopiotahi in Māori.


 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Our boat to the Te Anu glow worm caves

There were about a billion Taiwanese on the boat and they brought these balloon things that you blow up with a straw (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Bubble Straws
There were about a billion Taiwanese on the boat and they brought these balloon things that you blow up with a straw. I vaguely remember them from childhood as Blow-loons

 (The Travel Addicts, New Zealand, South Island)
 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Miter Peak

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Milford Sound

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Bowen Falls

Our vessel for exploring Milford Sound overnight.   (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

The Milford Wanderer
Our vessel for exploring Milford Sound overnight.

SGK, MRA, Helen and Andy on The Milford Wanderer (The Travel Addicts, New Zealand, South Island)

Group photo
SGK, MRA, Helen and Andy on The Milford Wanderer

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Stork

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Bishop's Footstool

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

The Sound

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Bridal Veil Falls

Looking east from the Tasman Sea back onto Milford Sound (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
Looking east from the Tasman Sea back onto Milford Sound (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Sunset
Looking east from the Tasman Sea back onto Milford Sound

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

The fog lifting in the morning

Monday, April 17, 2000

Queenstown

12-Apr-2000 thru 17-Apr-2000

Queenstown is a travelers ghetto on New Zealand's South Island - very popular for the adrenaline pumping activities available here (Bungy, Jet boating, Parasailing, Hang gliding, etc)




 (The Travel Addicts, New Zealand, South Island)

The view from our hotel

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Yachting on the lake

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

 (The Travel Addicts, New Zealand, South Island)

Fall colours reflected in Hayes Lake near Arrowtown

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Arrowtown village

 (The Travel Addicts, New Zealand, South Island)

More fall colours

This is where you jump off a mountain wearing a parachute (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Parapenting
This is where you jump off a mountain wearing a parachute

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

GK and the Dr. on the alpine slide... Again!!!

This photo does not due this bungy site justice - the platform is only 31m above the ground, but 1000m above the lake! so it seams as if you are leaping out into the never-never!!! (The Travel Addicts, New Zealand, South Island)

Bungy platform
This photo does not due this bungy site justice - the platform is only 31m above the ground, but 1000m above the lake! so it seams as if you are leaping out into the never-never!!!

More allergy plants (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Pampas grass
More allergy plants

"Hand Crafted Chocolate Sheep.   8.  5g/3oz of Solid Sculpted Milk Chocolate Sheep.    From the Kiwi Snack Factory" (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Only in New Zealand
"Hand Crafted Chocolate Sheep. 8. 5g/3oz of Solid Sculpted Milk Chocolate Sheep. From the Kiwi Snack Factory"

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

SGK on the gondolla

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

More fall colours

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Helen with the Autumnal foliage
(look closely at the stairs) (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Louis Vuitton
(look closely at the stairs)

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

This paradise duck apparently liked Louis Vuitton bags...

Look familiar Cathy? (The Travel Addicts, New Zealand, South Island)

The Skippers Canyon Bungy
Look familiar Cathy?

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)


Geronimo!!!!!

 (The Travel Addicts, New Zealand, South Island)

Jet boating on the Shotover river

Queenstown's premier ski area (The Travel Addicts, New Zealand, South Island)

The Remarkables
Queenstown's premier ski area

 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)
 (New Zealand, The Travel Addicts, South Island)

Hang gliding from the Remarkables