A Sydney New Year’s Eve

Ah, new year’s even in Sydney. You can’t get much better than that!!  Heidi and I started out the day by doing morning tea at the QVB. It was yummy and they had these blood orange macaroons. They were to die for. So far I’ve not seen any around to buy, otherwise I might have to buy another suitcase just to bring them back!

Later that day we met up with Justin at his sister’s house to head to dinner and then to see the fireworks. So apparently Australians love to blow things up therefore this was going to be a spectacular fireworks display. They actually had a 9:00 fireworks for families and a midnight fireworks for wild and crazy folks like us.

So, now to let you know what we did for new year’s eve. The day before while we visiting the aquarium, etc we saw a guy with fliers about a new year’s even cruise. After talking with him we decided that we would give that a shot. Apparently if you want a good spot for fireworks you pretty much have to camp out starting at 2:00 or 3:00 and then a lot of your day is wasted. So we decided to spend some money in hopes to get a good view and not  have to deal with tons of crowd. The crowds were similar to that of New Year’s Even in NY at Times Square. Let me just say that we made the right decision on the cruise.
So we got on the boat about  6:30 and it pretty much just cruised around the harbor until it was time for the 9:00 fireworks. We were close to the last people on the boat so we had to actually sit inside. Turns out that was a good thing, because it was cold and windy up top. When it was time for the 9:00 fireworks we just headed up top and watched them. So the view was awesome. They were actually shooting them off in several directions, so being up top you could see them all, but you did have to focus on one set b/c the others were actually behind us.
Oh,one other thing I forgot to mention about this cruise, was that we were also in a parade of lights. We were on a whale watching boat so we had a big whale lit up on ours. Or so they say, I never did see it, since when we boarded the boat it was still light.

Once the 9:00 fireworks were over the dancing began!! We had a blast! Then of course when it was midnight we brought in the New Year with even better fireworks. It really was awesome. The experience of a life time!

We got off the boat around 1am or so and headed to Justin’s sister’s place and then drove out to his mom’s place because the next day we were headed to the blue mountains…..

Tasmania!!

Today’s stop was Tasmania….yep, the home of the Tasmanian devil. Unfortunately all the tours out to the parks to see the Tasmanian devil were sold out so a post card had to be good enough for us. I can say that the real Tasmanian Devil looks nothing like the cartoon one that we grew up with. They don’t look anything alike so I can’t figure out where the cartoon one came from. Oh well, I may never know…or I could probably just Google it.

We walked around the city for a bit and then took a tram tour around some of the suburbs of Tasmania. It was nice seeing some things further out. Nothing extremely exciting happened this trip so this post won’t be very long.

Another day at sea and then back in Melbourne. Maybe we can actually see Victoria Market this time, since it was closed the whole time we were there for a week.

Sydney Bridge Climb

Today was another busy day. We met Justin around 11:30, but prior to meeting him, Heidi and I toured around the Queen Victoria Building (QVB). It was beautiful and full of shops. Who could ask for more!!!

We met up with Justin and his sister and his mom for Yum Cha (we call it dim sum). I had never had dim sum and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. After lunch we went to the aquarium, the sky tower and the wildlife center and Heidi and I got our picture taken with a Koala. We couldn’t hold them because it is illegal apparently. But we did get to pet it so I was happy about that.

After we saw all the wild life and sea life we could stand it was getting closer to time to do the bridge climb! We went for dinner in The Rocks area which was very near where we needed to get on the bridge.

So now, our Bridge Climb adventure begins. Now, most of you know that I am adventurous and like to do lots of stuff, but I will admit that I was a little nervous/scared to do this climb, especially after seeing the bridge. Once we got there we were in the waiting area and watching a video of what all you were going to do the prepare. We had already gone to the bathroom, but noticed in the video that you would get a chance to use the restroom before the climb. So they began by giving us the wind suits. Our guide was amazing…she looking us all up and down and picked out the exact size for each of us. No one had to change for a different size. So we get the wind suits on and Heidi and started wondering are the going to give us a bathroom break before we get all of the gear on? So far no break…so the next thing we do is grab our harnesses and put them on. Once we had them on I really started to wonder how in the world I was going to go to the bathroom with that rig on. Next it was headlamps, fleece jackets in a pouch incase we got cold, and radios so we could hear our guide. Of course the radio was only one way…we couldn’t communicate with her through them, so I guess if we found ourselves hanging off the side of the bridge we were SOL. 

