Blogs from Oceania - page 7369

A free bus arrived in Noosa to take us to Australia Zoo a family who hadn't prebooked seats were forced to wait to see if there were any spaces. They included about the only children in the group & they managed to squeeze on in the end. The special extended version of Steve Irwins life story was playing on the bus refamiliarising us with classic Irwinisms such as 'Woo Hoo', 'Isn't She a Beauty' & 'Sweating Bullets'. The extended version meant we didn't get to see it all before we were at the zoo. The first animal we saw was a water monitor crossing our path, these critters were all over the zoo & they were pretty tame too. Australia Zoo has the oldest animal in captivity, a large land tortoise from the Galapagos called Harriett ... read more

On arriving in Wellington our friend Dan came to pick us up from the ferry terminal. We went to stay with him and Jen for a few days and had an awesome time. We had a marathon tennis session which unfortunately Dan and Jen won (although they do have a tennis court in their garden and we hadn't played for years)! Our next destination was Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island. We had a relaxing time doing nothing much, just enjoying the scenery and the laid back atmosphere. For a bit of Maori culture we set off to Rotorua where we visited a thermal village which was home to a Maori tribe. Here we witnessed the Haka, natural geysers and an example of how the Maori people cook and bathe in the thermal ... read more

That's not a knife......this is a knife As my boss at Sydney Dept. of Education, the good old Terry Crotty (Snotty Crotty), would say: There are two things I hate about Bushwalking. Bush and Walking. He was never the funniest man on the planet, but with his jokes about employing Sweedish girls called Agnetha and asking us to Put the cat out every time he left the office for the day, (yes, every day), Adam and I loved him, in the way you love a senile old grandad. Anyway, Adam, Smoss and their mate Ben, who had turned up over Christmas after trecking around the globe, had managed to get a little trip out into the Ku-Ring-GaiChase National Park and HawkesburyRiver area organised to sample the infamous bush. It was a good day out, tramping around ... read more

14.02.06 Valentines Day We have tried more WWOOF farms, but no luck yet. They are all booked until end of Feb or March. We'll keep trying, we want to get back out of the city. Today we headed into town to get our jabs that we needed boosting! We went to the Travellers Doctor that is mentioned in the Lonely Planet book, we were quoted some crazy prices for our jabs and that we would first have to have a consultation which was also more money. Also we would be unable to claim any of it back on our medicare card, which we had joined for free. Plus they wouldn't be able to see us for a couple of days. So we went away from here a little flat because we didn't want to spend a ... read more

Week 1 in NZ: We landed in Christchurch, only to find that most accomodations and car hire companies are completly booked up for weeks! Since we needed a room for that night and a car for the trip, it was quite a stressful afternoon, slogging around Christchurch with our luggage in tow! We eventually got a grotty room in a hostel no-one else wanted to stay in, and were then forced to stay in a hotel - oh shucks! Sovereign Hotel for 4 nights, which was great. We spent our last night at Base. It was a 'party hotel' and made us both feel about 100 years old...note to other travellers heading to NZ in peak season - book ahead! Anyway, spent the week wandering around Christchurch. It's a very pretty city, with a cathedral, working ... read more