03/23/17- The day is here. Ten months we have waited to take this trip to New Zealand and Australia. This will be my fifth continent now and quite an adventurous one. Our flight leaves at 11:10pm and thankfully it is a non-stop flight to Auckland. Thirteen hours in a plane will be trying but nothing we haven’t experienced before.
We leave our place a little after 7pm to meet up with our friend, Marlene, who is going with us. At the airport we meet up with our other friend, Miza. A two and a half week journey consisting of four people will be interesting, but I am looking forward to it.
Our flight leaves on time without a hitch.
03/25/17- If you haven’t noticed, it appears I skipped a day in this blog. To explain briefly, the time difference between Los Angeles and Auckland is +20 hours, thus completely skipping over Friday.
Our flight wasn’t bad at all. Free food and movies always help and we flew in the new 787 Dreamliner with American Airlines (through Qantas). I also kept asking for the free jack and cokes the whole flight and ended up with six bottles and six cans (all of which I took with me for later). We land in Auckland around 8:10am and sped through customs and getting our bags. Marlene actually flew on a different airline than us and arrived thirty minutes earlier. We fumbled around a bit trying to find an ATM that worked and then purchased our tickets for the Skybus to take us into town.
Once in Auckland City, we begin our walking journey towards our hotel. The map on my phone states it would be faster to go through the park, but it doesn’t say how much of an incline it would be. Needless to say, with all of our luggage in tow the ten minute journey took twice that. Sweating through our clothes and tired from the walk, we arrive at our AirBNB at 11am and are able to check into our room shortly after. We originally were told we could only store our bags as they weren’t done cleaning, however, within ten minutes of arriving the guy finished allowing us to get our stuff together before going back out to explore.
First stop was for food. There were several modern options available and we chose Burger King. Why, because it was quick and familiar. Right after, we hit the pavement and scour the souvenir shops. At first there wasn’t much to find, until we turned around and headed towards the beach. There we saw several of them lined down the road and were able to grab some pretty cool stuff. We then continue on to the pier to check out the water views. The weather held up nice, settling in at about 70 degrees with clear skies. We toyed with the notion of going up the Sky Tower, but our minds were exhausted.
We rest at the hotel for a brief moment before finding a decent Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. Marlene had to go back out as she left her souvenir bag somewhere. Luckily a person a Starbucks had it behind the counter when she returned to ask for it. Very, very fortunate. Once we got back to our hotel again we stayed up to a decent hour to familiarize ourselves with the time change and then got some much needed sleep.
03/26/17- Sleeping in, we wake up pretty refreshed and ready for a new day. My legs were aching from our first day of walking around, but with newfound rejuvenation I am ready to go.
As we walk outside we see the storm clouds looming. Even though the sun is out we know it won’t last long. Seeing this, walk back to the main road of Queen Street and find a Denny’s. This place was a bit different than we are use with the menu items. There is even a bar inside, which is quite odd. Going light, we all order something small to hold us over.
After we eat, we walk down the street to the Sky Tower. We still were in the non-rain window, so the view from high above turned out to be favorable. The tower itself reminded me a lot of the one in Toronto and actually this whole area has that familiar feel to it. We spend about an hour up top before checking out the gift shop and going back outside. By this time the rain is starting, hitting hard enough for us to take our umbrellas out.
A block away we run into something called Sky Screaming. It’s a row of three seats attached a large bungee cord that shoots you straight up into the air at high speeds. The initial fling was extremely exhilarating, but it was soon followed by a few more bounces which made the ride and price worth the while. Best part was the photo slide of us during the ride and a complete video given to us on a flash drive. What an awesome experience that was.
Figuring out something else to do, as Auckland is not really a large city, we decide to try and hire an uber to take us to the War Museum. Unfortunately the internet on our phones was going pretty slow, which didn’t allow us to call one over and with the rain and more adventures to come we thought better to just go back to the hotel for the night. Luckily we have a nice hot tub to enjoy, which is exactly what we did. We also got our bags ready for tomorrow as we check out early. I am getting a rental car at 8am to see more of New Zealand our way.
03/27/17- Day began smoothly. Walked about six minutes to Apex rental car and was first in line to get me car at 8am. I was concerned for this for a few reasons. Firstly, we have a three hour drive to our destination today and need to be there by noon. Secondly, this is the first time I’ve ever driven on the left side of the road.
