Wellington to Auckland 12/17-12/28/2010

A Maori invitation to parlay

Hobbiton in fine form. It looks like filming will soon begin on "The Hobbit".

The surf town of Raglan

Some unknown surfer riding a wave at Raglan

Auckland and the crater of Mt. Eden

Addditional images can be viewed at: http://picasaweb.google.com/scdefina/NewZealandNorthIsland121712282010#

Our last days in New Zealand felt much like a rain out in the bottom of the 9th inning. We spent a fair amount of time watching and waiting for it to stop so we could finish off our travels with a last burst of activity. The Tongariro crossing turned into two days of watching the Lord of The Rings Trilogy with other would be trampers. Rotorua was an interesting spot with the geysers, mud pools, and the smell of sulfur wafting about. The rain did let up for a couple of days while in Raglan and we were able to surf the point break at Manu Bay, which was great fun. We stayed in a cozy caboose at a place called Solscape overlooking the bay, and celebrated Christmas with a potluck dinner organized by fellow guests. After four nights in Raglan we drove north to Auckland and had a couple of days walking around the city and getting things organized for our flight back to the US. At the moment and for the next ten days we will be Oahu, visiting Robyn's family and celebrating New Years before flying to Seattle to visit my family for a few days. Then it's time to pack up again and head south, back to California.

Akaroa 12/15-12/16/2010

Strolling down to the Frenchified town of Akaroa

One of our better campsites

Heading out to see the Hector Dolphins

A dolphin leaping for an audience

Akaroa is in a large inlet on the Banks Peninsula just east of Christchurch. This beautiful spot sits within the crater of a rather large extinct (I think) volcano. We ate well, read a bit, took in the views, tramped a little and swam with the smallest species of dolphin, the Hector. Back to Christchurch and then up to the North Island for the last ten days of our international trip. We will spend Christmas in New Zealand (likely surfing in Raglan) and then fly to Hawaii to visit Robyn's brother's family for New Years. We are officially homesick and are looking forward to seeing family, friends and home.

The Franz Josef Glacier 12/14/2010

A viewpoint along the coast on the way the see the glacier

Robyn and Franz Josef

Posing in Sunnies with Franz

Castle Rocks a bit east of Arthur's Pass

The rocks sit on what appears to be grazing land for some dairy cows.

The Franz Josef Glacier is another of New Zealand's impressive sights that is easily accesible. Well, easily accesible after a long drive along a winding coastal road. This large glacier slides down the western slopes of the South Islands dividing range. It is very much part of the tourist circuit and was one of the few times we experienced what might be considered a crowd. Afterwards, on our drive to Christchurch we happened upon a remarkable rock formation called Castle rocks. These limestone behemoths are popular among rock climbers and are culturally important to the Maori people.

Milford Sound, Queenstown and Lake Wanaka 12/09-12/13/2010

Arriving at Milford Sound

Sunny and Cold

Mirror Lakes on the drive to Milford Sound

Big Deer, Little Ducks

Fishing on the Clutha River

Lake Wanaka

Milford Sound is actually not a sound, but rather a fiord. We were informed of the difference by the Captain onboard a cruise. For those not in the know, a sound is formed by rivers carving out valleys and then flooded by the sea, whereas a fiord is carved out by a glacier and then flooded by the sea. So technically Milford Sound should be called Milford Fiord. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful and impressive fiord to behold. We had two hours onboard a fairly large boat with maybe six other people, sunny skies and two bottlenose dolphins riding our bow wave.

Queenstown and Lake Wanaka have a lot in common. Both are really pretty places, cute towns, big lakes, rocky mountains, great views and loads of outdoor activities. We mostly relaxed, but did make a foray out on some really lousy mountain bikes. Despite the challenges of a bike that shifted whenever it wanted, we enjoyed our day riding along the lake and fishing in the Clutha river. We didn't catch a thing, not even a bite.

The Kepler Tramp December 6th-8th 2010

Middle Earth

Kepler Trek

Lake Te Anau

A Takahe, once thought to be extinct.

In the States we call it hiking, in Nepal trekking, while here in New Zealand it goes by the slightly more confusing name of tramping. The Kepler trek, tramp, hike is a 60 kilometer circuit that begins and ends near the southern lake town of Te Anau. The trail meanders along the lake and then climbs through mossy beach forest to the tussocked hillsides above. We had fine weather and were able to take in some spectacular views, especially on the second day as we hiked along a series of ridges. We were also educated on the unfortunate consequences of introduced species here in New Zealand. Specifically on the Stoat (think weasel), which was brought overseas to control the rapidly expanding introduced rabbit population. One of the main problems was that the stoats preferred the easier catch flightless birds like the Kiwi and the Takahe. As a result, the Takahe was thought to have gone extinct and the Kiwi numbers have been drastically reduced. Fortunatley, a last bastion of Takahe was discovered some years ago and is currently being assisted by humans in an effort to increase the population. I believe there are less than 500 Takahe left. As we made our way, we came across a stoat trap (looks like a rectangular box with a large mouse trap and an egg inside) every two hundred meters. These traps along the length of the Kepler circuit have helped increase at risk and endangered flightless bird populations within the perimeter.

