Zissermanns Down Under

Our last Hurrah!

2007-05-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Tuesday

Today was moving day; we are now staying at Victor and Mila’s (Galya’s sister and her husband). Most of today was packing up our things and heading over to their place. We had a nice lunch with Mila and Kostya and then did a little more shopping (seems we can’t buy enough of this place). Later Victor joined us for a nice dinner that included more Russian food that we hadn't tried yet.

Wednesday

Today we had a free day so we went to Manly beach. The weather was fantastic. Imagine going to the beach on what would basically be the 2nd of November in Seattle!!! It feels like early Seattle summer here-in the mid 70s during the day but cooling off in the evening. Not bad for fall. We saw online that the weather in Seattle is not even remotely spring-like. In any event, pardon the tangent, we took the train in to Sydney then hopped on the Manly Ferry. It is a 30 minute ferry ride from downtown Sydney. It is amazingly picturesque, as you sail past the Harbor Bridge, the Opera house and South & North Head. We got prime seats on the outdoor deck right at the front of the boat. It was a really enjoyable trip.

We arrived at the Manly Wharf and there was no one to be seen on the beach on the wharf side so we decided to follow the herd and make the 5 minute walk to the beach on the ocean side. This was an excellent choice. The beach was beautiful. There is a path along the beach lined with huge Norfolk Pines and then about 50 yards of pristine white sand beach and finally the ocean. There is blue ocean as far as the eye can see, all the way to the horizon. There were a few surfers and swimmers in the water. We however, chose to stick to the beach. We put our feet in the water but that was enough-it was a little cold, not by Seattle standards, but too cold for comfortable swimming.

After relaxing on the beach for a couple of hours we went to the area where the shops are and grabbed some lunch and did a little shopping. Then we walked back to the wharf to wait for our ferry. When we got back we went to dinner with Victor and Mila and their son Michael and his girlfriend Sanja. They took us to a Northern Chinese Restaurant. It was food similar to what you would find in Harbin. We really enjoyed it. It was also nice to meet Sanja and Michael.

Thursday

Today Victor and Mila took us on a day trip up to Canberra. Canberra is the capital of Australia. It is located about a 2 ½ hour drive from Sydney. Much like Washington D.C., it is located in its own territory which is called Australian Capital Territory (ACT). We went up in the Telstra Tower which is a very functional TV, radio and cellular tower. It is on top of a mountain and has a panoramic view of the city. Then it was off to the New Parliament building. It was just opened in 1988. It is where all of the government “happens”. It is artfully decorated with natural elements from all over the country. The tour was very educational, we learned a great deal about the Australian government. Then we went and wandered around the old Parliament House which they have turned into a museum. After touring the Parliament buildings we wandered around the town a little bit and had dinner at a great Italian restaurant. By then it was getting a little late and it was time to head back to Sydney.

Friday

Today has been a very mellow day. Paul, Andy’s cousin, and his new wife Odona arrived in town this morning for the big party tomorrow night. We are planning to meet up with them early this evening. Therefore there really wasn’t enough time to do any sightseeing today. Instead, we had a leisurely morning and read our books in the backyard in a desperate attempt to get as much sun as possible before we go home. Later this evening we headed over to Kostya and Galya’s for dinner, and Andy finally got to meet up again with Paul. This was also our first time meeting his new wife (the latest Mrs. Z). It was another typical dinner like the rest down here, lots of food and drink, and catching up on past times. Before we came down Andy’s dad said that all we would do is eat and drink for a couple of weeks, and although we’ve managed to squeeze in some sightseeing and such, he has been right on the money (and we’ve loved every minute of it).

Well, tomorrow is Paul and Odona’s post-wedding party. This was our excuse to come down to Australia in the first place. It seems somewhat fitting that it will be our last hurrah in Australia. Then we will be on our way back to Seattle. This unfortunately may be our last post from Down Under. We are finding it very difficult to believe that our trip is drawing to a close.

To all the Sydney family, thank you so much for the hospitality. We have enjoyed our stay with all of you immensely, and are looking forward to our next visit already. We will definitely try to make it back sooner than 24 years from now, and please let us return the favor in Seattle as soon as you can visit.

Please be sure to check the blog at least one more time. When we get home we plan to do a final wrap up. Cheers mates and farewell!