After getting everything set up for the car, the first thing I did was walk to the American driver side of the car and opened the door. Realizing quickly this is not the driver side here, I quietly placed my bag into the seat and quickly went to the correct side hoping nobody saw me. I could imagine people inside the glass area laughing at me about this.
Then the challenge happens and somehow I passed with ease. All I really needed to do was concentrate a little harder and it was a piece of cake. It was quite strange to navigate, however. The key placement and pedals are similar, but of course the shifter is on the left side. What I wasn’t prepared for is the turn signal being on the opposite side as well. I kept hitting the wipers every time I wanted to change lanes.
Pulled up to the hotel for all of us to load up our stuff and was on our way. First stop was to Waitomo Caves. All three of us had tickets for the first cave that lasted about an hour. Wasn’t a bad experience and enjoyed the photos I was able to get. After this Sharece and I split up from Miza and Marlene as we dropped them off down the road to finish up their three cave tour, while we went to another location to do Cave Abseiling.
Sharece and I make it to the lobby area around 2:30pm and were soon shuttled to the cave entrance. While driving that thirty minutes it rained heavily as well as thundered. But in no time it stopped as the sun came shinning out once more.
Instantly, we put on our gear and go through a safety demonstration. Soon after we walk a bit to the platform where we will be abseiling down into the Lost World cave 100 meters (which is roughly 33 building stories deep). It was quite a trip suspending in air that high off the ground, but strangely enough the cables turned our brains off from the fear factor.
On the way down, there were times when my hair got stuck in the gears or our mid sections were hurting from the tight harness, but overall it was a pretty nice experience. Once we got down though we were extremely impressed. There was green everywhere and the view back up was simply breathtaking.
Over the course of the next few hours we journeyed deep into the cave, climbing over wet rocks and enjoying the views. Our two guides took plenty of pictures of us and since it was just us, we enjoyed a private tour. Very nice! The pain was going back up. There was a steel ladder that we had to take that literally killed every muscle we had. Other than that, it was amazing.
We meet back up with the other girls around 7pm and have dinner at a local restaurant nearby. The food was a bit on the expensive side but extremely good with duck, lamb and local foods. They even had a very good port wine.
Using our car GPS, we find the trek to our next hotel was still about an hour and a half away. Close to 9pm Sharece realized that our check-in time was listed as 9pm being the latest. We tried to call them on our cell phones to tell them we are still an hour out, but the call wouldn’t go through. We ended up stopping in a nearby town and was able to get a store nearby to call local for us. Needless to say we had no problems after that.
What an awesome and tiring day. I wouldn’t change this day for the world. Was able to knock a few things off my life list I made for myself and the timing of everything couldn’t have been better.
03/28/17- Woke up early again to catch our 8:45am tour of Hobbiton. Still having the rental car, we check out of our hotel and drive to their parking lot with about ten minutes to spare. It wasn’t long before we board a bus to go deep into the farm to the set of the Lord of the Rings.
We booked the first tour to avoid large crowds and thankfully the sky was a nice clear blue with no rain in sight. We were all able to move around freely, even staying behind from our tour guide to get extra photos. The entire tour lasted about two hours, but it was informative with great views of the vast area.
At the end of the tour, we were given a drink at the tavern and shuttled back to the ticket office. I expected to see more people dressed up like the characters from the movie, but I guess there were no real fanatics on this day. After checking out the gift shop we decided to get in the car and continue our journey to Rotorua. This took about an hour and seemed like a decent place to finish off the day. The city itself was quite nice to view and upkept. We strolled around the natural springs area (sulfur smell and all), and grabbed a few souvenirs, before traveling back towards Auckland Airport for our hotel.
Overall, it was a good travel day but long on driving. The views from the countryside were beautiful. Yesterday there were dark clouds around but today was a different story. Almost had an Ireland feel to it. We filled up our tank as it was about empty and it costs roughly $75 USD. Can’t believe how expensive gas is in other countries. We finish off the night by ordering out for pizza and rest up for our early flight to Queenstown tomorrow.
