Blogs from Oceania - page 7764

G'Day all.. Sorry, but i promise that's the first and last stereotypical Aussie reference... So, two weeks in the land of funny bouncy things and small furry animals - and the wildlife's great too!! Promise that's the second and last bad reference... Seriously, a great place though.. you can see the attraction for upping sticks and heading down under - as some of you have already considered.. Unfortunately we will be heading home, so don't start the fireworks just yet....apparently there's something in August that we're needed for.. Luckily some of you have decided to call this place home, so right from touchdown our whole 15 days were spent in the lap of luxury compared with the SE Asia leg. Our first destination was 1.5 hours south west of Melbourne, almost at the end of the ... read more

I spent most of last week and weekend resting. Kameron was crook during the week (and still recovering) so we tried to keep our activity level to a minimum especially since it was her birthday. I enjoyed the change of pace and we were able to celebrate Kameron’s birthday with a nice dinner at Bin 272 (or some number like that) on Rundle Street. I had calamari and it was delicious (thanks for reminding me to taste test the fresh seafood here, dad)! I spent Valentines Day making chocolate covered strawberries (the strawberries from Hahndorf with Cadbury’s white chocolate-Cadbury’s is the chocolate of choice here)…just what the doctor, I mean… chemist ordered for Kameron’s sickness. I was also fortunate to have a taste of Hershey Kisses and conversation hearts on Valentines Day. My supervisor had a ... read more

What a day... Full of adventures! In the morning we left the beautiful hostel in Wanaka, said good bye to all the travellers, and headed south to Te Anau, in the Fiordland. Our first stop on the way was Arrowtown. We didn't find what was interesting in the town except that we managed to shop AGAIN :-) (some beautiful jewlery, yes, again. They have stuff made of a shell called Paua shell, and I fell in love with it). On the way we stopped for WC, and only thanks to that, completely by chance, we saw the steam train that is still opearting in a place called Kingston. For tourist only of course... but still nice. We arrived to Te Anau and booked an evening trip to a cave with worms. Yes, cave with worms, no ... read more

This was a real fun day! First of all, no driving :-) I needed a rest from that... In the morning we went to a museum in Wanaka called Puzzling World. It has a great exhibition of illusions, a maze, and mind cracking games room. We were actually first to arrive to the museum and we had the illusions rooms all to ourselves. I attach pictures from the giant and the dwarf room, illusion used in Lord of the Rings movie. See me and Shiri exchange our heights :-) One room presented holograms, one room had 168 faces on the walls, and they all seemed to follow you when you walk. The illusion is so real, it was amazing, although after I understood the trick it didn't work anymore :-( The last room is built slanted, ... read more

Well, in Te Anau. Stormyish weather has dictated no glow worm trips of mysticalness for me. Of course they deceided this after I paid, and also after we set off. Much overcrowded tourist seasickness, a demonstration that the boat is far from watertight - but all in all a fun, free experience. It was way wilder than jet boating... Will be trying again tomorrow, between coaching and cruising Milford Sound. It really is a hard life isn't it? Have switched accommodation styles to cabin (cheap room with a block to sleep on) from hostel (cheap room with a bed but far too distracting for any sleep). Queenstown, advenutre AND party capital was the final straw. The UK boozehounds were on fine form, ensuring they came home superdrunk every half hour just to alleviate the chance of ... read more