We pulled into Wellington Friday evening after a very long drive and left early the next morning for the ferry to the South Island so we don't have much to say unfortunately. J was horribly sick the entire time, so no pictures were taken, and only PowerAid was consumed. I wish we had more time to explore this lovely capital city! I will say that it really is windy in Wellington - every time I stepped outside, my hair was blown every-whichway! We agreed with locals that said it was like a small scale version of San Francisco. The ferry ride [View Full Entry]

---

---

On our way to Napier, we stopped at Huka Falls, a beautiful glacial blue river and waterfall with jet boat rides. We're saving our Jet Boat money for Queenstown, but it was definitely worth taking the quick trip off the highway to see the falls. After this, we stopped for lunch in Lake Taupo. The view across the lake with the mountains in the distance reminded us of home, absolutely gorgeous! Taupo itself was overly touristy and not very quaint at all. The main highway runs through town and along the lakefront. There is a park on the lake side of [View Full Entry]

---

---

The best bang for your buck in Rotorua is to head out of town to Wai-O-Tapo. Although still pricey, it had more to offer than Te Puia and in fact we wished we had more time to spend there! The Lady Knox geyser goes off each morning at precisely 10:15 so we packed up our car and drove like the wind down to the park, arriving just in time. Little did we know, unlike Old Faithful at Yellowstone, this geyser doesn't erupt on its own - an employee of the park pours soap into the geyser at 10:15 AM and coaxes [View Full Entry]

---

---

We arrived in Rotorua without having made a hotel reservation in advance. As we drove through the outskirts of town, we passed one "no vacancy" sign after another. Getting a little worried, we headed directly for the I Site. In New Zealand, just about every town has an I Site tourist center. These small offices are a godsend for tourists! Similar to AAA at home, they provide maps, brochures, and free booking services (but you don't have to be a member). The lines at this I Site were huge which only added to our concern. We picked up a handful [View Full Entry]

---

---

Auckland is not the place to spend New Year's Eve. Everyone goes on vacation to the beach, the city is like a ghost town! Many businesses and restaurants are closed for an entire two week period at the holidays. We should have planned to be in Sydney for New Year's - oh well. In Auckland, we stayed at the SkyCity Hotel right next to the Sky Tower. Picture the Stratosphere in Las Vegas and you get a good idea of what the Sky Tower looks like. At midnight, fireworks shot out of the top of the tower over the crowd (not [View Full Entry]

---

---

23. City Cat in Brisbane (high speed catamaran) 24. Melbourne River Cruise [View Full Entry]

---

---

In Melbourne, our trip intersected with the Australian vacation of J's aunt and uncle from Alaska. The four of us spent an evening together, catching up and sharing a great meal at one of the many Italian restaurants on Lygon Street. We have been so fortunate to have the opportunity to see family along the way on this trip! We had quite a difficult time finding a place to stay in Melbourne as it happened to be during the Ashes cricket match. Cricket sells out the city's hotels? You must be joking, you say. Well don't laugh, it's true! Luckily we [View Full Entry]

---

---

No visit to the area is complete without a visit to the famed Australia Zoo! On the drive up, P pointed out a mountain in the shape of a gorilla. He said it was named Mt. Tibrogargan because that's the aboriginal word for gorilla. We really liked the set up at the zoo - the staff were extremely friendly and helpful in answering questions about the animals. On the walk from the parking lot to the main gate we encountered several animals with handlers there to meet and greet the guests: a camel, a lizard, and a baby pig. We decided [View Full Entry]

---

---

We spent Christmas in Brisbane at the home of the cofounder of a company J once worked for in Seattle. We felt very at home with the family (Mom, Dad, and 9 year old P) and had a wonderful visit! Here are some of the highlights: 1) Mt. Coot-tha offers a great view of the city of Brisbane, with the river snaking through town and out to the ocean in the distance. 2) Brisbane Botanical Gardens were open on Christmas Day so we had a peek around. 3) The cliffs at Kangaroo Point sit above the Brisbane River, across from the [View Full Entry]

---

---

12. Ferry across Chao-Phraya (Bangkok) 13. Klong tour long-tail boat (Bangkok) 14. Cruise up Ping River (Chiang Mai) 15. Lomprayah high speed catamaran (Koh Samui-Koh Nang Yuan round trip) 16. Koh Nang Yuan dive boat 17. Long-tail boat to Koh Tao 18. Ferry from Koh Tao back to Koh Nang Yuan 19. Ferry to Koh Kred 20. Long-tail boat around Koh Kred 21. Poseidon Great Barrier Reef dive boat 22. Illusions Whitsundays catamaran [View Full Entry]

---

---