03/29/17- Left the hotel at 7am and dropped off our rental car at Apex. It took longer than expected as there was traffic on the road, but as soon as we arrived there was a shuttle just pulling up to take us to the airport terminal. Didn’t take us long to check-in and at security they even let Sharece bring her full water bottle through. When Sharece asked about it they stated, “No worries, this is domestic not international.” Interesting!
The flight was bumpy getting out of Auckland but settled down quickly after for the rest of the flight. Took an hour and a half before landing in Queenstown around 11:20am. The views from the sky were amazing. I can’t wait to explore what this area has to offer. We deplane, grab our bags and find a taxi to take us to our AirBNB. Our room wasn’t clean yet, so we left our belonging and walked into town. Took about ten minutes downhill, which means the walk back will not be friendly.
Spent a few hours taking in the views of the lake as well as eating lunch at a hot spot place called FergBurger. The line for this was out the door, but the food was excellent and we managed to find an indoor seat. We ordered the steak burger which was an actual steak on a bun and it was delicious.
Afterwards, we purchased a voucher to do ziplining tomorrow which consists of taking a gondola (sky tram) up onto the top of the mountain. This should be very interesting. It starts at 10am and I still have to pick up our rental car at 8am, so hopefully things go smoothly from there.
Hitting a few souvenir shops and doing some grocery shopping, we decide to take the dreaded walk back to our BNB. The uphill climb was quite taxing on our legs, but we were able to make it. Thankfully this may be the last time we actually do this walk as our rental should be in play from now on. Finished the night by making omelet’s for dinner and resting up for tomorrow.
03/30/17- Another early morning, this is becoming a theme. Walked about twenty minutes to get the rental car at Apex and then drove over to the SkyWay (Gondola) which takes you up to the top of the mountain. We got there just as they opened so parking was not an issue to find. The Skyway however did cost us $33 NZD which I thought was quite steep for a once round trip ticket. Especially since there is nothing to really do up there accept for a few activities.
We get to the top and take in the views, which were actually quite impressive. Then we find the treehouse where we were to meet up for the zipline tour. This is my first time ever doing something like this so I have no idea what to expect.
We get harnessed up and go through the instructions on how to properly zip through. Before we know it we are barreling down the line from one treehouse station to the next. It last maybe ten seconds for the first one which wasn’t too bad. By the time we got to the second station we were given instructions on how to make it more interesting. The guide showed us how to do the upside down Spiderman pose which I nailed. That made it interesting. Although I did pinch a muscle in my shoulder for a spell, but it didn’t last long, thankfully.
The last two zips had a better view of the town which I tried to capture by video. I wanted to take photos, but my professional camera was not recommended to take along with me and my other camera was not very good at what I wanted. Either case, it was a fun experience.
Once we finished, we had to hike back up the mountain (as we stopped half way down) to grab our belongings. We then take the gondola back down and drive our rental car to a parking spot. Many of them were full by this time, but I was able to find parking next to the library for free.
Checking up on the photos that were taken by the zip company, we found they were not ready yet, so we found a place to eat which served some pretty good food. Finally, we check out the photos and I for one was not very happy with the look of them nor the price. Skipping this option, we headed back to the hotel.
A few hours of rest later, we decide to check out a taco place in town. Again, we drive and find free parking and walk the kilometer to the restaurant. The prices were a bit steep at $7 NZD per taco, but they were actually quite tasty. Across the street, there was a wine tasting place that was pretty unique. They had the bottles on tap where you inserted a card and poured your own glass. Never even heard of such thing.
03/31/17- Left this morning around 9am for Milford Sound (not before seeing a beautiful sunrise from our BnB. The drive to get there is suppose to be about four hours each way, but we stopped half way at a town called Te Anau for lunch. There wasn’t many places open at that time as apparently most of the tourist were on their tours. We found a pretty decent Chinese restaurant and enjoyed their sweet and sour chicken.
We continue the drive and had to stop several times as the views were plentiful. Mountains, trees, lakes, everything was just so awesome to take in. We even hit a tunnel that went through a mountain that was about 1 kilometer long. It’s only one lane, so each side of the traffic had to wait six minutes for the other cars to get all the way through. The entire drive had some nice views where we pulled over a few times to get some shots.