Greetings from Sydney

2007-04-30T02:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday

We are having a fantastic time in Sydney. Today we took the train into the city and wandered around taking in all of the sights. We had lunch in a park by the wharf where there is a beautiful view of the Opera House. On the weekends in the area near the base of the Harbor Bridge called The Rocks is a bustling market, primarily for tourists, where you can buy crafts and souvenirs. We picked up a few things but mostly it was just fun to walk around and look.
Then we walked back down to the wharf area. There is a constant stream of water taxis and ferries coming in and out taking passengers to various points around the harbor. There are so many different boats it is fun to watch them. After a little more shopping we walked over to the Opera House. It is beautiful!!! We were especially lucky because we got there right at sunset. That meant that it was difficult to get good pictures of the Opera House. However, the Sydney Harbor Bridge is directly west of the Opera House so we got to watch a beautiful sunset behind the bridge (and take tons of pictures of the bridge). We took the train home and met Kostya and Galya for a delicious dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Both the bridge and the Opera House are stunning, making Circular Quay a dramatic and amazingly beautiful area.

Sunday

On Sunday we got up early and met up with Andy’s cousin Steven and his girlfriend Lyndal. Andy has not seen either of his Sydney cousins in 20 years! It was a very exciting and fun reunion. They took us up to the Blue Mountains. By Seattle standards they are not very high, more like the Smokey Mountains, but they are still quite impressive. They are called the Blue Mountains because of the blue mist that hangs over the mountains from all of the eucalyptus trees. We went on a scenic hike through the park. After lunch and a short drive we went to the Three Sisters. It is a look-out area overlooking a beautiful canyon, plateaus and a three-rock formation known as the Three Sisters. Andy described it as “a smaller grand canyon that is full of trees”. Unfortunately, it was quite cold and windy so we didn’t stay very long. After our day of tramping in the mountains, we came back to Kostya and Galya’s for a scrumptious dinner of lamb, salad, pumpkin and potatoes. The highlight of the day was definitely reconnecting with Steven and getting to meet his girlfriend.

Monday

Today Kostya took us on a scenic drive around the bays and beaches that are north of Sydney. It was breathtaking, Kostya’s favorite views in Sydney. The weather was beautiful, the sun was out and it was warm (especially considering that it is the middle of fall-our November!!). West Head is a look-out from the top of a cliff over the bay and ultimately the Pacific Ocean. From the look-out it is a panoramic view of Lion Island, Palm Beach and several other beaches, you can see for kilometers. Then we drove on to Church Point a beautiful and exclusive neighborhood in Sydney. Here we just enjoyed the view, checked out the boats and soaked up a little sun. We ended the afternoon at The Newport Arms hotel, a lovely outdoor restaurant on the beach. This is near where the reception will be this weekend. We met up with one of Paul’s (Andy’s other Sydney cousin) school mates, Paul Catts (Cattsie), who lives in the area. He joined us for lunch and drinks. It was the perfect way to spend the day. That's it for now, we'll try and post again soon.

Melbourne to Sydney

2007-04-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

Monday

Today we visited the Melbourne Zoo with Andy’s cousin Katya and her daughter Sabine. Melbourne has a great zoo, very similar to Woodland Park in that most of the animals are exhibited in their natural habitat. They have an outstanding Australian animal exhibit, including wombats, kangaroos, penguins, koalas, lizards and emus. It is almost a petting zoo style so you can get really close to the animals. They also have many other animals; we got to see very young tiger cubs and an excellent orangutan exhibit. They also had some non-australian animals that we had never seen before including red pandas, meerkats and giant tortoises. Katya and Sabine had to leave after a couple of hours (young Sabine doesn’t quite have the endurance of us, now that we’ve spent so many days walking around). However, after nearly 6 hours at the zoo we took the train into the city to wander around a bit. Unfortunately, all of the shops close really early (like 5:30) so we just grabbed bite to eat and a couple of drinks.

