So we made it to Queenstown even after our flight was cancelled due to fog. We took a 7 hour bus ride to get here, but it was worth it! This town is very similar to the ski towns in Colorado, all New Zealand schools are off, and top that with the Australia versus New Zealand rugby game tonight! Much going on here. We are about to meet our friends we met on the bus to view the game. Let's just say they are rooting for AU. But earlier today we took it upon ourselves to do some "adrenaline" type activities. [View Full Entry]

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We were sad to leave Australia, but entered the beautiful landscape of New Zealand. The customs guy was much nicer here! We set off in our rented 4WD vehicle up the mountain to stay at a beautiful golf resort (you wonder who booked this?). Terrace Downs was a beautiful resort near Methven, which a ski town at the base of Mt. Hutt. We golfed in four degree C drizzle, you don't need complicated formulas to figure out who enjoyed this. Megan's first tee shot did not splash in the water- due to the fact that the lake was frozen over. The [View Full Entry]

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Melbourne is a great place to explore with lots of alleyways that wind through the city's grid. Also, it's cold here and actually feels like winter! We have taken a couple of day trips: one to see the Penguin Parade on Phillips Island, a nightly ritual where a thousand penguins return from the ocean and waddle into burroughs, and a second tour to go wine tasting in Yarra Valley, mmmmmm. We were not allowed to take pictures of the penguins because the flashes are apparently harmful and daze the little guys (they are only a foot tall and weigh 2.2 pounds!!), [View Full Entry]

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We arrived this morning to 45 mph winds in Melbourne! We stepped off the plane and immediately wondered if we were back in Chicago. We didn't mind the wind because it cleared the air after Tim had to sit next to "Smelly Jim" for an hour on the plane. The cold winds have not stopped us from roaming around downtown and trying to find live music for tonight. Melbourne is an extremely artistic town with loads of galleries, shops and live music. Tomorrow we're going to do a walking tour of all the sites and end the day with a night [View Full Entry]

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So Sydney has proven to be a HUGE city. We giggled when they said that it is the biggest city in Australia, boasting over 4 million people. But seriously, there is so much to see here. We went to the Opera House yesterday. The tour was pricey, but well worth it. We had an Angelica Houston lookalike tour guide who knew everything about the place (including the fact that Pres Bush had an entourage of 700 people for a meeting a few years ago - seriously?). We're going to a music show tomorrow night at the Opera House. Today we went [View Full Entry]

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6/7/09 Back in Brisbane after our adventure along the coast. We drove from Gladstone to Airlie Beach back down to Hervey Bay and now back to Brisbane this morning. A lot of driving, but worth it as we are seeing some great places! At Airlie Beach we went out on a sail boat daytrip that took us to Luncheon Bay where we snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef. It was really spectacular. Arlie Beach was a great vacation town and we have seen amazing sunsets. At Hervey Bay we rode a ferry out to Frasier Island and took a tour on [View Full Entry]

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Greetings from across the globe! We landed safe and sound at dawn this morning after a 14 hour flight to brisbane. I think it is Wed July 1st, which means we leap-frogged Tuesday. We spent the day driving up inland of the coast toward the Great Barrier Reef. Very beautiful countyside with brilliant sunshine and hills and forest. It's hot here! Winter my foot. We have stopped for the night in a town called Gladstone, which leaves us about a five or six hour drive tomorrow morning. It's a little scary driving on the left side, but we've managed so far. [View Full Entry]

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We're leaving tonight! We are mostly packed, minus a few last minute things. It's hard to feel completely ready when you know that you might have missed something. Oh well! They have Targets in Australia, right? We'll post more when we get there! [View Full Entry]

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Now that Megan is off school, she has more time to worry about whether or not we are ready for this trip. We are currently formalizing plans, but not too many! We want some of it to be random. That's part of the fun of traveling. What to take? Three weeks is hard to plan for. Do we take three weeks of clothes, or maybe do laundry on the trip. Then again, doing laundry isn't exactly a vacation, is it? We may complain about dragging several suitcases around. Only 16 days left! [View Full Entry]

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