Finally, we reach the main ticket center. Parking for cars was a bit before, but we missed it. Instead of turning around (as it was raining a little), I decide to run inside to check in as our boat was to leave in about twenty minutes. During this time I find out that our boat was cancelled, but we were rescheduled onto another boat that turned out to be better. Hey, I’m not complaining about that. We even were allowed to park in the employee parking area as that boat was minutes away from debarking.
The boat trip was okay, but it did have its surprises. It was very foggy so it obscured most of the views, but the rain from earlier created some nice waterfalls from the mountains that spewed over onto the front of the boat. Needless to say many of us got soaked. The tour lasted a bit over two hours and soon we were back on the road to our BNB. Strangely, there weren’t any souvenir option there but we found one back at Te Anau on the way home. We finally get back to Queenstown around 9pm, a full twelve hours since we left, and immediately hit up FergBurger again for another round.
04/01/17- Leaving Queenstown was quite difficult as we got so use to our view from our BNB. But check-out was approaching and we still needed to drive three hours to Mount Cook. The cleaning crew actually showed up an hour before our normal check-out time which was quite odd, but we were about ready to leave anyhow.
The drive was another example of how much I love New Zealand. It was like Kansas at times but photoshopped with mountains in the backdrop. The sun was shining brightly allowing the blue sky to peak around the clouds, and the lake views had the truest colors of blue and turquoise I’ve ever seen. Of course, pulling off the side of the road at times was a must. We even stopped at a wine tasting vineyard along the way, which helped break up the drive.
We make it to Mount Cook and of course it is raining. The dark clouds above take away from the views, but it was still nice to see (just not spectacular as I imagine it could be). We make it to the information center around 3pm and ask the guy behind the counter where the best views would be for a day like today. He immediately pointed us in the direction of Tasman Lake where we could see glaciers on the tops of the mountains. Setting our course, we arrive there within fifteen minutes. Along the way, the rain that was falling gave out a beautiful rainbow.
At the lake, Sharece and Miza stayed back in the car as Marleen and I hiked up the stairs to the top to get some views. It didn’t disappoint as the weather seemed to clear up and the sun popped back out. On the way down I found a few boulders that I just had to climb to get some great shots of me on top of them.
Finally, we make our way to our hotel which was another hour away at Lake Tekapo. Check-in was easy and the motel was literally right off the lake. I had to go out right away to get some shots before the sun came down. We then searched for a place to eat in the strip, but nothing appealed to us. There was a supermarket though in which we bought some food for tonight and for the next few days.
We ended the night by going outside to view the stars. The lights are very low out allowing us to see a whole galaxy out there. It literally made you feel so small. There were also little bunnies bouncing around us that made the experience seem so magical. What a great way to end yet another day of this journey.
04/02/17- Checked-out of the hotel at 10am and walked down the path towards the old church that was nearby. The weather was absolutely perfect with bright blue skies again and puffy clouds. It was also back up to around 75 degrees so shorts was a must for me.
The church was beautiful and the view from the inside windows overlooking the lake was worth peeking in for. We then go around the lake, hopping on large rocks in the water to get some nice shots of us standing on them. We walked back up to the hotel and I jumped inside of our motel room to use the bathroom real quick. On my way out, the housekeeper started giving me problems about being in there after check-out. I told her I wanted to double check the room for a moment to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind. Pretty strange to get attitude from a housekeeper that way, but oh well.
Afterwards, we drove up towards the top of a nearby mountain to view the town from the observatory. It cost $8 to enter per car, but the views did not disappoint. Once up there, I jumped on top of a huge rock and had several pictures taken of me as I jumped into the air. Other tourists around watched and gawked as they started doing the same thing. Thanks to me, I was able to help others get some cool shots of their own.
When we were done, we set our GPS to Chistchurch which ended up being a three hour drive. We arrive at the hotel around 3:30pm and were not impressed at all with how it looked. Apparently, we thought we were booking one hotel (which I looked up all the reviews for) and didn’t realize I booked another hotel under the same exact name, a few blocks away. I have a feeling this place does this on purpose to lure in travelers that way. The owner thought we booked this for only two people, and I was not about to pay extra for the other two with us. So we snuck in without being seen. If somehow he happens to figure it out over the next few days we’ll deal with it then.