Tuesday

Today we spent the day shopping and exploring the downtown area. Melbourne has a very European culture. People seem to enjoy a leisurely coffee at a café and a meal out at a restaurant or pub. In fact Melbourne supposedly has more restaurant/cafes per capita than any other city, and from what we saw we can believe it. So we set out to experience it. We wandered around the downtown area and looked in many shops. The major department store here is Myer. It is HUGE! It rivals Macy’s in New York. It is two buildings and has everything that you can imagine; clothing, electronics, toys, books and a whole floor of shoes (Katie’s idea of heaven). Then we walked around Federation Square and the Southbank area. Federation Square is a nice commons area with very unique buildings much like the EMP in Seattle. The buildings are primarily museums, restaurants and a few shops. Southbank is lovely area along the Yarra River. It has wonderful shops and restaurants.

After a day of shopping we went to Andy’s Aunt Natasha and Uncle Vassya’s home for a lovely dinner. Most of the family was there and conversation stretched well into the night.

Wednesday

Today was a national holiday in Australia, ANZAC Day (ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps). It is a celebration of the Australian and New Zealand participation in the Battle of Gallipoli in WWI. (That is just a very simplistic description and we apologize if it is incorrect in any way). It is celebrated with a parade and a remembrance of the soldiers who a have fought for Australia. It is very similar to our Independence Day or Veterans Day. It is also a big day for Australian Rules Football. Footy (as they call it) is VERY popular in Melbourne (originally it was only played in Victoria, and has only recently spread to other areas). There are 10 teams in the city of Melbourne out of a league of 16. In Melbourne they have a game on ANZAC day every year and the same two teams play, Essendon and Collingwood. According to Vassya, Collingwood is sort of like the Yankees, either you love them or you hate them (he is not a fan, so were rooting against them). Vassya took us to see if we could get tickets. We went to the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (or MCG as they call it) but the game was sold out including SRO, which was a little surprising since it seats about 100,000!!! So we wandered around a little and soaked in the ambience, then went to watch the game on a huge outdoor screen in Federation Square. It was a unique experience; we both agreed that it would be great to have something similar in Seattle. It is a very fast-paced, high-scoring game. I think that Andy and I might almost understand the rules. The final score was 95-79, Collingwood (boooooo!!!).

After the game we went to Andy’s cousin Nina and her partner Carlos’ home for dinner. It was a wonderful meal. It is so fun to have all of the children running around. We are not used to that since there are no kids yet with our family at home. It is very lively.

Thank you so much for the hospitality of all of the family in Melbourne. It was so wonderful to get caught up with all of you. Thank you too for all of the wonderful meals. We are looking forward to seeing you in Sydney.

Thursday

Today we left Melbourne for Sydney. It is hard to believe that we are already on the final leg of our trip! We arrived around noon, and Andy’s Uncle Kostya and Aunt Galya picked us up at the airport. These are Andy’s godparents who came to visit us for our wedding two summers ago. After we met them, we all went to see some of the city. Our first stop was Coogee Beach, on the south side of the city along the coast. We walked along the beach for a while, and then decided to see some more. Our next stop was Bondi Beach (which is one of the more famous beaches in Sydney), just up the coast from Coogee. Here we stopped to eat some lunch at a restaurant with a great view, then moved to a café for some coffee and dessert. Then we went to South Head, which is the south side of the entrance to Sydney Harbor. The entrance to the harbor is very dramatic with sheer cliffs that drop about 100 meters to the sea(yes we are learning to think in metric now, that’s about 315 feet for you yanks back home). We were also afforded a great view of the city with the Harbor Bridge in the distance. Directly on the harbor side there is a quaint little neighborhood called Watson’s Bay, where we stopped for a quick drink to watch the sunset and wait for the rush hour traffic to die down before heading home. We arrived at Kostya and Galya’s place after 7:00, and were treated to a nice dinner including the Russian staple borsch (cabbage and beet soup, served with sour cream… it’s very good). After catching up and exchanging stories it was very late so we all retired for a good night’s rest.

Friday

Well, we got our good night of rest, and didn’t end up getting out of bed today until almost 10:00. It seems that all of our travels sort of caught up with us today. So we just had a leisurely day around the house in the morning, planning the rest of our visit. One treat was watching all of the birds in the back yard; we saw wild Kookaburras and Lorikeets up close and personal. Galya was even feeding some of them out of her hand. Later in the afternoon, Galya drove us to a place called Koala Park that is about 5 minutes from their house. This is sort of a small zoo, almost more of a petting zoo. They had some animals that we didn’t get to see at the Melbourne Zoo including Echidnas (spiny anteaters) and dingoes. They also had some young koalas that you could get really close to. They were so fun to watch eat, sleep, yawn, scratch and generally do what koalas do. But the real treat was the area where you could wander around with the kangaroos and feed them. Most of them were very tame and would eat right out of your hand and let you pet them. We even got to see a little joey poking his head out of his mother’s pouch. It got a little less fun when one of them got a little aggressive and started attacking Andy (not really attacking, but he did jump up on his tail and kick him one time, so we decided we should probably make our leave). Fortunately, he was not injured. Then we walked home and now it’s about time for dinner, so we should probably sign off. We should have more to report soon, tomorrow we head downtown to the Opera House and The Rocks.

