We're not in Kansas Anymore

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Well it's true we're not in Kansas anymore. In fact, we were never in Kansas, however, we were in New Zealand and now we are in the mighty land of OZ. So sorry it has been 17 days since our last update, but, come on now folks we are on vacation here. I will try to recap as succinctly as I can, though I do have a propensity for being verbose so you better make sure you are seated for this one ( I mean, really, you already ought to be seated as only overworked sales people with back problems stand while working at their computers).

We left the Crums little strip of paradise and had a great ferry trip back to the North Island of New Zealand. Our first stop, back in Wellington, was a quick trip to our favorite used book store to sell back some books and buy a couple more. We also stopped at our favorite noodle Joint called Satay Kingdom and then we hit the road Northbound. About two hours outside of town we found a nice pullout and hit the hay. The next morning we drove to Waikite Valley which is our favorite hot spring location. We had a lovely stay and got in two soaks before hitting the road again the following morning. Auckland was our destination and we had to make in time to prepare a make shift passover seder. We got into town with plenty of daylight and we immediately set out to find the necessary ingredients for a proper seder. Unfortunately we could not find Matzoh so Abby went online and learned how to make it herself. While it may not have been Glatt it surpassed all my expectations and I think the big man upstairs approved as well. Armed with home made matzoh, fresh haroset, wasabi as Maror, a roasted egg, a chicken bone instead of a lamb shank and cellery greens we made the best Seder we could. We even got some of the non-jewish guests at the Hostel to participate and I think it was a great success.

The next morning we set about preparing the van for sale and we posated flyers around town. At one hostel a girl showed interest and she had test driven Roxy before the day was out. By the next day we had a sales agreement and as it was Easter weekend we were unable to close the deal until the following Tuesday. In the mean time I was doing 2 hours of work a day at the hostel to supplement the fee (or tariff as they say in NZ) for the room. We had a great final week in Auckland and made some good friends in the hostel. We went to see Capote (which was awesome) and now I have a strange desire to read In Cold Blood. We also went to the pub for our new buddy Mike's 22nd and where they served us beer in a "barmaid" which is a threefoot tall glass cylinder with a tap on it that holds 6 pints of beer. They set it on your table and you pull your own draughts. It was pretty cool.

Before we new it a week had passed and we were up before the sun and in a van on the way to the airport. By 10:30am Australia time we were in Sydney and we were at our Hostel by noon. With only half a day in Sydney we hit the town on foot and checked out the harbour, Circular Quay and The Rocks. We took way to many pictures of the Opera house and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but we had a blast. There happened to be a really cool show playing at the Opera house called Regeneration so we bought some tickets in the last row and finished our evening by watching the Sydney Ballet and a group of contemporary dancers perform two fantastic pieces. This was definitely a dream come true, we had said in passing how nice it would be to see a show at the famed opera house, and when the opportunity arose we sprang for it.

The following morning at 7:10am we were on the Adventure Tours Bus, leaving Sydney for a 4 day itinerary that finished in Melbourne. We were pleased to find that the were only 8 passengers on the 24 person bus and that the driver/guide was really cool and knowledgable. Before we knew it we found ourselves in Canberra (the capitol of Australia) being ferried around the notable sights. If you don't know about Canberra you should look it up. It is halfway between Sydney and Melbourne (basically in the middle of nowhere) and its desgn was the subject of a contest that was won by an American guy who was not a very good project manager. From the lookout above the city one can tell that the basic principle of the city's layout is quite nice (basically a triangle with the three points being the Parliament building, the military sector and the commercial sector with residentially areas around the commercial zone. There is a war memorial museum in the midpoint of the leg between the commercial sector and the military sector), however, its remote location and the sterility of most of its residential buildings makes it a place that even the Prime Minister of Australia (John Howard, FYI) won't live in. We left Canberra after a tour of Parliament and the War museum and a brief look at the famous aboriginal tent embassy and headed for Lake Jindabyne. Our Accomodation at Lake Jindabyne had a sauna and a pool and we had a nice soak and then dinner and some billiards.