Cromwell NZ 12/05/2010

Going for a swim down at the lake.

Poplars, trailers and wind. So NCW.

South Island Images can be viewed at: http://picasaweb.google.com/scdefina/NewZealandSouthIsland120112172010#

After a drive further south we set up camp at a nice caravan park along a lake in Cromwell. I kept commenting during the drive how much the area looked like central Washington State. I believe Robyn started to roll her eyes after a while, but to me the similarities were striking. The mountains, lakes and rivers, the dry hot air. It felt like coming home on a warm summer day. Ahhh...It was nice. Up with the sun, and that's pretty early here in New Zealand in the summertime. I figured morning might be my best chance to catch a fish, and sure enough it was. After only a few casts I pulled in good sized rainbow trout. It's been a long time since I've actually successfully caught something edible. I was in high spirits when I woke Robyn to show her our dinner. We had just finished a couple of nights of tacos, and pasta was slated for our evening meal. It wasn't the perfect combination but it was a satisfying side dish. On the road again...

Lake Pukake and Mount Cook 12/03-04/2010

Lake Pukake with Mount Cook in the background.

Mount Cook

Tasman Glacier and Lake.

Hiking to Tasman Lake to see the icebergs.

A short drive south and we arrived at lake Pukake, another sapphire stunner, with Mount Cook (NZ highest peak) in the background. We spent a couple of hours on a fishing excursion but again no fish. We did see a few salmon swim by though, and one of them must have been 20 to 30 pounds. I kept dragging the lure across it's field of vision but it showed no interest. We camped at a at spot along the lake and prepared a fine meal of tacos with homemade salsa and gaucomole, a favorite staple. Hopefully we'll be having fish taco's soon. The next morning we drove to Mount Cook. It is amazing how accesible the mountains and lakes are here in NZ. That and the fact that the South Island has such a small population, means little traffic and small crowds if any. We hiked to Tasman lake where we viewed small icebergs floating along after dropping from the Tasman Glacier. Another fine day.

The South Island of New Zealand

A day hike above lake Tekapo.

Looking down the trail out into Lake Tekapo.

The road has been lined with these purple and pink flowers.

We are having a great time on the beautiful South Island of New Zealand. After picking up our camper van in Christchurch we headed south to the amazing sapphire colored lake Tekapo. A glacial lake nestled in the foothills of the mountains of the Mackenzie valley. The color is a product of glacial silt that is suspended in the water and reflects the sunlight at this stunning hue. The Mackenzie valley is a wide open expanse of scrub bush, lakes and streams surrounded by rocky mountains, some snow-capped, others with fog rolling over the tops. After a disappointing experience in Australia, the spectacular scenery and relaxing pace of NZ is a great change for us. We purchased a fishing license and some additional lures and headed out to one of the canals along the lake and tried to catch our dinner. NZ is famed for it's abundant trout and salmon and the relative ease at landing one. No luck, but the beauty and quiet solitude of our fishing spot was just what we needed after a busy travel day. The blue sky, warm air and the allure of the lake made our second day in NZ a memorable one.

rest of Australia...we're finally in Melbourne!

We were at Seals Rock during a full moon which unfortunately covered the beach with these unpleasant Portuguese Man of Wars.

The lighthouse at Seals Rock

Our attempt at catching our dinner.

A view of one of the bays from Crescent Head.

After nearly a month in Australia, I think we're ready to move on to New Zealand as we find ourselves growing increasingly more grumpy and travel weary. We find our days consisting of nothing more than cooking, eating, driving, and sleeping. Plus, we feel paralyzed to do anything we had planned to do as everything is so expensive (surfing, diving/snorkeling, penguin watching, all got scratched off the list) and if I don't have to eat another PB&J sandwich, it will be too soon. Now we jokingly refer to this part of the trip that is to be endured, not enjoyed. We've made some mistakes in trying to cover more distance than we have time for, but we've found that after the excitement and intensity of Southeast Asia, everything has been a bit underwhelming in comparison.

On the brighter side of things, we've seen some beautiful places like Seals Rock and Pebbly Beach (many wonderful recommendations from our good friend, Sandra)। Some of our more comical errors involve us trying to expand our thriftiness by fishing for our dinner. After spending about $30 on a fishing pole and another $5 on bait, we have caught absolutely $0 in food! We've caught a total of 2 puffer fish, 1 turtle, and 2 spiny rock fish thingies of which some were poisonous and none were edible. We decided to retire our fishing pole until we hit NZ waters as we felt like we were turning into the grim reapers of Australian waters...poor little critters.

http://picasaweb.google.com/scdefina/SydneyAustralia112411252010#

http://picasaweb.google.com/scdefina/TheRoadToMelbourne112511282010#

Noosa Heads, Brisbane, Lamington National Park and Byron Bay 11/14-11/19/2010

A waterfall in the tropical rainforest habitat of Lamington National Park.

We couldn't eat our lunch in peace with these Rainbow Lorikeets divebombing us.