Cheers mates!

Uluru to Melbourne

2007-04-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

Thursday

We're sorry that it has been a while since we posted. Internet access at our hotel was $2 per minute, and we thought that was a little ridiculous. So here is a nice long post to get you all caught up.

We arrived in Uluru or Ayers Rock. If you have ever been in a remote location and said “wow we are in the middle of nowhere” you were wrong, unless you were here. This, I guarantee, is the middle of nowhere--the nearest town is almost 500 kilometers away. There is nothing but red rock desert for miles and miles. The resort where we are staying is the town. There are 5 hotels in the resort, many restaurants and a “shopping center”. Even the staff of the resort and the tours live in a “village” that is owned by and is right next to the resort.

Tonight we went to an observatory to look at the stars. WOW!!! It is so dark here you could see millions of stars. We saw the southern cross, the Milky Way, and many other constellations. At the end we got to look through a couple of telescopes. We saw some binary stars (two stars that are very close together), star clusters and even Saturn. It looks just like pictures that you have seen of it. It was a wonderful experience. It is just so dark here! It was also neat because we got to see stars that we never get to see in the Northern hemisphere.

Friday

For those of you who know Andy’s sleeping habits and my aversion to exercise, you may want to sit down for this next story. Today we went on a sunrise tour of Ayers Rock (Uluru). We hiked around the base of the whole rock. It is 9 kilometers around the base, but the trail winds around for about 11 kilometers. It was a very nice walk and the sunrise was very pretty. It is amazing to see such a HUGE rock sticking up in the middle of a very flat desert. We learned a little bit about the mythology and legends that the aboriginal people who live in this area tell. Because we are in the desert there is an enormous emphasis on staying hydrated especially when hiking. So we drank a ton of water last night and this morning to keep from getting dehydrated. Unfortunately there were no restrooms until we had completed about 3 hours of the hike!!! We would have had a much more enjoyable hike if we'd had an opportunity to go to the bathroom a little earlier. Anyway, we have some really striking pictures, it was well worth the trek.

After the hike we came back to the resort for a quick lunch then we were off for another hike. We tramped around Kata Tjuta or the Olgas. This is a cluster of 36 enormous rock formations. This was a more challenging hike, it was 7.4 km with lots of uneven ground and we had to even do a bit of climbing. But it is extraordinarily beautiful and well worth the effort. We then went to a lookout spot to watch the sunset shine on Uluru. We were exhausted by the end. Unfortunately, Katie probalby didn't drink enough water throughout the day, because she had a bit of a headache by dinner time. Too bad for her, because Andy went to a place called the Pioneer Outback BBQ, where you get to pick out your own piece of meat and cook it up yourself. They had all sorts of choices like Emu, Kangaroo (sorry KC, but at least I passed on that this time), and of course a few types of steak. It was really tasty, and the live music was fun too. It was an early night though, since we needed to be up for sunrise again in the morning.

Saturday

Sunrise and sunset are really be best times to see the rock formations. The light plays beautifully off of the rock and it really comes to life in the changing light of sunrise and sunset. So we figured the best way to see sunrise today would be from a camel (that's right, we said camel). Our camel's name was Sandy, she used to be a racing camel. There was no racing today, however. It was a slow walk through the desert with about 25 other tourists, and our guide Dan. Dan was great, he was exactly what you think of as the typical Aussie "cowboy" with the accent and the attitude. They put us two to a camel, so we got to ride together. Each camel is tied to the camel in front of it like a caravan, so the rider in back is pretty close to the head of the camel behind him. This lead to Andy making a new friend in Leopold. Leo was a very friendly camel who kept rubbing his head on Andy's back and leg, sometimes leaving a little cud behind. This was probably the best view of Uluru we had our entire visit. The previous morning we were really too close to the rock to really appreciate the beauty and size. The evening's sunset was pretty cloudy, so even though we were farther away and could see the whole rock, it was not a great light show. But this morning was terrific with lots of light playing off of Uluru, it was very magnificent. Well that's about it for Uluru, now it's off to Melbourne.

