What do you mean we have to leave tomorrow?! Didn't we just get here?! Somehow our time in Aussie land is quickly coming to a close, and we've recently realized that we had to hustle ourselves up the the Whitsundays and then to the GBR. After driving north from 1770, all day through rain, we got to Airlie Beach, where it proceeded to rain on us all night long. Periodically the rain would be replaced by a torrential downpour, and then back to rain. Did we mention it was raining lots?? The next morning our van was pretty much soaked right through again, but even worse than before. The wet carpet odour was magnificent. So, we deserted the van for a few days and took off to a sweet resort in the impressive Whitsunday Islands, leaving ... read more

Australia is hot. Not nice summer hot, it is sweating-in-the-shade hot. No surprise there, coming here in the summer, but what a change from New Zealand! But at least we can now get some swimming in without needing wet suits... Sydney is a big city. Fun for a day. We did the true tourist things, including walking the Harbour Bridge, and checking out the Opera House. The next day we got to the famous Blue Mountains National Park, but our excellent luck with the weather ended dramatically at this point. Supposedly the views are great. We got a great view of the inside of storm clouds and tourists wearing plastic bags. Oh well, the post cards look nice. We picked up our new mode of transport in Syndey - our campervan, aka Space Shuttle. We've been ... read more

Well, technically we're not in Christchurch right now. We've cleared right out of New Zealand entirely and have moved on to Australia, but more about that later. First -- the end of our time in NZ: We spent quite a bit of time being entertained by the International Buskerfest that was going on. It's an annual thing, and is quite a big deal - people come from all over, both to watch and entertain. Things we saw: the typical unicyclists, jugglers, contortionists--but that was just me and Nancy. We also saw acrobats, fire-eaters, handstands on 20 foot ladders, and hours of comedic entertainment both in parks downtown during the day and also at clubs in the evening. Heaps of fun. The town itself was cool. We put lots of miles on our feet. The huge park ... read more

Hey y'all We met up with some Texans yesterday. Hence the greeting. As for the title - that has nothing to do with the Texans. They were both girls. More about the balls later though. We may have been a little wrong on our thought that we were "natured out". One day in the larger city of Dunedin was all we needed to set us straight. The town itself was nice. We spent some time at the Southern Pride of NZ beer factory - Speights Brewery. At the end of the obligatory tour, we were set free in the bar, where we were given 30 minutes of free beer and allowed to pour our own beer from the taps. Nancy fell in love with Harvest, with a hint of Apricot (reminded her of Kawarthas Raspberry wheat ... read more

As we promised yesterday here are some photos from Abel Tasman National Park and areas south... After a nice rest, spending three days in Punakaiki, we will continue heading south, stopping at the Fox Glacier and then heading to Milford Sound. Cheers!... read more