Northland

Spring is on its way and the days are beginning to get warmer and longer.
It is still very strange to me that the further north we travel the warmer it becomes and a north wind is warm, but a south-west wind is cold! We came across a sun-dial with the clock numbers going around anti-clockwise to read the right time of day!

We are now in the Northland staying at Paihia. There are lots of interesting things to see and do in this area. We have visited a forest of giant kauri trees. Giant kauris, many over 1000 years old used to cover this area of New Zealand but were cut down at the end of the 1800's and early 1900's and the wood used for furniture, houses and boats. The amber coloured kauri gum was also much sought after for ornaments and jewellery.

We have come across a lot of Maori culture in this area. We went on a wonderful bus tour along 90 Mile Beach. The bus driver was Maori and entertained us all in Maori songs, stories and history along the way. There is an official highway that goes along the beach, tides permitting. It was a great day, miles of golden sand and blue sea stretching as far as the eye can see and further. Then it was on to Cape Reinga, one of the northern points of New Zealand and especially interesting because it is the meeting point of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific, and it's possible to see where they meet! Our last stop was at a Gumdiggers Park and we learnt that gumboots came by that name by the gumdiggers who wore them daily for work!

A couple of weeks spent in Auckland. Time to get ourselves set up, buy a second hand car and see a few of the sights.
Auckland is a city built on volcanoes! The last one erupted 6oo years ago, so we reckoned we would be safe! A short steep climb to the top of some of these give wonderful views over the city.

The city skyline is dominated by Sky Tower, it's impossible to miss it! It was built in the 1990's and boasts to be the tallest structure of the southern hemisphere. It has an excellent revolving restaurant and an observation deck which has glass flooring in places - quite scary to look down to ground level from this height!

A short ferry ride away from the city is Waiheke Island, an escape from city life, with beautiful sandy beaches, rolling hills and country lanes.

To the west lie the Waitakere Ranges with walks and trails through the bush and black sandy beaches renowned for great surfing. The day we visited the tide was out and no-one was riding the waves!

It has been great to explore the city and surrounding areas, now we are heading north for a few days.

South Australia

I have spent a few days with Ann, a friend I met whilst we were on assignment in Raleigh, North Carolina way back in 1983. She and her husband were also wanderers in a foreign land at the time. We hadn't seen each other for 25 years! It was very special to meet up with her and re-kindle our friendship. Ann lives an hours drive from Adelaide, at Victor Harbor. It was wonderful to spend time with her, to see her home and to sample some of the local delights. For the first time I had kangaroo which was very tasty!

We caught the Cockle Train to Goolwa complete with bikes. We cycled 22 kms back to Victor Harbor along the Encounter Bikeway and enjoyed spectacular coastal scenery, colourful spring flowers and were entertained by a southern right whale and her
calf as we ate our lunch overlooking the sea. It was amazing!

Another day we stroked koalas and fed kangaroos.The kangaroos were very inquisitive and especially delightful, and it was a wonderful experience to
have them come up to us in their gentle way.

We had a wonderful time catching up together! Thank you Ann!

The Outback

A 3 ½ hour plane ride brings us to Alice Springs and we’re in the heart of the outback. We journey to Kings Canyon. The distances are huge along roads that stretch into the distance as far as the eye can see. Occasionally we see another vehicle and many drivers give us a wave to relieve the boredom, but we travel hundreds of kms with no sign of civilisation. The space is vast, the landscape red soil, desert scrub and outcrops of rock. The sky is deep blue and the temperature hovers around 30 degrees.

Kings Canyon. A 6km walk around the rim reveals the magnificence of the rock formations.

340 kms down the road we come to Kata Tjuta and aboriginal word meaning 'many heads' because of the rock formation.

Our next stop is Uluru. Ayers Rock rises from the desert floor in all its magnificence. A spiritual place of great significance and treasured by the aborigines. We walk around the base of the rock and admire its splendour.

Then it's back to Alice Springs and we leave the Outback covered with the red dust of the desert.

We have arrived in Sydney! It's a great city and we are enjoying exploring some of the wonderful sights the city has to offer.



Sydney Harbour Bridge. We walked across the bridge and climbed up the pylon for some spectacular views.

Some people opt to walk over the top!

On our first night we went to a concert in the Concert Hall of the Opera House. We came all this way to listen to a concert given by the London Philharmonic Orchestra! It was conducted by Vladimir Jurowski and was an excellent concert. The orchestra are giving a series of concerts here all this week.