Sunday

We arrived about 6:30 last night, and things got interesting before we even left the airport (we seem to be having lots of airport "adventures" this trip). Vassya (Andy's uncle) was waiting for us at the gate (a pleasant surprise for us safety conscious Americans), but he had a slight problem. It seems that when he went through the security check, people were in a bit of a hurry, and someone picked up his phone by mistake. So he left Carlos (his son in law) to try and figure things out while he came and met us. Long story short, the guy who had his phone was pretty confused and didn't seem to want to return it until we got one of the security agents on the line with him. Once that happened and he "laid down the law", the phone was promptly returned and we were able to go about our business. Then it was on to dinner with the family and catching up on old times. It turned out to be a lovely evening.

Today was a pretty relaxing day, we met for brunch with the family at a charming little Italian bistro. It obviously was very popular because there seemed to be about a hundred customers giving their orders at any one moment, we don't know how the kept it all straight. But we managed to get our meal in short order, and then we checked out a local book store and picked up a few local favorites. Then Vassya took us for a drive around town and sort of gave us the lay of the land. We saw the downtown area, St. Kilda, the stadium where the Australian Open is played, and too many other areas to mention. Afterwards we then met up with Katya and Sabine (Andy's cousin and her daughter) and Natasha (Vassya's wife) for dinner at a local pub, where we exchanged family stories and basically caught up on family history.

Cairns to Port Douglas and back

2007-04-18T01:39:00.000-07:00

Saturday

Cairns is a beautiful coastal town near the Great Barrier Reef. It is a major tourist destination. In fact it is even a port of call for cruise ships. As a result, it is quite touristy. However, that means that there are lots of great restaurants, shopping and activities. The trade off is that there are lots of tourists.

For dinner we went to a traditional Australian restaurant called Dundee’s. There we sampled kangaroo, crocodile, buffalo, barramundi (fish) and emu sausage. They were all really good. Our favorite was the buffalo, it tastes just like beef, but was very moist and tender. Kangaroo is good; it is a bit like beef but a little bit more dry. It was served with a Thai peanut sauce, like a satay. Crocodile tastes just like chicken. The barramundi was fantastic; it is a nice white fish that was served with a light creamy lemon sauce. Finally, the emu sausage was pretty good. It had a somewhat mealy texture but the flavor was good. We felt like we really got a chance to sample some of the truly Aussie foods.

Sunday

Our first full day in town, we went to a zoo in town. It is on the top floor of one of the hotels, a la Las Vegas. The zoo itself was mediocre but we each got our picture taken holding a koala bear. It was very cool. This may be the highlight of the vacation thus far for Andy (Aaron, I finally got to meet my animal face to face, you'll love the picture). Then we went to the lagoon. The lagoon is an outdoor pool near the beach. It is unusual in that it is a normal pool except with sand around the edges. It is a very popular place for swimming and catching a few rays. There is no real beach in Cairns so this is a nice alternative. We laid out for an hour or so. We realized that this was the first time during the whole trip that we had just done nothing. It was really nice.

Then we went to the night market for a little shopping. The night market is tons of little shops packed into a small area. Most of the shops sell souvenirs, jewelry and some clothing. I bought a couple of fun pieces of jewelry.

Monday

Today we went on an all day boat cruise to the reef for snorkeling. The outer reef is about 90 minutes off the coast. It was a bit of a rough ride. We both had just a touch of motion sickness and felt a bit queasy on the boat at the beginning, but it was well worth it. The first stop was in the outer reef. At this destination we were a little disappointed. There was a lot of coral and some fish but it was not really anything we had not seen before. Then we traveled to another location a little closer in. This site was AMAZING! There were literally thousands of fish, a sea turtle and the most amazing coral we have ever seen. There were so many different kinds of coral it was truly like nothing we had seen before. We snorkeled for 2 hours straight without returning to the boat. We just didn’t want to waste a moment. The boat trip back was much better than the way out (although the free wine might have had something to do with that). We also met some great people from the UK who were on a year long trip around the world (nah, we weren’t jealous of them at all). In fact they may come see us in Seattle.