Next we did a test run inside on the steps that we would be climbing while on the bridge. Well of course everyone breezed through them, they were probably only 12ft off the ground. They didn’t practice what to do if you panic climbing those stairs high above solid concrete with cars traveling below.

So the climb finally beings. The first part was a little scary b/c it was a small walkway and you were looking down at cars/concrete below you. But over all, it was not as scary as I had made it to be in my mind. And I am very glad we did it at night. The city was full of lights. It was gorgeous. We took pictures on the bridge with the Opera house in the background, then once we were at the top we took a group shot of everyone in our group. The group shot was complementary, but we did buy some of the other pictures. 

I would recommend if you are ever in Sydney to do the climb.

Sorry I have no pictures to put on here for the climb, but  they are all on CD and my little laptop doesn’t have a disk drive. I’ll have to post them when I am back home.

Finally in Sydney

We have finally arrived in Sydney!! Now, we might be walking around like zombies….but we are here. We got in late from the Penguin Parade last night and still had to finish packing. Our apartment in Sydney is okay. It is very secure, but the apartment stunk of cologne….and it was strong. It took a few days for us to either get used to it, or it could have finally gone away…who knows.

Justin gave us some ideas of things to do the day we arrived and then we would meet up with him the next day. So we began to wonder around to see where things were. Our neighborhood we were staying in was pretty decent in a 2 block radius, but then it seemed to go downhill from there. As we were walking around we ran into lots of homeless and guys doing cat calls. We finally got out of there and found Hyde Park and the Botanical Gardens. They were both beautiful!! We got lost in the gardens, but eventually found a different route back to our apartment that was faster and safer then the route we took to get to the gardens. For dinner we found this little restaurant  about a block away and actually had an American waiter from New York. Pretty cool.

We met up with Justin the next day out at Manly beach. Apparently all the tourist go to Bondi beach, and Manly is left for the locals. So it was good to go with a local to show us around. While at Manly we ate lunch. Heidi was dying for some prawns and I wanted fish and chips. So we found a place that had a dish that we could split that had stuff on it that we all wanted. Well besides the oysters so Justin got those. So the food comes out and guess what? Heidi’s prawns had eyes and legs!!! You better believe I was glad I wasn’t eating those things. She attempted to crack into the prawn and when she did it’s poop squirted out! EWWWW. Justin was over there saying….just clean it off and eat it. I couldn’t help but laugh. She finally got them down though

After lunch we began some whirlwind site seeing. Justin took us up to the heads that had some wonderful views, then we headed back down to Manly and went to ocean world….which is pretty much an aquarium. It was pretty cool. We got to see a seahorse giving birth!! From there we  headed into the city and went to the Summit Bar. It is a revolving restaurant. So we sat up there for a while and had a drink while we revolved around the city and Justin showed us where everything was.

We had Chinese for dinner and then walked around Chinatown for a bit before we all went our separate ways for the evening. Tomorrow will be another busy day.

Dunedin…the Scotland of New Zealand!

Today’s stop was Dunedin. They call it the Scotland of New Zealand. Today we did two tours. One to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory and one to Larnach Castle….the only castle in New Zealand.

Let’s start off with the Cadbury tour. Can we say HEAVEN!!! The actual factory was closed so we couldn’t tour it, but we were able to tour other parts. The  tour started off by giving us each a bag of 4 candy bars. Uh…yeah baby…now that is my kind of tour!! On the site they had 2 silos that they used to use for making chocolate, but no longer do. We were able to go up in one of them. It was several stories high and there were these chocolate bin type things going up the middle of the staircase. Once we got to the top our guide told us to yell….”We want chocolate”. We did and he flipped a switch and a chocolate waterfall just opened up from the ceiling. We weren’t allowed to take any pictures, but I can just tell you that it was amazing!! After that  chocolate waterfall we headed down and he took us into a room where we sampled “liquid chocolate”. Basically it is just the initial base of melted chocolate before they do anything with it. YUMMMY!!!!!!!!!!!

At the end of the tour we actually got caught in a hail storm. Luckily it didn’t last long, but it did not stop us from making a run for it to get to the shop where we could purchase candy. Once inside….I was a kid in a candy store….literally. There were so many different kinds of chocolate. I bought a ton and guess what….I wish I had bought more because a lot of the types you can’t get in the states. Supposedly there is another factory in Hobart….might just have to make a stop by there and get more!!

