Australia Part 4... or New Zealand Part 1

The next few days we spent cruising around these Fjords on the coast of New Zealand.  This morning I happened to be in the gym as we were approaching the first, Milford Sound.  It is kind of like driving towards the Rocky Mountains... you see this fjord in the distance, and figure you'll be there in a few minutes.... 2 hours later you get there.  So this is the first picture, taken at around 6:30AM.

See that little space between one mountain and the other mountain?  That is where we are going...

There, that looks like we might be able to fit!

These mountains are 500,000 years old, and the drop is straight down about 500 feet under the water. 

The captain is going to try to get our boat close to this waterfall, so of course we have to stay on deck so we can get sprayed!
This is definitely off course... luckily we hadn't yet seen pictures of the boat in Italy! 

This is about as close as we can get because of the two kayakers (you can kind of see them on the left), so this was a bit anti-climactic. 

I have about 100 pictures of the sounds we visited... Milford, Doubtful. and Dusky Sounds, which are part of Fjordland National Park.  I won't bore you with all of them, but just know it is beautiful!

After two days at sea, crossing the South Pacific and touring the sounds we are ready for some dry land... First stop in NZ... Dunedin.   

It was New Year's Eve, so the city is getting ready for some festivities.

There is always time for a factory tour or two... first stop... Cadbury World.  Inside they don't let you take any pictures... just know that they give out fresh melted chocolate samples in a cup and lots and lots of chocolate bars...

After all of those sweets the kids were feeling hungry, so we stopped at the grocery store to get some fruit and crackers, and saw this... you are never far from home...

Also interesting, you can buy dog food here in packages like cookie dough.  Weird.

Next factory of the day, Speight Brewery.

... where you can use the ladies and paraplegic toilet...

In the early 1900s they were building this factory and one of the architects drew a barrel on the top of the smokestack as a joke.  No one realized the joke until the building was done, and so the barrel is still up there :)

After the tour, you get samples here, too.

As we were walking back we found a place for you to work, Micki, if you ever want to move to Dunedin!

New Zealand is very hilly.  It is sometimes hard to appreciate how steep the roads are!

After chocolate and beer we are ready to head back to a dinner buffet... and ready for our next stop... tomorrow.

Australia Part 3... On the boat

It is Christmas Eve and we are ready to sail.  Our boat, the Celebrity Century is docked in Sydney Harbor, and we are ready to go... by the way, last count there were only 5 XXXXGolds left... not bad...

The view from Deck 11. 

The nice thing about the cruise is they let you on the boat to drop off all of your junk, then the lunch buffet opens up at noon, and since we weren't sailing until 5PM we were able to get back off and walk around some more.  In the back you can see a man playing a digeroo, and the guy behing the kids was playing the drums.  We bought a CD from them the day before, and came back to get a picture.

Back on the boat, this time we are sailing.

You can just make out the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  I love to stand on the deck and watch the scenery... and I was up there long after everyone else had gone down to the pool bar.

Santa had visited us in Daegu before we left for the trip, and we didn't know he would be making a surprise visit to the ship.  He did, and had special gifts for all the good boys and girls...

He also set up cookie decorating and arts and crafts... that guy rocks!

It was supposed to be summer down under, but we were heading further and further south (towards Antarctica) and it was getting colder and colder.  As you can see the deck is deserted.  The air was about 62 degrees, and the water, which comes straight out of the ocean was about 54.  I am the only polar bear on the cruise... of course I about gave myself hypothermia and had to have 3 cups of tea to stop shaking, but it was worth it for the picture :)

Christmas day formal dinner... luckily Santa brought the kids cruise wear!

As R-Man was getting ready he says, "I look like I work in an office... can you take my picture sitting at a desk?"  So we had to FIND a desk... not as easy as you might think on a cruise ship...

Sunset Christmas Day.

Next stop, Melbourne, Australia.  Again, the weather was pretty chilly, and of course I packed totally wrong, again.  We decided we would just get off the boat and walk around. 