After the snorkel trip we drove up to Port Douglas. It is about 60 minutes north of Cairns. PD is located between the beach and the rainforest. We were hoping to both enjoy the beach and experience the rainforest. The town is much smaller than Cairns with a charming shopping area and restaurants. It is far less touristy. Our hotel was like a little villa, it had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and laundry!! That was a pleasant surprise!

Sorry we don’t have any pictures. We were using an underwater camera all day so our photos are all analog.

Tuesday

Today was a beach day. Ahhh! We went to Four Mile Beach and relaxed in the sun. Swimming was not an option because the lifeguards could not put the nets for the swimming area out because it was too windy. Apparently, this beach has really dangerous stinger fish (jelly fish). When we'd had our fill of sun for the day, we went and wandered around the town. There were lots of cute shops and great restaurants. Finally, after dinner we went to a sports bar and tried to watch the Cricket World Cup game between Australia and Sri Lanka. It seems like an interesting game, we still don’t totally understand it, but it was fun to watch (we are pretty sure that Australia was kicking the crap out of Sri Lanka, go Aussies).

Wednesday

After packing up we left Port Douglas to go back to Cairns. On the way we stopped at the Kuranda Skyrail. The Skyrail is a 7+ km gondola ride over the rainforest. The gondola makes 3 stops along the way. At the first, passengers get out and get to walk around an area of the forest. At the second stop passengers walk to a series of look out points to view a beautiful waterfall. The final stop is in a town called Kuranda. It is again a town chock-full of tourist traps. Here we stopped for lunch and then it was time for the return trip on the gondola, which takes about 45 minutes. It is truly amazing the number of plants, trees, animals and insects that live in the rainforest. It really makes you realize what a unique ecosystem it is and how important it is to preserve it.

So now we are back in Cairns. We will fly out to Uluru and Ayers Rock in the morning. I am not sure what our internet access will be like so you might not hear from us until we get to Melbourne.

Cheers mates.

Auckland to Cairns

2007-04-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

You have got to love international travel. There is never a dull moment. This morning we left our hotel at 3:00 am to catch our flight from Auckland to Sydney and on to Cairns. We arrived at the airport with approximately 2 hours until our flight. However, returning the rental car was a bit of a disaster. Because it was so early, the rental car return was not open yet. So we parked it in the Hertz lot and went into the terminal that was nearby and intended to return the car where we rented it. The terminal that we were in was clearly not open yet, there was not a person to be found. Thinking that we were in the wrong place we went back out to our car and drove around a little more. The place where we returned it was clearly correct, however, the terminal that we needed to be at was a 15 minute walk away. Keep in mind that we did not exactly pack light. We each have two humongous suitcases and duffel bags as well as a laptop and my purse. So there we are running through the parking lot with all of our belongings. By the time we get to the terminal we are completely sweaty and exhausted. This whole ordeal has taken a deal of time and it is starting to look like we could potentially miss our flight if things do not go smoothly. We get to the Qantas check in area and there is a line that stretches forever. Fortunately since we were cutting it close we got to move to the front of the line. Aside from a less than helpful ticket agent and bags that were too heavy making us have to quickly redistribute some items, we made it to our gate just as they were beginning to board. All this drama and it is not even 6 am.

In Sydney we needed to go though customs. This is an amazingly difficult ordeal. You need to go through immigration then get your bags, go through quarantine, go to another terminal, recheck your bags and go through security again. We only had two hours to make our connection. Because of VERY long, slow lines we got to our gate just as they were beginning to board. It is quite stressful.

Now however, we are on our way to the city or Cairns which is on the ocean, up by the Great Barrier Reef. I suspect that within a matter of hours we will be sitting on the beach with an umbrella drink in hand and will have forgotten all about the airport drama.

Cheers mates.

Rotorua to Waitomo

2007-04-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

It seems to me, that one way to judge the quality of a day when you are traveling is by the number of pictures that were taken. If indeed that is an accurate measure, today was a fantastic day. We took almost 120 pictures! It seems like overkill to take that many pictures, I realize, but there were just so many amazing sights it had to be done. Thank goodness for digital photography. Don’t worry, we won't force any of you sit through the slide show (of course we'd be happy to show you if you are a glutton for punishment).