After we were loaded down with chocolate and trying to keep it from melting, we headed on our tour of the Larnach Castle. The highlight of this tour was our tour guide…Max. Too bad we couldn’t bring him home with us. He was mighty fine! The castle was beautiful too though. The grounds were so green! Again, it’s one of those you’ll just have to see it for yourselves some day.

Next on the agenda is 3 sea days. One of those (tomorrow actually) is cruising around the Fiords.

Christchurch

Today’s stop was Christchurch. So far I’ve been sick pretty much the entire cruise. I came down with a cold and a horrible cough! And the medicine I normally take for this kind of cough….you got it….I left it at home. I mean who’d of thought that my cough would come back so soon ( I was sick 2 weeks before our trip). And to top it all off. The seas have been rough and I had to resort to putting on the patch. So, to all my patch wearing friends, just think about the feeling the patch gives you and add on a bad cough and congestion. That equals MISERABLE!!!

So off we go to Christchurch. The day started out pretty comical. So the little Princess Patter ( or Pitter Patter as I like to call it) said that while it Christchurch the temperature was going to be 79. So of course we dressed in shorts and t-shirts. WRONG!!!!!!! We stepped of the boat to cloudy skies, extreme  wind and no 79. We were freezing. We literally turned right back around, got back on the boat and changed clothes. It did warm up though eventually.

We decided to take a gondola ride (yes, another one….I’ve lost count on how many we have been on). Of course we went at the wrong time seeing as how when we got to the top we could see NOTHING!!! It was one thick cloud. Since we didn’t have much else to do we decided to shop around in the gift shop and went up to the café and had a little snack (which actually turned out to be our lunch - a cookie and a coke). The waiting  paid off. The clouds moved out and the view was unbelievable. The pictures just do not do justice to how beautiful New Zealand really is!!


After the gondola we headed back down to the city and took the tram around the city to get an overview of Christchurch. We then decided to get off and roam through the Botanical Gardens. Which yes, we got a little lost. What is it with us and these Botanical Gardens….geez. It was beautiful though!!

That was it for Christchurch….tomorrow is Dunedin

First stop - Tauranga

So the first day of the cruise is always fun. You are excited to get in your cabin and get everything unpacked…the the first stop after the cabin is ALWAYS to find the buffet! Then you pretty much spend the rest of the day trying to find your way back to your cabin. Who needs to go use the gym. I mean I think we’ve walked miles just trying to figure out where things are on this ship!

Our first stop on the cruise was Tauranga that is located on the North island of New Zealand. We were being bussed into the city from the port and were told about a tour that was headed to a place called Rotoura. In Rotoura there was this  Thermal Village where the Maori people live.( I will not attempt to spell Maori out for you phonetically since apparently I don’t even know how to pronounce it. So I will just let you give it a go for yourselves like I do every time). We did a tour of the village and got to see how they live. Boy was it hot in there. The steam comes up from the ground and just to touch the ground was so hot. It would surely melt those $2 Old Navy flip flops. But luckily I was in tennis shoes. Crazy. There were also geysers in the village that would shoot up and we happened to be there when they were. Apparently they are not on a set schedule….just random as to when they want to show up.

The Maori’s also put on a cultural show for us. I thought it was great!

After we left the Thermal Village we headed to Kiwi 360. I guess I never knew how kiwis were grown but I would have never guessed they would grow on vines like they do.
Our tour guides were great. Jackson was the main one and he was Maori. He had us doing all kinds of chants and dances while on the bus. We later found out that all the pictures that they took that day were going be posted on Facebook. Great…seeing as how Heidi and I were in the very front seats where the pictures were being taken….I doubt we escaped being photographed waving our hands in the air.

That was our Tauranga stop. After the kiwi farm it was back to the boat! I can’t comment too much on the boat….okay well yes I can. We are having a good time, but since we have been been on several cruises before and one of them actually being Princess I think we had high expectations. So far it has not impressed me. Not many activities going on and the food is okay. Oh well, we still have another week or so….maybe it will get better.

Too good to be true…..

Auckland, NZ oh how we aren’t really sure what we saw in your city since again we were zombies on 3 hours of sleep.