With not much to do as the city seemed to shut down early, and with a full day tomorrow here, we decided to rest up for the rest of the day. We did find a grocery store nearby to gather a few things for tomorrow.
04/03/17- Felt good to sleep in, even though the bed we slept on was not comfortable at all. There was some rainfall that blanketed the city in clouds, so no blue skies today. With today being our only day here, and our last day in New Zealand, we decided to venture out and see what the town had to offer.
We drove a few blocks to the cathedral and looked for parking. I say looked because it was almost impossible to find. There were a few lots that we went through with absolutely no open spaces available. We ended up parking on the street with only an hour window for $3. Down the street we find a souvenir shop before heading towards the cathedral, only to find it completely under construction. Apparently, it was heavily damaged in the earthquake they had in 2011. Continuing down the street, the whole area seemed to be in repair.
Getting back to our car ten minutes late, we were able to feed the meter for another hour so we could check out Victoria Park. As we walked around we found this area to be inaccessible as well. With the day still ahead of us, we drive a few more blocks over to see the Botanic Gardens. Again, we are faced with parking problems. We find one tucked away between houses (which was odd) and paid $11 for the day (As it was $3.60/hour). Right after I paid and retrieved the receipt, I saw another receipt there that someone left that was good for the rest of the day as well. I could have got the parking for free, but oh well.
We found this place to be a very nice stroll with many different types of plant life. Best of all, it was completely free to roam. There was even a mock version of an airplane cockpit there in which you could sit inside of.
After spending some time seeing ducks playing and taking pictures of flowers and trees, we walk inside the visitor center to check out the gift ship. When we leave to go back outside we find the rain coming down heavier, and the cold rolling in. It was here that we ducked inside the museum (which was also free of charge).
With tired legs, we find a pizza place nearby. But when we get there we find it to be closed down. After walking back to our car, we find a New York pizza place before returning back to our motel for the night. What an awesome ten days in New Zealand. Our flight tomorrow is super early, 6:15am.
04/04/17- A crazy morning, and I do not use that word lightly. Woke up at 3am to what I thought was a fire alarm, but turned out to be Marlene’s phone alarm. It flashed on and off several times and beeped very loud. Needless to say I was wide awake at that time, which was a good thing too because it allowed me to check my email to find that our direct flight to Sydney had been cancelled.
I called Virgin Australia to see what can be done and the best they could do was book us on separate flights that had layovers. Apparently the cancelled flight had a mechanical failure and was still in Sydney and they didn’t have enough room for us to be on morning flights. Seeing how Christchurch was under construction everywhere we went and the fact that we didn’t want to take a day away from Sydney, we decided to keep the new itinerary and check in at the airport.
I set the GPS for the APEX car rental return and it took me around twice down the wrong way on a one way street. Thankfully, at this early time there are no other cars on the road. It literally looked like a ghost town. We make it to the return area in twenty minutes only to find the gate locked. I honked several times but without anyone noticing. I then recheck my email and find that the afterhours return is another three kilometers away. It doesn’t take long for us to get to this new area and were glad to be able to drop the car off quickly with a shuttle arriving moments later.
Once we get to the check-in counter for our flights, I stand in the customer service line only to be told again that there are not any seats available on any of the morning flights. We were stuck with out separate layovers. We then were shuffled to another line to check in and realized our schedule. Miza’s new flight left at 6am and had a layover in Auckland, arriving in Sydney around 10:30am. Sharece, Marlene and I left at 6:10am and had our layover in Melbourne. From there Marlene was to board a 10am flight to Sydney arriving an hour after Miza, while Sharece and I had a flight leaving at 11am arriving at 12:20pm. There was also a small issue with Marlene’s visa for Australia and once that was fixed we had to rush through security to make it to our gate in time.
Phew! Now that was said, our three flight to Melbourne was actually quite smooth and through Air New Zealand. On board, I asked if there were any accommodations they could make and they hooked us up with free movies and alcohol. At least we got that to pass our time. Went through customs without a hitch, although I did ask for a stamp and apparently they do not do that anymore. That kinda sucked. Would have been nice to add a fifth continent to my passport.