Today was like Geology 101 revisited. Our first stop was Waitopu Thermal Wonderland. It has a wide variety of breathtaking thermal features, from bubbling mud pots to geysers and sulfur pools. It truly is a wonderland. We hiked, or tramped as they call it here, around the park for several hours. And took loads of pictures. I am still partial to Yellowstone myself, but this is quite amazing.

Then we drove about 2 hours to a town called Waitomo. Here there a series of limestone caves each with unique features. We chose to tour two caves, Aranui and the Waitimo glowworm cave. Both were similar in regard to formation. We were reminded of all of the things we learned in “rocks for jocks” which aren’t terribly interesting in a book but are quite breathtaking in real life. You know-stalactites and stalagmites etc. The first cave was a dry cave, so we just hiked around admiring the formations. The second cave had a river running through it. So we hiked down through the cave and got into a metal boat. The unique feature of this cave is that in the dark reaches of the cave covering a majority of the ceiling are glowworms. They are like millions of tiny florescent green LED lights in the ceiling of the cave. The tour guide pulls the boat along using a series of cables so it is completely silent. The passengers too are asked to be silent, and they don't let you take any pictures. It was one of the most tranquil moments I have ever experienced. If you ever find yourself in NZ it is a must see.

Rotorua

2007-04-12T02:56:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic day today. We drove from Auckland to Rotorua. It was approximately a 3 hour drive through beautiful countryside. There were amazing rock formations and tons of cows. Surprisingly few sheep.

For any of you LOTR fans out there, this is for you. On the way we stopped in Matamata where they filmed the scenes from the Shire. Apparently they still have it set up like in the movie. Unfortunately, it's on private property and they charge about $35 per person for a two and a half hour tour, and that's the only way you can see it. We didn't have time for that, or the desire to spend that much just to see some Hobbit holes. So, we just took a picture of their sign and statue.

We spent the afternoon exploring Rotorua. Rotorua is an area with a variety of geothermal features, much like Yellowstone. From our hotel room we look out over a geyser, a mud pot and several steam vents. It is amazing-but stinky!! Unlike Yellowstone, there are thermal features scattered throughout the whole town.

One of the popular tourist activities here is a gondola ride up one of the higher hills. It has a lovely view out over the lake and town. The best part however, is that at the top of the hill there is a luge ride. It is too difficult to explain so I will just attach a picture. We had a fantastic time. We each went down five times.

We finished our day at the Polynesian Spa. The Spa is a group of mineral pools that you can soak in. They are stinky but wonderfully soothing. They are kept between 36-42 degrees Celsius (about 97-106 F). It was a very relaxing way to conclude our day.

Tomorrow it's off to Waitomo and the Glowworm caves, then on to Auckland. This will be our last day in NZ (boo hoo, it's over so fast), then on to Cairns. We'll post again real soon. Cheers mates!

Auckland Day 2 / On to Rotorua

2007-04-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we had another wonderful day in Auckland. We took a drive over to the North Head area on the other side of the bay. Visited a neat little area called Devonport, cute shops and art galleries, it reminded us a lot of Alki. We then drove up to the top of North Head, an old military gun post, that afforded some amazing views of the entire area including downtown Auckland. Felt almost like we were over on Bainbridge looking back at Seattle, except everything was backwards, the tower was to the right, and the port/industrial area was to the left, very freaky.

We then came back to the city and walked around town, ending up in an area called Viaduct Basin. This is a newer part of town that was originally built to host the America's Cup challenge in 1999-2000 and 2002-'03. Very swank part of town with lots of restaurants and condos looking over the bay. It sort of felt like walking around Kirkland. We got to see an old America's cup yacht from 1988, as well as some modern day yachts, the NZL 40 and NZL 41. If you like, you can ride on the 40 or 41, they even let you take part in running the sails and such if you are interested, or you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. Looked like a lot of fun, but we just didn't have the time.

One reason we had to go was to meet up with our friend Jaymie who just happens to be visiting NZ the same time we are (what a coincidence, huh?). She is here visiting the family of an exchange student her family hosted several years ago, and who is getting married. So she's even down here for similar reasons to ours. Anyway, we met up for dinner and drinks and generally compared all the differences we have noticed between NZ and the good ol' US of A. Lots of fun. Sorry we don't have any photos for you today, we'll post them next time.