Bailing on a close-out, Byron Bay, Australia.

Australia is a big country, much too big to see in a month। Due to some poor planning on my part, we have been seeing a thin strip of the east coast, mostly from our van windows. Nevertheless, we are having some good times, we actually surfed for the first time today in Byron Bay. We also had a nice walk through Lamington National Park in the Green Mountains the other day, and enjoyed strolling around Noosa Heads a few days back. If we had it to do all over again, we would fly directly to Brisbane and then spend more time visiting a few destinations and less time driving between them. We hope to drive to Crescent Head tomorrow and spend a couple days relaxing in Australia's longboard capital.

ऄदितिओनल इमागेस कैन बे सीन at: http://picasaweb.google.com/scdefina/LamingtonNationalParkByronBay111511192010#

Cairns, Port Douglas, and Driving South 11/08-11/13/2010

Millaa Millaa Waterfall, Tablelands Queensland.
Posing at Agnes Waters, Workman's Beach, Queensland.
Swimming at Mossman Gorge, Queensland.

We landed in Cairns (northeastern Australia) early in the morning, and spent about 5 hours resting in the airport waiting for the van rental agency to open. It's getting easier crashing for a few hours on an airport bench after some practice. We picked up our campervan and headed north to Port Douglas (pretty place) and hoped to do some snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, but our plans changed when we realized the cost and the possibility of being stung by a deadly Box jellyfish. Instead we headed inland to the Tablelands above Cairns, having a good time hiking and swimming in some crocodile free streams. After exploring this plateau for a couple of days we started our journey south. The rain has been with us as we have driven some 1200 kms south, passing through towns such as Townsville (great free pool), Mackay (cattle), and Rockhampton (hmmm?).
We arrived in Agnes Waters yesterday, and have found the sun again. We are also happy that we can finally get into the ocean without having to worry about jellies. Our plan is to drive to Noosa Heads today and pick up a couple surfboards, relax, surf and then head down to Brisbane, where we hope to meet up with our friend Bryan Yeung, who just happens to be there for some sort of infectious disease conference. We are finding everything expensive here, so we have resorted to drinking box wine (not bad), eating peanut butter and marmalade sandwiches for lunch and we are always on the search for free overnight camping.

Additional images can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/scdefina/CairnsPortDouglasAndTheTablelands110711102010#

Perth, Western Australia 11/4-11/6/2010

A Beach in Fremantle Western Australia.

A dog dealing with dive-bombing gulls.

A view of Perth from King's park.

Additional images can be viewed at: http://picasaweb.google.com/scdefina/PerthAndFreemantleAustralia110411062010#

We arrived early in the morning in Perth (4am) and were really excited to have a good cup of coffee and a tasty baked item (one of the westernized conveniences Steve has missed the most) as we waited for our hostel room to be ready, and were shocked when the bill came out to $10 for a 12oz cup of coffee and a muffin. We had heard that the USD has weakened significantly since we've left, but we come to find out that the Australian dollar is worth more that the USD. A friendly local informed us that due to the high price of extractive commodities (mainstay of Western Australia's economy), the AUD has made huge gains against the USD. Compound that with the relative isolation of Perth which increases the cost of household goods, and we get the $5 coffee and $5 muffin. She also mentioned that Perth was rated the most expensive city to live in, even ahead of NYC. I double-checked her statement and found a list of many European and Japanese countries far ahead of Perth and NYC, but point is taken, it's expensive! We spent our 3 days in Perth catching up on sleep, touring Fremantle (a port city), and walking down the wide city streets, where we didn't have to dodge street vendors, avoid potholes the size of bicycles, nor solicitors trying to sell us something. We are definitely not in Southeast Asia anymore!

Ubud to Uluwata 11/02-11/04/2010

The famous Uluwatu. Unfortunately, we didn't have the chance to surf it. Uluwatu south at the beach.
Uluwatu looking north. Lots of peaks to surf.

The cave entrance to the beach.

More images can be viewed at: http://picasaweb.google.com/scdefina/UluwatuBaliIndonesiaOct3rd2010#
Our last day in Bali was spent repacking our already overstuffed bags and taking a motorscooter down the coast to check out the famed temple and surf breaks at Uluwatu. We ended up being so impressed with beach and caves at Uluwatu that we spent most of the day swimming in the warm water. By the time we made it back to our scooter the sun was hanging low in the sky and a temple visit was going to be brief. Unfortunately we found our scooter had a flat tire (bad motorscooter), and after a good ninety minutes and a twenty dollar repair bill (of course we got ripped off), our scooter was ready to scoot but we had no time left to view the sunset at the temple. Alas, we headed back to Kuta to grab some dinner and pick up our bags for the redeye to Perth Australia. All in all our time in Indonesia (Bali and Lombok) has been what we had hoped. The goal was to relax, so we spent a lot less time on the move, and we were able to surf some great breaks and learn a little more about this interesting part of world. If we come back to Bali, we will avoid Kuta and spend more time at some of the other destinations, such as Uluwatu, Medewi and the south of Lombok.