FUN-travel:Australia/New Zealand

April 16, 2009 by  

Travel Highlights – 15th day – January 12, 2006 

Sydney Harbour New Years Eve

Sydney Harbour New Years Eve

  • Eloped and wed New Years Eve in Sydney Harbour on boat in the parade of lights.
  • Hottest New Years day on record.
  • When toll taker at the Ferry station was asked, “How hot is 45 degrees in Fahrenheit?”  His reply was, “Damn hot!”  (Our best guess somewhere around 115 degrees.)
Manly Beach

Manly Beach

  • Drank more beer in two weeks than the last two years.
  • Have consumed approximately 29 bottles of wine and 6+? bottles of Champagne (lost count).
  • There are two kinds of wine here, good and gooder.
  • Drank 28 cappuccinos (must have school that teaches how to make them look so pretty and taste so good).
Countryside

Countryside

  • Snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef;
  • took seven boat rides;
  • two gondola rides;
  • one luge ride;
  • one train ride;
  • one helicopter ride to a glacier,
  • and five plane rides.
Top of the Glacier

Top of the Glacier

  • Went to the Glow Worm caves,
  • a rainforest,
  • a butterfly sanctuary,
  • and an aviary.
  • Drove through a petting zoo,
  • saw several locations where Lord of the Rings was filmed
  • and 4283 sheep.
Drive thru Zoo - Queenstown

Drive thru Zoo - Queenstown

  • After arriving in Auckland, drove over 1000 kilometers.
  • Quite unnerving to sit on driver’s side with no control over the steering.
  • Chris drove and was an angel, (so he said) against constant harping of, “Stay to the left! Stay to the left! No, not that far left!”
Butterfly Sanctuary

Butterfly Sanctuary

  • Drove to Waitomo, Rotarua, Taupo, Napier, and Wellington.
  • Dropped off car with both tires on the left side intact. Absolutely amazing!
  • Flew to Queenstown.
  • Picked up another car and then asked, “Why in bloody hell would we want to drive anywhere?”
  • Returned it immediately!
Glow Worm Caves Forest

Glow Worm Caves Forest

  • Have been very lucky as usual, with only a few little glitches.
  • The Best Luck Story: When Chris asked, “Honey, where are we staying in Queenstown?” Susan replied, “I’m not sure yet.”
  • See wine store and pullover. Plan is to shop and use their phone book. Owner of the store asks, “What are you looking for?” and reply is, “A hotel.” He says, “I can help you do that. What price range?” And we say, “Top of the line economy!”
Luge Ride Starting Point - Lake Taupo

Luge Ride Starting Point - Lake Taupo

Turns out the Sofitel just opened and he has connections. *****, state of the art amenities, flat screen TV, surround sound, DVD, espresso machine, Jacuzzi tub, etc., etc. All for the paltry sum of $120.00 US per night. WE’RE IN HEAVEN!

Waterfall from Glacier

Waterfall from Glacier

Special thanks to Mary & Laurent for itinerary and packing instructions, and Dixie for very special bottle of Champagne!

Meals/Hotels/Excursions: Expensive!
RT 1st Class w/sleeper seats: 240,000 miles
Arriving w/no jet lag & the love of your life: Priceless!

We forgot the 5 wineries (which changes the wine consumption!)
And what are the odds of running into someone you know? We are buying lottery tickets.
Ran into Kaiser doctor from Hawaii we just saw last month in San Fran!

One of the Winery Tours

One of the Winery Tours

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