Posts Tagged ‘Oceania’

New Zealand: Abel Tasman
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to New Zealand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

[singlepic=263,200,,,right]Nelson, 1995 – the sunniest place in all of New Zealand. It failed to live up to that title the last time I was here as it down poured for three days straight. On the fourth day, the seas were deemed too rough to kayak the Abel Tasman, as we stood on the shoreline with paddles in our hands and frowns on our faces.

Nelson, 2007 – as we pulled into town the day before to overcast skies and light drizzle, I was apprehensive that Nelson would ever live up to its moniker in my presence. And I was nervous about our three-day kayaking/hiking experience we were to set out for today. As I awoke in our hotel in Motueka (which lives close to Abel Tasman National Park) blue skies did greet us on my birthday morning. I could only hope it would last.

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New Zealand: Nelson
Monday, December 8th, 2008

[singlepic=387,150,,,right]Michael and I traveled to New Zealand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

It’s the beginning of summer in New Zealand, but the weather has been more spring-like. For every clear day we’ve had a day of cloudy skies. But I think it is still the best time to travel here, as it’s not quite the busy season. So you feel like you almost have places to yourself, including the Abel Tasman, which can be quite the highway, but we had quiet trails.

In the summer months, when all of New Zealand is on break, you need to book accommodation and tours well in advance. That would not have worked well for the way we’ve been traveling – playing it by ear and never booking anything in advance.

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New Zealand: West Coast
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to New Zealand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.
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For our last two full days in New Zealand we decided to take our time driving back to Christchurch, taking in our last views of the gorgeous landscape.  From Nelson we drove inland to reach the West Coast, stopping in Buller Gorge to traverse New Zealand’s longest swing bridge.

Our first stop on the coast was Westport and Cape Fowlwind, where we watched the local seals frolick about.  From here it was short drive to our stopping point – Punakaiki, famous for their Pancake Rocks and blowholes.  We had one of those sunny days for the first part of our drive, so it was no wonder we woke up to grey.  But it’s amazing how the weather and lighting can really change the mood of the place.  And even though it was way past high tide, the blowholes were really kicking it up at Punakaiki.

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Australia: Overview Video
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Australia as part of our 2007 career break. The following is a video overview of our experience.

Text Version: Our first destination was Australia.  Approximately the same size as the United States, with only 7% of the population, most of the landscape is made up of arid desert. Not surprisingly, the majority of the residents live along the 22,000 miles of coastline where most tourists tend to flock as well.

With just three weeks we wanted to make the most of our time and experience as much diversity as possible – from cities and seas to sand dunes and deserts.

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Australia: Sydney
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Australia as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.
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We lasted about four hours our first day in Sydney.  By the time we got to our hotel and freshened up, it was around 2pm Sydney time.  But for our bodies, it was midnight.  So we decided to soldier through the day and hopefully into the night to fight off jet lag.  Walking from our hotel in the Kings Cross-Darlinghurst section of Sydney, we were reminded of the rolling streets of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco.  And as we strolled into Pitt St. in the City Center, we felt as if we were walking the mall-like streets of Chicago.

Sightseeing wasn’t really on our agenda, as we were in search of a cell phone to use domestically and other miscellaneous items.  But I wanted Michael to have his first look of the famed Opera House and Sydney Harbour.  As we made our way into Circular Quay, he was a bit quiet.  He admitted it wasn’t quite the view he expected.  But what he has seen in photos is from a much different angle – usually showing the Opera House surrounded by a large body of water with the Harbour Bridge in the background.  It wouldn’t be until the next day that he had that view, but from Circular Quay, the Opera House appeared to him as a “big thing in a little harbor.”

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Australia: Hervey Bay
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Australia as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

It was going to be a hot one in Sydney, with temperatures expected to be in the mid 30’sC (90’sF).  But it was still relatively comfortable as we made our way to the airport to catch our flight to Hervey Bay.  It was just an hour and 15 minute flight up the coast, but as we began our descent, we could see it would be much different weather from Sydney as we passed through thick clouds.

[singlepic=138,200,,,left]Hervey Bay is actually made up of five villages and stretches 16km along the coast, about 6 hours north of Brisbane.  During the months of August through October, Hervey Bay is well visited by tourists interested in seeing the humpback whales that migrate through the bay.  They’ll spend months here rearing their calves until they are fit to swim south to the Antarctic.  We arrived at the tale end of their migration but still hoped to catch them during our afternoon.

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Australia: Fraser Island
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Australia as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

[singlepic=129,200,,,right]When planning our travel destinations, Michael said that the places he wanted to go to the most were Australia and New Zealand.  And even though I had traveled through both countries before, I was happy to go back to revisit.  And I wanted to take advantage of my return to see things I hadn’t before.  Fraser Island was one of them.

It is said that Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island, stretching 120kms (75 miles) long and made up of 100% sand over thousands of years of drifts.  It’s hard to imagine that it really is all sand, as the island is lush with woodlands and rain forests, as well as fresh water lakes.  And the only way to explore all of these wonders is by four-wheel drive.

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Australia: Whitsunday Islands/Great Barrier Reef
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Australia as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.
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Another bright and early day as we set off from the Hervey Bay area and headed south to Brisbane via train.  Four hours later and we were awaiting our flight north to Proserpine.  From there a shuttle bus took us to Airlie Beach.  And then we made our way by foot to Abel Point Marina.  By sunset we were on a catamaran and ready to set sail for the Whitsunday Islands.  After so much movement in our first week, we were looking forward to anchoring ourselves in one spot for three days – even if our home was moving itself.

One of my favorite experiences from my last visit was sailing the Whitsundays, and I wanted Michael to experience it as well.  And Michael was really looking forward to diving the Great Barrier Reef.  With our tight schedule, we were uncertain if we could squeeze both in, but luckily our boat, the Pacific Star, cruised the Whitsundays and motored out to the outer reef for diving and snorkeling.  Perfectly timed.  Now we hoped the weather would cooperate.

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Australia: Airlie Beach/Bruce Highway
Monday, December 8th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Australia as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.
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Well over a week into our trip and constantly on the move, we decided to stay put for an extra day in Airlie Beach after our boat trip to unwind and decompress.

Airlie Beach is the launching pad for the popular Whitsundays, so it also offers a great cross-section of travelers through Australia.  By walking along the coastal Esplanade or grabbing a beer in one of the many establishments, you encounter travelers from all different backgrounds.  There are certainly a large number of backpackers, making their way up and down the coast by bus or in one of the many campervans available for rental.  But you also have retirees and general vacationers who are on holiday for an extended time.

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Australia: Kuranda
Monday, December 8th, 2008

[singlepic=160,150,,,right]Michael and I traveled to Australia as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

Our drive up the coast to Kuranda was a long one, but it was the only way for us to make our way north in order to catch our flight out on Wednesday from Cairns to Ayers Rock.

Kuranda is a small mountain village in the rainforest about 30km outside of the tourist city of Cairns (another launching pad for the Great Barrier Reef).  To get there involves driving up a very steep and windy road – one in which the locals aren’t afraid to zoom around.

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