Of course sometimes when you do that you wind up in some strange places.  Here we are walking back to the boat, along side of the train tracks.

Check  out the size of these hitchhikers!

The kids were beat, so we dropped them at the kids club and went back into town. 

Merry Christmas!

Our next stop is Burnie, Tasmania.  This place is just so cute!  It seems like the whole town is so friendly.  When you get off the boat there is a whole crew of people that volunteer their time to serve as welcomers, giving out maps, and shooing you to the bus.  They use the school buses to drive you from the port to the town... and there is free wi-fi in the makers market...

Behind the free wi-fi building there is a look-out where you can see a penguin colony.  Of course with our noisy kids we almost NEVER get to see any wildlife... and that still holds true in Burnie...

Although we did see one penguin out here on this rock... we really are far south to see a penguin! 

We loved the beach and digging in the sand... and the wi-fi... did I mention the wi-fi???

Of course, we overdressed and I made the kids take off their pants to play in the sand and water.  At first they were a little shy to be running around in their skivvies, but they got used to it quick... Here R-Man is making up a game.

On our way back to the bus we stop to shop at the Red Cross donation center, and of course to try someTasmanian beer!

Next stop... New Zealand!

Australia Part Two... On the road again...

Next day we are back on the road early in the morning.  We come across this bridge that is just like the bridge at the bottom of Merritt Island... except this is on the major highway connecting Brisbane and Sydney... HA!

The next few shots are just driving down the road...

Kangaroo crossing...

After 12 hours even the most beautiful scenery starts to get boring, and your butt starts getting numb, so we were glad to get to Katoomba and play some Five Crowns...

Katoomba is located in the Blue Mountains of Australia and it is so beautiful... especially in the early morning fog.

We decided to go to see the Three Sisters... however, we are not sure exactly what the Three Sisters are... waterfalls, mountains... we don't know...however, we DO  know they are close...

Climbing down the Long Stairs.

We finally hit 1000 stairs and we are not sure how much further to the Three Sisters or if we have seen it already... we decide to pack it in and get some meat pies.

This is brilliant!  Like chicken pot pie without the chicken or the pot... just meat, fillings and crust... unfortunately there were no kangaroo or koala pies, so we settled for beef and veggie.

After a hearty lunch we decided to visit the Blue Mountains National Park. 

Again, we are looking at 1000s of stairs and hair raising walkways... but it is worth it!

The kids and I decide to walk down further to see this great waterfall... you can kind of get an idea of the perspective of how big this all is... if you look about 2 inches directly above R-Man's head  you can see a miniscule turquoise speck.  Can you see it?  That is Gary. Yup, it is THAT huge! (and that many steps down).

You can see where we are on the map in the next picture...

Hahaha!

Not sure if this is an incentive or a dis-incentive...

On the road, yet again... to Sydney... by the way, there is no P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way.

The Harbor

We are there on the eve of Christmas Eve, and the city and shopping areas are just PACKED! 

We spent two days in the Darling Harbor area and had plenty of time to explore. 

St.Andrew's Cathedral

Town Hall Building

Of course I don't need to tell you what this is called.  It is just as amazing and impressive in real life.  While we were there Angelina Ballerina was on stage.  So cute.

The other side.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge... land side... our next stop... bridge side!

Love this helpful hint.  The funny thing about driving on the wrong side of the street... it makes everything feel chaotic.  Like if you are going to cross the street, how SHOULD you look?  Left, right, left... everyone knows that... but if the cars are coming on the wrong side, you have to look right, left, right, and then left again just in case, because you always end with left... and then right again because that is where the traffic is coming from... and eventually you just break in to a run and pray you don't get hit... phew... unless they just tell you... LOOK RIGHT, ding-dong!

Old school.

Bridge side!

Can you believe this??? $3.20 for a TWIX??? 

Last night in Sydney... and ready for the boat cruise...