Now we are getting ready to head out to Rotorua, land of geysers, hot springs and something called a Zorb. We'll tell you all about it next time we get to a computer. Hope all is well back home and in Australia. Cheers mates.

Auckland Day 1

2007-04-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

We survived the flight down under. Actually, it was great. We highly recommend Ambien for long flights. We arrived rested and ready to tour the city. We were not however prepared for driving on the "wrong" side of the road. I swear, if our marriage can survive these driving adventures we will be able to weather any storm. It is quite an adventure. The streets are VERY narrow.

After checking into our hotel, our first stop was Sky Tower. Sky Tower is much like the Space Needle. It was completed in 1997 and the observation deck is just over 1000 feet. It gave us a great birds-eye view of the city. Then went to Kelly Tarlton's, an aquarium, on the other side of town. They have a fantastic penguin exhibit and plenty of other interesting exhibits. We got to see sharks and sting rays fed.

Then we took a little driving tour around the southern part of the city. Again, testing our marriage vows. We went to One Tree Hill, a beautiful park that overlooks the city. Yes, for all of you U2 fans, that is where the name of the song came from. Here we got to see some of our first sheep! They were grazing right by the side of the road. It seemed so strange to us to see animals in the middle of the city. We weathered an amazing rain squall on the way up there. There was even flash flooding in the area. Fortunately, it only lasted about 30 minutes, and was over by the time we got to the lookout point so we could get out and take some pictures.

Our next stop was Mount Eden, a charming neighborhood and another fantastic lookout point. It is a volcanic crater just minutes from downtown Auckland. And that's all for today...

Here are just a few of our photos. You can see the tower from our hotel room, notice in first picture that you can see a person jumping from the tower (yeah, that's right, jumping from the tower. Pretty crazy stuff, and he paid about $150 to do it.) There's some penguins at the aquarium, nd then there's Andy hanging out with a new friend. Finally One Tree Hill and then the volcano. Next time you hear from us we will probably be in Rotorua.

Not off to the greatest start

2007-04-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

So, we get to SeaTac and go to check in for our first flight (of many), and sure enough they don't have us booked. Already I can see Katie's head about to explode (seriously). Somehow, we were booked on the flight twice (by our travel agent) and therefore the airline deleted both reservations. All we were left with was a flight from LA to Auckland and Sydney to LA. Of course the flight from Seattle to LA was overbooked so they told us that we could fly standby or get on a flight that would barely get us to LA in time to make our connection. So, just when we were about to lose it, suddenly, two seats appeared (coincidence?) Oh well, we took them. They couldn't give us any answers about the rest of our flights except to check with the Qantas desk in LA (there isn't one in Seattle, thanks for the help guys). Luckily, it looks like we've got things worked out now, but not exactly the start to our vacation that we were hoping for. We are now sitting in a bar in LAX waiting for our flight to Auckland (which we know we are booked on already, hahahah).

Better go...I think I hear them calling for us to board. We will post again from down under. Happy Easter!!

Itinerary

2007-03-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

We are just 7 days from departure. It is amazing how much work it is to go on vacation. I am certain that it will be well worth it. Here is all of our flight informaion.
Depart Seattle April 8 2:30pm
Alaska Air flight 400
Arrive LAX 5:12 pm

Depart LAX April 8 11:05pm
Qantas flight 26
Arrive Auckland April 10 4:45 am

Depart Auckland April 14 5:50am
Qantas flight 40
Arrive Sydney 7:20am

Depart Sydney April 14 9:25 am
Qantas Flight 924
Arrive Cairns 12:30

Depart Cairns April 19 9:45 am
Qantas Flight 989
Arrive Ayers Rock 12:05 pm

Depart Ayers Rock April 21 12:00pm
Qantas flight 727
Arrive Sydney 3:25

Depart Sydney April 21 5:00 pm
Qantas flight 543
Arrive Melbourne 5:30

Depart Melbourne April 26 10:00am
Quantas flight 422
Arrive Sydney 11:20 am

Depart Sydney May 6 1:25 pm
Quantas flight 11
Arrive LAX 9:45 am (May 6)

Depart LAX May 6 3:45pm
Alaska flight 485
Arrive Seattle 6:20 pm

So there it is. Keep checking back for more updates.