Stars Family

3/09/2012 Clear skies and sunshine! John and Norah have planed a day in Sydney Central. We took the train into the City. Upon arriving in Center City, we walked to Central Quay where we had close up views of the magnificent Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. From the Central Quay, we took the ferry across Sydney Harbor to Manley. We had lunch at an outdoor café and walked to the beaches. The beaches are beautiful and clean. Many swimmers and surfers were taking advantage of a beautiful summer day. Returned to Center city by ferry and walked to the Rocks area, the historical section of the city. In early days, the Rocks divided the Convict section of town from the Colonial Settlers section. After walking about the Rocks, we took a bus back ... read more

3/07/2010 A local bushwalk is planned for today. After breakfast the Aussie 4 (John #1, Norah, Barbara and John #2) open the Best Bush and Coastal Walks of the Central Coast guidebook. John#1 suggested the Gerrin Point Circuit (situated in the Bouddi National Park) not far from their home. The book covered the walk in great detail. The estimated time of the 5.0 kilometer walk is 2 and one-half hours. We parked the car in the car park at the far end of the trail and set out to see the Aussie Bush and Water. The trail descended into the bush. The native trees were very interesting (see photos). We encountered several wildflowers, a nice surprise for late summer. After some time we walked out of the bush. At this stop we had a ... read more

3/05/2012 After a very early get up call at 3:00AM, we made our way to the Auckland airport. We said our goodbyes to Robyn and Hugh and located our Virgin Australia gate for our flight to Sydney. Getting through customs in Sydney was smooth until we arrived at baggage claim. At the appointed luggage carousel, our bags were not to be seen. We eventually found them at the other end of the building. John’s cousin, John, and wife, Norah, were there to meet us. As we made our way from Sydney, we had a good view of the Sydney Opera house. We drove north to John and Norah’s house in Killcare. After resting for awhile, we walked down to the beach. We had a short walk along the beach and along a walkway in Bouddi National ... read more

3/02/2012 Drove south from Mangonui. We arrived in Waitangi at midday. Waitangi is the birthplace of New Zealand. On February 3, 1840 the Maori tribes and the British government signed a treaty. With this treaty, the native Maori tribes became part of the British Commonwealth. We toured the Maori Meeting house, very ornate. We also looked at the large Maori canoes. Leaving Waitangi we continued our drive south toward the Bay of Islands, a scenic vacation spot where we stopped and had lunch. We at arrived at the Taylors home in mid afternoon.... read more

2/29/2012 Trampers 5(including Margaret) are planning a road trip to Cape Reinga, the northern tip of the North Island. Margaret arranged a guided bus trip. To begin the trip, we drove from Margaret’s house in Manganoui to Kauri Kingdom, a tourist depot in Awanui. There we met our driver, Senny, a native Maori, with Sand Safaris. Senny had a great sense of humor. Gifted with a singing voice, he serenaded us with Maori songs as we drove along. We hadn’t driven far when Senny announced we would be leaving the state highway, and taking the beach road, known as 90 Mile Beach. (Note: this beach is actually ONLY 60 miles long but the Kiwis have a THINK BIG psyche …… little brother syndrome in the shadow of the Australians). Motor vehicles are allowed to ... read more