The second flight last an hour and when we landed in Sydney it was beginning to rain. After landing we met back up with Miza and Marlene, who arrive not long before we did, and purchased train tickets to take us to our BNB in Central Sydney. During the ride, the rain started to really pour down. We were getting concerned that we would have to walk the block to our hotel from the train station that way. Yet by the time we arrived, the rain had stopped.
We find the hotel quickly and walk in to find the cleaning lady still working on the place. So we leave our bags and walk the town with our destination being the Sydney Opera House. Technically, all we wanted to do today was see it from a distance, so we walked the Harbour Bridge and saw some spectacular views of it and the city. Incredibly tired, Sharece and I take the train back to our stop and do a little shopping at the grocery store to make homemade spaghetti.
So happy to finally be here in Sydney and can’t wait for the next few days of exploring. Already we got a taste of the culture by seeing some long beaked bird prancing around the park areas. Hopefully we get a chance to see kangaroos as well.
Continued- Went back out for night shots of the Opera House and was very happy. Also, to top the night off, the fire alarm in the building went off while I was in the shower. Everyone had to evacuate with fire trucks outside. I did what I normally would do… got dressed, grabbed my camera and took some pictures.
04/05/17- Had a good night’s sleep. Cooked some omelet’s and left our BNB around 12:30pm. This time we walked through the city and straight to the Sydney Opera House for a close up view. After hitting up a few souvenir shops, in which I found a nice boomerang for our wall, we go inside to find the ticket price quite high. $37 Australian for an hour tour where you can’t even take photos. Didn’t seem like much of a deal, so we wandered around the park area that was close by before walking back into the city center to see the Tower.
The city itself reminds me a little of New York. Many business people walking around, yet nobody seems to be in a hurry. There is also a ton that reminds me of London as things are named after the same streets. Even their money has Queen Elizabeth II on it.
So, we go up into the tower and there is not much to it. The light from the windows reflects on many of the photos taken making it quite annoying. You can’t even really see the bridge at all and the Opera House is completely hidden from sight. Either case, it was an interesting experience and the 4D movie was a nice touch at the beginning.
We get back to the BNB and make some homemade tacos. After a bit of rest I venture back out to check up on the Opal card to use tomorrow on the trains and stumble upon a place offering free wine tasting. I text Sharece (who was back at the BNB) and met up to enjoy a few glasses and mingle with others. It was suppose to be for managers to try different kinds of wine and alcohol but they allowed us to enjoy it as well.
I then continue back to the Opera House for some night shots of that and the Harbour Bridge. Overall, my feet are aching and so glad I am back resting for the night.
04/06/17- Our last day in Sydney which we started off by making homemade omelets.. Since we walked around the town the past two days we decided to purchase an Opal Card to use towards transportation and take the train to Featherdale Wildlife Center. We left around 8am to get there early and it took over an hour traveling (including a bus). But the ride was pretty smooth and very easy to navigate.
We pay to get into the park (which was $31 Australian each), buy our $2 cup of feed and are immediately met by baby kangaroos looking for food. We spent quite a bit of time feeding them right out of our hands and taking pictures. It was very unreal and quite cool at the same time. We did have to maneuver around groups of Chinese tourist that littered the area, but we made due.
Next up was the koala bears. They were very cute as some of them were sleeping in the trees. But what we were most interested in was taking our picture with one. They had a stand set up for this very thing (cost $20 but well worth it). I even got to pet it as it ate. Continuing on we saw Tasmanian Devils, Wallabies, Wombats and other rare mammals and birds that we don’t see at all back in the States.
After a few hours we left to go back to the city center and ate at a Japanese restaurant. Very good noodles that filled us up. Then we hit the BNB for a bit to relax the day off. Around 5pm, Sharece and I wanted to explore a bit more of the city, so we headed to the wharf and took a ferry out on a round trip. We caught the sun setting over the city on the way out and the nightfall on the way back. Truly an incredible way to spend our last night here together.
04/07/17- I have an odd feeling about leaving Sydney. On one hand I feel we did what we wanted to accomplish (I mean there are only so many times you can see the Opera House), but on the other hand the atmosphere did feel nice. Sharece and I were able to spend a few nights ourselves and enjoy the ambience. But, a trip is a trip and it’s time to make our way out.
