Farewell NZ!

Tonight we leave Auckland just before midnight and arrive in Hong Kong about 6.30am in the morning.

Preparing for our "That's All Folks" entry, we are busy compiling a best-of and worst-of our adventures and will publish as soon as it's finished!

For now, farewell as we begin our long return journey! Julie, Tim & Emma xxx

Reef Pictures

Not sure what the resolution of these pictures will be like as I've copied them from the internet, but here's a fabulous aerial picture of Lady Musgrave Island. Of course being at sea level we can only see the island itself which doesn't give any impression of how it sits in a coral reef lagooon. Remember this is an hour and a half out to sea, with no other land or islands in sight. And here's a picture of a turtle taken underwater so you can get a better idea of what we saw when we were snorkelling...underwater camera next time!!! :0)

Weekend Walk

On our final Sunday afternoon here in Auckland, the weather cleared and was beautifully sunny so we went on a 5km tramp around a peninsula called Shakespear Park near the seaside town of Orewa. A bit muddy underfoot (thanks to the pudding cows!) but the walk took us up and down dale through farming country, with terrific views of Auckland City and the Coromandel Peninsula; and the islands of Rangitoto, Tiri Tiri Matangi and Great Barrier Island. A stunning finale to our weekend, topped off with a delicious roast beef dinner! Thanks so much to our friends and hosts for making our last few days down-under warm and welcome as always...

Farewell Celebration!

Tonight we had a meal out with our lovely friends Xanthe, Greg, Jessica and Sophia at a Mongolian restaurant. Select your ingredients, sauces and oils and take it to a massive hotplate for the delightful chefs to cook before your eyes...kind of indoor barbeque! Great fun for everyone...

A Koala Ambition Fulfilled

One of the must-do's on our trip to eastern Australia was to visit a Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane called Lone Pine. Emma had an Adoption Certificate for Christmas for a 2 year old Koala girl called Crumpet, and it was our mission to go and meet her.

Here's a picture of Emma cuddling a Koala called Teresa, and a beautiful picture of Crumpet (she wasn't on cuddling duties today!) They have over 130 Koalas at Lone Pine and they work actively with the Australian Koala Association. They're based in a beautiful spot by the river in Brisbane.

From here we headed for the airport and headed back for a final weekend in Auckland...

Some time to chill...

Well, after a hectic few days, from rollercoasters to crocodiles to coral reefs, we decided a chill-out day was in order so we stayed for another night in Caloundra instead of heading for Brisbane. It's a quiet seaside town, weather glorious, seafood gorgeous! Last night we had Moreton Bay Bugs which are a bit like lobsters but look more like woodlice - didn't think about it too hard - they were delicious!! ;0)

Anyway, a lovely shot of the beach which overlooks Pelican Island and hey presto, a Pelican! He was mooching around waiting for the fishing people on the prom to gut their fish & throw the bits back in (nice)....and here's the apartment where we stayed, balcony overlooking the sea...(sigh)

Crikey!

Our penultimate day trip in Australia, the obligatory trip to Steve Irwin's legacy Australia Zoo. Crocodiles. Salties. Tasmanian Devils. Kangaroos. Wallabies. Wombats. Koalas. And all on a massive scale and high-octane.....the Snake and Croc show was big, bold, sleek and professional...and a thoroughly fab day out...

1770

Regular viewers will be thinking that is must be impossible for us to "top" anthing we have been so fortunate to have seen throughout our five months in New Zealand. We too, thought MIlford Sound the ultimate. Not so. For today we snorkelled the Great Barrier Reef............ Sadly we didn't have an underwater camera so there is no account of our encounter. But everything you have ever seen about the Reef is exactly as it is. From Jacques Custeau's early films back in the '70s, the colours and forms of the Reef are truly mind blowing when you are actually there looking down on them.... I consider myself truly lucky having been fortunate enough to have travelled so extensively with both work and holidays, but today has been the most ultimate experience to date. Julie narrates the story from here.... by Tim x

Goodness, today was a big day. We set off from the harbour at a tiny place called "The Town of 1770" - named after Cpt Cook's first landing in Australia. The catamaran left at 8am and we sailed (pretty lumpy) for 90 minutes out into the Pacific ocean. Temp 26 degC, clear blue skies. Our destination; Lady Musgrave Island; a tiny desert island nature reserve, surrounded by a coral reef lagoon. This is the most southerly point of the Great Barrier Reef - it stretches north from here for over 2,000kms.





On arrival we anchored in the lagoon, then off on a glass bottom boat to the island itself. We walked one side to the other (c.10 mins) with a talk about flora and fauna...the amazing thing, a campsite, right in the middle - to use it costs $4 a night although you have to take every conceivable supply with you, water etc.





Back to the boat for a leisurely buffet lunch, we could then don our wetsuits and snorkel gear and get into the water. As the day goes on the tide goes out and the water gets more shallow, and warmer, so the later you snorkel the better. We all went in for a while and were awestruck at the coral, fish, sea-slugs - and just the unrealness of being there! The guy running the glass bottom boat promised us sight of turtles if we went on his next excursion, and we could get dropped off in the lagoon and swim back if we wished, so we did. WE SWAM WITH TURTLES!!! (pro. Turdles)...I still think someone needs to pinch me so I wake up! ;0)





We sailed back taking a slight detour to avoid low-tide in the harbour, which meant we encountered Dolphins and two Humpback Whales on the way back, oh, and a sunset for good measure. Arrived back at the harbour after dark, exhausted, overwhelmed, slept until 10.30am next morning................phew...................this one goes into the record book.

To Paradise...

We decided to make the best use of the few days we had left and went in search of the Great Barrier Reef. Another 500kms north is a lush green belt like a market garden - they grow Sugar Cane, Avocados, Strawberries, Macadamias....the town of Bundaberg is said to be the most consistent climate in Australia, ranging only from 32 degrees to 24. A little further north again and we stayed in a gorgeous seaside town called Agnes Water. We rented a 2 bedroom bungalow (pictured) for 3 nights so we could enjoy the sunshine & beach, and take a trip to the reef...Here's the beach at Agnes Water, a 5 min walk through the bush from our bungalow.

Seaworld

Fab day, 24 degrees and sunny, spent all day at Seaworld. Am exhausted. Loads of lovely things to see - Sharks, Polar Bears, Sealions and Dugongs (a member of the Sea Cow family). Em got to go in the pool with the Dolphins!!! :0)

Warner Brothers Movie World

Well, having done the WB Studios Tour in LA, we thought it only right to do the Movie Theme Park here in Queensland. White knuckle rides, Warner Bros shows and the obligatory 'Parade' made for a terrific day! Oh, and about 22 degrees and sunshine was an added bonus!

Tim and Em went on this Superman ride, vertical up and then straight down again. I volunteered to take pictures ;0)

And here's them getting drenched on the Log Flume.

Strange, they're both too tired to go out tonight!!! :0)

Aussie Wildlife

As well as seeing exotic animals in the zoo, there are lots out here in the town. As well as Sparrows and Seagulls cruising the picnic areas for scraps, these monsters muscle in! The Sacred Ibis stands about the size of a Pea-hen and they nest in the palm trees overhead. Flying around are Cockatiels and Rosellas. Here's one feeding on the nectar from some kind of seed cone. All fascinating stuff!!! Thankfully we haven't encountered anything scary or poisonous (yet!)...