The next day we had an early breakfast and headed for Kosciusko Park (in the Snowy Mountains) where we found the alpine zone covered in snow. Yes folks it does snow in Australia pretty much every year, you just have to go to the right place. We had a really fun time walking in the snow and even did a little exploring when we found that our planned river crossing was not safe. AFter a few hours hours of snowy excitement we headed back to town for lunch and then back in the bus for a scenic drive down a really windy dirt road that followed the Snowy River. We stopped for stunning views and a photo opportunity at the official border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria. We ended the day at a Tibetan Buddhist Retreat center called Ontos. We had a nice dinner and then the drunk cook bet us $100 dollars that we could not figure out this card trick that he showed us. Of course, Abby figured it out and he vowed to give her the money. The next morning he actually tried to give her the money but she would not accept it as her principles do not allow here to take advantage of drunkards (This woman is great, I am the luckiest guy on earth😊 ).

We hit the road (and a wallabee...poor thing) and went to the town of Buchan (pronounced Buck In, which sounds like F@*kin', and is very humorous when placed before alll the normal sights of a town, such as Buchan bar, Buchan school and Buchan bridge). The main attraction here are caves with stalagtites and stalagmites, but we didn't bother, instead we decended on the park and scrambled around the hills in search of Kangaroos. And Kangaroos we did find. We figure by the end of this trip we won't ever want another picture of a kangaroo. Satisfied by our close encounters with the friendly hopping roos we saddled up and headed for Foster. Along the way we stopped in some temperate rainforest and saw a forest of Mountain Ash which is the second tallest tree in the world (according to the guide). We slept the night in Foster and had a meaty Aussie Barbecue. Day four of our trip came and we went out on Wilson's Promintory where we chased down more roos and saw our first emus (man, Australia is cool!!!) We spent some time hiking about to get some great coastal views and we had some close encounters with Scarlet Rosella Parrots in the carpark of a beach called Squeaky Beach (so named because the sand squeaks when one scuffles one's feet along it). We wrapped up our coastal fun and had lunch in town. Then we headed for Melbourne and made it to town before sunset.

In Melbourne, Abby and I called my second cousin Fay Kohn and she picked us up and brought us to her home. Fay is my Mom's first cousin and Fay and her husband Maurie have four really cool kids. Their oldest sun Benji is my brothers age, next Josh who is my age, then Simon who is Abby's age and Naomi who is 18. We have been with them the last few days and we are having a great time. We are being fed as only a Jewish mother could feed and it is great to learn about everyones jobs and lives. YEsterday was ANZAC day which is like our Veterenas day and we went with Maurie, Benji and his wife Ella to see an Australian rules football match. It was awesome, I must say it was more excited than any AMerican sporting event I have been to and it was not nearly as confusing as the folks in NZ made it out to be. We will be here in Melbourne until Sunday morning when we start a three day bus tour to Adelaide. We should be able to get some more photos loaded before we leave and we will let you know if anything notable happens.

That's all for now. I think we will make an effort to write more frequently as I will now have to rest my fingers for the next 24 hours. I hope you enjoy our tales and we will be in touch soon.

Love,
Benji and Abby

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Photos

Auckland Crew
This is part of the crew we hung out with in Auckland during our final week in NZ.

Abby in Sydney
Abby is soaking in the sights of Sydney.

Street Performers
Dijareedoo, don't mind if I do.

Opera House 1
The Sydney Opera House is truly an amazing piece of architecture. No matter where you view the building is just stunning.

Opera House 2
Incredible.

Bus Crew
This is our motley 8 person crew on our bus tour from Sydney to Melbourne

Tent Embassy
This is the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. It is located on the front lawn of the old parliament house. They have basically taken over the lawn and they return no matter how many times the police have removed them. This is equivalent to Native Americans taking over the White House Lawn. Sweet!!!

Snowy Mountains
Look Mom it snows in Australia. Who knew? We had a blast hiking around in the snow.

Old School
Me being goofy in a really old school building.

Roo!
Abby and I getting hoppy with a kangaroo.

roo and emu
Classic.

On top of the world
Actually we are near the southern most point of Australia. I guess from a North American perspective, we are on the bottom of the world.

Comments

[Papa]

Edie's Extended Family
Did you get a chance to contact the people we gave you info about? I believe they are in Melburne.