Once we arrived in Auckland we decided to walk around a bit and attempt to find the free shuttle around the city that we were told existed. We were wondering around the visitor center at the Skywalk to try and find a brochure of some sort on the tram, with no luck. So we finally asked a guy at the information desk where the bus stop was so he told us. But either he gave bad directions, or we can’t follow directions (which on 3 hours of sleep I’m pretty sure it was us who didn’t follow the right directions). Needless to say we sat at this bus stop for a while and nothing. Finally a city bus pulled up so we asked him and he said it was further up. So we starting heading where we “think” he is pointing. So next thing we know we hear honking. Okay well whatever, we just kept walking. We heard it again and kept on walking. After hearing it a third time I finally decided to turn around. Sure enough the bus driver was honking at us…why?? Well we were going the wrong way of course. So he pointed to where we needed to go and we finally found it.  So we hopped on and did a circle of the city.
So apparently the day we arrived in Auckland was a public holiday so there was quite a bit of stores that were closed. Let me just go off topic for a moment and say….Is every day in Australia and New Zealand a public holiday? Geez! I think every city shuts down between Christmas and New Years. And apparently since Christmas and New Year were on the weekend this year they get the Monday and Tuesday off of the following week as public holidays so nothing is open!! We’ve enjoyed our time over here, but would advise people to come for New Year and stay after and do everything, not the way we did it.

Okay, back to Auckland…. I must tell you about our accommodations in Auckland. It was a “too good to be true” moment if I have ever seen one.  So the cost was $52 and that included the tax. That should have thrown up a red flag right there. But I think we had spent so much money on the trip already we were ecstatic to find a place so cheap. Our room…..it was smaller than a cruise ship cabin that is located in the bowels of the ship. I do not lie. Unfortunately I didn’t  get a picture. Check out was 10am and it was past 10am and we were in the hall waiting on the elevator when I remembered that I had not gotten a picture. I went back to grab a quick photo while we were waiting and bam…key no longer works. Shoot they don’t mess around. I’m glad  I didn’t forget anything in there. When they say 10am….they mean 10am!!

On our way down to check out we ran into this guy in the elevator. It was a short ride, but long enough to learn that he didn’t like the accommodations either.  We were all in agreement that you get what you pay for when you buy it off the internet!! I personally think it was a backpacking hostel of some sort, but it clearly spun it’s ad on the internet! I guess you gotta give them props…because apparently we weren’t  the only people that they fooled!  Oh and they also didn’t mention the “Adult” store that was located right next door!!

Well, we went to bed early to try and catch up on some sleep that we lost….although you can never really catch up on lost sleep. We didn’t get any sleep that night either. There was no air so we had to sleep with the windows up and there was this annoying siren that went off ALL night long!!! I kept meaning to ask someone what it was, but never did.

The next day we shopped around some more, ate lunch at this HORRIBLE hamburger joint. We ended up throwing most of it away. I’d rather have McDonalds.

It was finally time to board the ship….and it was painless.It was so fast to get on board and of course we headed to the buffet 1st thing after we found our cabin. FOOD!!!!!

Blue Mountains

So we got in to Justin’s mom’s place about 2:30 in the morning. She had our beds ready for us. She does have 2 cats, but I was prepared and had been taking my meds. When we got home though one of the cats made a break for it and we found it where Heidi and I were going to be sleeping rolling around on one of the beds. Needless to say…Heidi got that bed. Then….bright and early at 7am she was hollering for us all to get up. The blue mountains were a good 2 hours away if not more and we needed to get there before all the tour busses arrived. At first I thought it was his sister and thought….well she is mighty chipper this morning for going to bed the same time as us. But we later realized that it was Mrs. Choy being the chipper one and waking us all up.

We finally all made it out the door half asleep. The ride to the mountains was curvy so I spend the majority of the ride with my eyes closed. We finally made it and went to the Jenolan Caves.We did a cave tour that was pretty cool to see. From there we headed to the sky something or other. We’ve done so many gondola rides on this trip the names are starting to run together. But the good thing is that they have all been so different so I have greatly enjoyed each one of them.  Included was this train ride which turns out it is the steepest train…maybe in the world? Not sure on that one, but it was steep. The seats were laid back and there was a cage on the top….you had to practically crawl into the thing. And no seatbelts. It was crazy, but fun!

After our Blue Mountain adventure we ate dinner and then they put us on a train to head back to our apartment since we were to fly out to Auckland the next day…on a 6:15am flight. You know what that means? You got it…no sleep = more zombies walking around.

I’d like to thank the Choy’s (Justin, Vicki, and Mrs. Choy) for being great tour guides and for your wonderful hospitality and generosity  while we’ve been in Sydney!  You guys are a lot of fun and we enjoyed being around you. THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!


Trivia: The blue mountains get their name from the Eucalyptus trees. The oils let off something that causes the mountains to look blue from a distance!!