Traveling South

When you're in Australia, there isn't much that is directly south of you except for ocean and Antarctica. One short hop south-eastish though are the islands of New Zealand. In 2007 we traveled to Christchurch, Marlborough and Greymouth on the South Island with Larry, Laurie and Heidi. In 2008 we joined Carmen and Jim for a romp around Napier, Rotorua and Auckland on the North Island. You may even be thinking that we'd seen all of New Zealand in those two-plus weeks of travel, but boy would you be wrong as we'd skipped half of the South Island! So now in 2009 it was back to head south-south and see what we could find around the Adrenaline Capital of the World, aka Queenstown. Our itinerary was to fly through Auckland to Queenstown, spend a few days in Wanaka on our own and then meet up with Larry, Laurie and Eric to spend a week around Queenstown, Fiordland and the Gibbston Valley.

Before leaving Australia we first got the chance to learn first-hand how to get an emergency passport from the US Consulate when your original passport doesn't have enough validity to allow you to travel. Interesting, but not something we would like to experience again. We did get to leave the country without too much hassle, just a few more questions in customs than normal. Flight and such in and out of Auckland again was without difficulty and before we knew it we'd picked up our rental car and hit the road for Wanaka. After hearing the tales from Carmen and Jim about their trip through the area we had to see some of the sights for ourselves. Much of the South Island was used in the filming of the Lord of the Rings movies (and now The Hobbit) with the rivers and mountains around Wanaka featured in a number of scenes. Between a beautiful run along the river and a drive up towards the mountains it was easy to picture the hobbits and elves running around (even if the current population is mainly sheep).

The weekend passed quickly and it was time to head back to Queenstown and pick up the rest of the crew. Their flights all went fine (after avoiding volcanoes and blizzards leaving the US) even with rain in Queenstown. We loaded up the van between the rain drops and went to explore downtown. Our first stop was the famous Fergburger for lunch and then much scouting of souvenir shops to continue to avoid the rain drops and try to stay dry. The next day brought more of the same precipitation so we decided to head a couple valleys over to Cromwell and see if the weather improved while getting a start on some Otago Pinot Noir - which luckily it did! This trip was Eric's first 'wine country' experience so we started him off with some education at The Big Picture to get a handle on the area and the aromas that make up various wines. It will probably take him a few more trips to really get into it, but he's got a good start now and it was a little easier due to the high quality wines on offer.

The following day brought more clouds, which canceled our sky diving plans, but did allow us to have an enjoyable drive down to Te Anau and Fiordland. We had planned an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound, which turned out to be a beautiful, quiet and only somewhat rainy adventure. Eric felt right at home out on the water in the fresh breeze and spent most of the trip out on deck taking pictures. We really enjoyed learning more about the Sound's inhabitants from the ship's knowledgeable resident biologist and then seeing them in action! The wildlife was fantastic with dolphins, seals and quite a few birds. With how sheltered the Sound is it was a very smooth night’s sleep and a beautiful sunrise greeted us the next day and followed us all the way back to Te Anau in the afternoon – our first day of no precipitation since picking up Larry, Laurie and Eric!

After all the quiet and solitude, it was time to shake it up the next day so Eric, Kristi and Josh signed up to jump out of a perfectly functional airplane. It seemed to take a really long time for the crew to get ready and for our turn to come, but they did have 90 people signed up that day so it was understandable. We all decided to go as high as they offered, and once we were in the plane it didn’t seem to take long to get to 15,000ft and the door of the plane to open. Eric blinked out of view first followed by Josh taking the plunge and Kristi last out the door. All of us really had fantastic jumps and would go so far as to recommend it to anyone – especially if you have such amazing scenery as Queenstown. There is a reason that they call the mountain range ‘The Remarkables’ – they’re even better when you’re looking down on them!

The actual jumps didn’t take very long at all which meant we still had plenty of time left in the day. We made the most of it and the group took to the skies for an amazing helicopter tour of the area. Our pilot had assisted with some of the filming for Lord of The Rings and was able to point out some of the locations used in the films. We stopped at two alpine lakes, then flew over the Milford Track, Sutherland Falls and out to the Tasman Sea with a stop on the rocky beaches just outside Milford Sound. It was amazing to realise how quickly we were able to get from point to point when we didn’t have to go up and down or around all the mountains and valleys! Our final heli-stop was on top of one of the nearby glaciers – it was super-cool…really, it was freezing cold! Our adrenaline day didn’t end there as we headed back to Queenstown with just enough daylight to hop on a jetboat for some hair-raising thrills rocketing down a little skinny river with some very serious-looking canyon walls whizzing past our heads. With how much Laurie screamed, it was hard to believe that she was actually the one that suggested the activity!