We leave our BNB around 7:30am and take the train to the airport. Upon exited, Sharece’s Opal card didn’t allow her to leave and the attendant stated she must have not tapped the card on the other side and wanted us to pay $10 to allow her out. This was a poor excuse as the machine would not have allowed her, with luggage, to enter the station if she didn’t tap it. Secondly, this lady was a real bitch and no amount of talking was going to solve this. I stayed calm, gave her my credit card and told her I would be disputing this charge for their incompetence.
In either case, we made it to the terminal with plenty of time. The flight itself was nice as they fed us and showed a movie (not individual screens though- just the overhead ones). Three hours later we land in Cairnes.
The weather was rainy which has me a bit concerned over what to expect over the next few days. Hopefully, our plans work out the way we hoped it would. At least we have had a great two weeks so far.
We pay for a shuttle (with return) which takes us straight to our apartment. I did have to walk about nine minutes to their office to check in while it rained on and off. But the place itself is nice and very spacious. Only issue so far is the air conditioner in our room doesn’t work, which is not good considering the weather is about 90 degrees and the humidity is also around 90.
Despite the drizzle of rain, we decided to walk the town and find some food to eat. After several choices we landed in a burger place that was quite good. Then we walked around searching souvenir shops and grabbing some snacks at the grocery store before retiring back to our apartment.
So far, not quite what we expected but hopefully tomorrow at the reef will be much better.
04/08/17- The Great Barrier Reef. One of those wonders that you hear in grade school and we get to do that today. Very excited to get this day started.
We leave our hotel at 7am and walk about fifteen minutes to the pier. After checking in, we remove our shoes due to safety concerns on the boat, are given our gear and shown to our seats on the boat. One piece of gear is a sting-ray suit as it is to protect us from those and jelly fish. We were also given snorkel gear and fins.
They feed us breakfast sandwiches and then have a safety briefing while the boat takes off for the reef. When I say takes off I mean it moves very fast… for over an hour. So much so that most of everyone on board was sitting at the far back of the boat (outside the main tables) with barf bags. The waters were extremely choppy as the wind was quite strong. At least the sun was out making it a beautiful day. I’m just happy I was able to hold it together.
Our scuba diving intro was not until later as we were the last group, so we ventured out into the ocean to snorkel. The water was very warm (about 88 degrees) but the wind was still crazy. We jumped out into the blue and immediately were ushered back past the boat. We had to constantly fight our way forward to stay ahead of the boat or else they would whistle at us. It almost felt like we were invading Normandy the way we were thrown into this craziness. Needless to say we did not see any coral at this firstlocation.
After a bit in the water, we make our way back inside and wait for our scuba time. Once up, Marlene and Miza decided not to do it so it was just Sharece and I. Again, we get our gear on which includes a tank and slowly go into the water and down the ladder. Being underwater with a full breathing tank was very strange for me. My first attempt I felt like I wasn’t getting the breathing right so I popped back up to the surface. While I was getting the hang of it, the instructors helped Sharece down.
Feeling confident, I made a second attempt. I get myself to the lower stair and was asked to do a few safety checks on my mask and such. Again, I felt overwhelmed and went back up. On my last attempt, I managed to swim around for a bit and captured a few pictures of Sharece, but that was it for me. My body and mind is just not made for being underwater for long periods of time. I mean swimming is easy as I can pop up anytime I wish, but being confined for more than a minute or two doesn’t agree with me. I will say that I am very proud of Sharece for doing her first dive and handling it like a boss. She even got to pet and swim with a sea turtle. She was vey ecstatic about this.
Once done, we were fed lunch and then the boat moved to the other side of the coral and this proved to be much better. The water was still wavy but at least you can actually see the coral and sea life up close. Sharece did get a few bumps and scraps but had a blast as Miza joined her for quite some time.
3pm now and it was cheese and wine time before they headed back to shore. The ride back was still choppy but not nearly as harsh as before. Overall, it was a great experience. I wish the wind wasn’t so strong, but hey we swam the Great Barrier Reef and survived. A bucket list item for sure.
Tired from the long day, we head back to the apartment. Sharece and I ventured out for a short walk and for food and settled on an all-you-can-stuff-on-a-plate dinner. The food wasn’t very good but at least it was filling.