Our adrenaline all used up, it was time to slow things down and really get into the wine of the region. We set up another full day of tasting and again were treated with good weather to sip some fantastic Pinot Noir. Highlights from the day were Chard Farm where we happened upon both some amazing wines as well as a surprise mountain bike race, the cave tour at Gibbston Valley Wines with some fantastic library wines, and a marvellous lunch at Amisfield.

Our final day in New Zealand we celebrated Larry’s birthday with a full day of guided fly-fishing (much to Eric’s delight as well). Being Easter Sunday, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to enjoy the day - the sun was out, the skies were clear, and the water was sparkling (even if the fish weren’t biting). Josh, Kristi and Laurie got some lessons and good practice, while Larry and Eric worked the faster waters. By the end of the day we were all exhausted, but with smiles on our faces!

Our time absolutely flew by and before we knew it we were back at Queenstown airport and it was time to head for home….or so we thought. Qantas had other plans that included a 5hr delay in Queenstown, Larry and Laurie ending up on a different flight back to LA (where they missed their connection to Denver) and Josh and Kristi spending an evening in Auckland after they missed the flight back to Melbourne. Things worked out though, as we did get home the next morning and got the benefit of a complimentary upgrade to business class, which really made up for the stress and lack of sleep that comes with being delayed. We’re working on getting the pictures published in stages, so check out Flickr over the next couple days for the updates.

A Friendly Visitor

It has been busy times for us recently, so now we have much catching up to do. To begin, in mid-March our good friend Shannon came to visit us all the way from Denver. She was here for 12 days, during which we packed in as many 'Aussie' experiences as we could - it was great fun for us to show her the things we like so much about living here! It turned out to be a very rounded experience - nature and wildlife, city life, culture and arts, sport (watching and participating), food and wine (and beer), and even a little time to relax and catch up on life.

The day Shannon arrived we dragged her down to Frankston to see a Cat Empire concert - we just couldn't pass up an opportunity to see our favourite Aussie band live again! Then that weekend we headed down the Great Ocean Road to see the koalas and try our hands at surfing. Shannon was great, a real natural on the surfboard! Josh also enjoyed his time riding the waves, but unfortunately Kristi wasn't quite as coordinated and spent more time under the water than on top of it! But she did manage to get upright a time or two, much to the relief of the instructor. To finish up the weekend we headed back to Melbourne so Josh and Shannon could race in the Gatorate Sprint Triathlon in St. Kilda. It was the last race of the series for this year, and was the largest race to date. Shannon wasn't looking forward to swimming with the ocean fishies, and only afterward learned a shark had been spotted in the bay a week earlier, but she made it out alive and relieved to get on with the race (fortunately she didn't see all of the jellies that Josh got to see during his swim!) Overall it was a beautiful day and they both raced well!

During the week Shannon took in many of the sites of Melbourne. She and Kristi had great fun touring the Carlton Brewery, going on a Chocoholics tour of the Melbourne laneways, getting a fill of art at the NGV and ACCA, taking in the day and night views from the Rialto Tower, wandering around the city, and heading to Philip Island to see the fairy penguins. We also were fortunate to get tickets to the AFL season opener - Tigers vs. Blues. It was a sell-out game so the vibe in the MCG was amazing! Unfortunately the Tigers didn't live up to our expectations, but Shannon was happy to have sided with the Blues early in the match and she cheered them to a massive victory. Shannon also found some time to take a swim at MSAC and a bikeride down Beach Road, and she spent a day on a winery tour in the Yarra Valley.
For Shannon's final weekend in Australia, which was also her birthday weekend, we headed up to Sydney for three days. Again we saw all the sights we could fit in - we did the Bridge Climb at night which gave spectacular views of the city all lit up; we went to the Aquarium, Powerhouse Museum, and Chinese Friendship Gardens; we toured the Opera House, walked through the Botanical Gardens, and enjoyed people watching around Circular Quay; we found a new artist that we all loved at the Museum of Contemporary Art - Yayoi Kusama; we took in views of the city from the Pylon Museum and then rode the ferry to Manly for dinner and a beautiful walk; we watched the lights of Sydney disappear for Earth Hour as we enjoyed a bottle of wine and beautiful chocolate at Guylians; we rode mountain bikes through Olympic Park, swam in the Olympic pool, and took a tour of the Olympic stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies took place; we invested in some amazing artwork before heading to the airport; and in the end we were very, very tired - but happy!

To celebrate new experiences, fond memories and good friends, we enjoyed a final meal at Tjanabi in Fed Square before Shannon headed back State-side. The restaurant specialises in meals focused around native and local produce and game so we were able to try crocodile, eel, kangaroo, wallaby, quandong, and Kakadu plums - and surprisingly we liked them all! It was a great end to the visit!