Tomorrow will be our last day on this trip to spend.
04/09/17- Our check out was supposed to be at 10am, but we were able to extend it to noon as our flight out was not until 5pm. I checked the reception of the apartment to see if they would hold our luggage, but they were closed (due to it being Sunday I guess). We ended up having to take our luggage a few blocks to the main office for them to hold.
Feeling hungry we start looking for a place to eat when we end up finding a pizza place. With the temperature being quite hot today, it was nice that this place was air conditioned. We ordered a margherita pizza which was okay and while the girls sat and rested, I took off to grab some photos around the area showing off the nice blue sky. During the walk, I saw a guy fishing who caught a sting ray by mistake. It took a bit before they found a safe way to get it off the line and toss it back in.
3pm comes by quite fast as we retrieve our bags and wait for our pre-paid shuttle to the airport. Once there, we check in for our flight and are surprised to see us being one of the only ones in line. Apparently ninety minutes before a domestic flight is early around here. Security was a breeze as they even allowed us to bring water through.
The flight was nice with our own movie screen and a meal. I am beginning to love Qantas Airlines. The interesting part happened over halfway through the flight as the captain came on stating due to weather in Sydney we were going to be delayed in the air for a half an hour. Looking at the flight map I saw the plane doing several loops mid flight to delay its approach. We landed without an issue and the rain wasn’t much at all so not sure what weather they were talking about.
Once we landed I asked the airline to call our hotel to confirm we were arriving as it had listed a 9pm latest check-in time. One of the ladies at Qantas told me that due to cancelled flights they have been sending passengers there, so their desk should definitely be open later. Perhaps it was the wind that is causing cancellations with flights. I’m just glad we were able to land under the radar.
After getting our luggage, we find a taxi to take all four of us to the hotel. At first he didn’t want to take us since it was around the corner (and most likely was hoping for a bigger fare). We thought about walking but decided against it when we felt the rain a bit and of course not knowing exactly where the hotel is. Turned out the hotel was quite a distance away and would have probably taken us a half an hour to get to with our luggage (and that’s if we didn’t get turned around). The driver was actually not happy the whole ride trying to tell us how easy it would have been to walk. Uggghhhh no!
We get checked in to the hotel without a hitch only to have the power shut off at 10pm. It looks like they are doing power maintenance in the area which includes the hotel. The backup power is enough for essentials and charging but not much else. The internet also comes with a charge if $9 for only two hours (stupid Holiday Inn). I opted to use my phone for that and not pay.
Our last night on this trip. Tomorrow we fly back home.
04/10/17- Our final morning is here. Woke up about 6am from a fairly comfortable bed. Around 4am the lights from the power turned back on startling me for a bit. That was fun!
Boarded the hotel shuttle to the airport. Paid $6 each. Luckily the hotel never found out there were four of us as that would have cost me another $80. I still do not understand fully why it cost that much more to add people to a room in which you are not asking any more accommodations on.
We left Marlene at check-in as her flight was two hours later than ours. The rest of us continued on through security where I was stopped for having a fake bullet necklace souvenir in my bag. They had to run it through a few times to make sure. Finally we boarded the plane heading straight for LAX. There was about a twenty minute delay but nothing crazy. We were fed our meals and watched our movies the entire flight. Right now we are flying over the international dateline and the equator so that is interesting. North America, here we come.
This flight is not as smooth as the others. Unsure if there are high winds around the Pacific today or not, but to the crew it seems routine. I think I liked the Dreamliner 787 better, but as long as it gets us to LAX safely I don’t really care.
The rest of the flight was okay, despite turbulence here and there. Once we landed, we breezed through customs as it was only 6:30am and was ready for our pickup by 7:30am. It’s still strange to leave on a plane at a certain time and arrive at your destination earlier. That full 24 time difference is crazy.
The trip in general was fantastic. New Zealand with all of the activities was definitely a highlight, but it was very nice to see all parts of this new world. In ever did check to see if the toilet did indeed flush the opposite direction. Maybe next time. Loved the accents and everything about the lifestyle. The driving part is what I am most proud of myself.
Completed our 5th continent now. Next up will have to be South America in some fashion. Maybe a trip to Machu Picchu.
END OF BLOG
