Tales from the South Pacific, July 13-29, 2011 About This Page:

[LLaffinPlace]

Originally Posted by DrDolphin

Wow - Zorbing lookings... interesting. I am usually all for doing something new - but I am not sure that one would be something I would want to do. 430am.... UGH!!!

Maybe in the Summer I would try it, but I think I want my own ball.

Yes, that was without a doubt the post painful wake-up call of the trip.

Originally Posted by lauriep

Zorbing is just plain crazy! How does a person dream up a thing like that?

I don't know. The young folks enjoyed it, though and some did it more than once.

Originally Posted by Kenny

I think I might like to try that Zorbing thing... after a couple of FABs, maybe!

You might want to save the FABs until after--just sayin'!

Originally Posted by shazza

Zorbing - those crazy Kiwis! Can't wait to see what happens in Sydney.

I agree - the Whale Rider is a good movie.

I found it on Netflix and plan to watch it again.

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

Zorbing looks interesting, though I don't think I'd do it myself.

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

Oh I'm going to have to put Zorbing on the list of things to do! It doesn't look that dangerous after jumping out of a plane!

Always interesting to see what appeals to people and what doesn't. At one time I had skydiving on my list of things I wanted to do, but later I decided otherwise. No regrets.

Originally Posted by chezp

What beautiful scenery - I'd heard that New Zealand was a stunning country and your photos certainly highlight that.

I just wish I could have seen more of the country. Definitely worth a visit.

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

I can't believe you passed on the zorbing! Looks like a great time!

Well, it sort of took me off guard. I should have researched it--it was on the itinerary--but I neglected to and then spent my time wrapping my brain around what it entailed.

Originally Posted by BostonTeaParty

Cool story about Jackson's staff members and the farmer bonding over soccer. LOTR trilogy is a great promo for NZ tourism. The scenery is stunning.

LOTR certainly helped me be happy about my decision to go to NZ.

Originally Posted by KMB733

I've always wanted to go Zorbing, it looks like so much fun!!!

Originally Posted by honeybee723

I've never been zorbing, but I knew what you were talking about as soon as I read the word. I must have seen something on it before because it's not something that comes up in every day conversation.

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

Zorbing does look like fun, but a swimsuit in the winter, not so much!

I think I may have seen Samantha Brown do it on one of her shows. I didn't remember that's what it was called, though. They got really chilled; my guess is it was sort of like getting to and from an outdoor hot tub in the winter. Fine when you're in it, but chilly when you're not.

Originally Posted by MGW

I can't believe they have Duck Tours in New Zealand! I've done tours in Pittsburgh and Boston. They are so much fun.

One of the reasons I was excited to go on the Duck Tour was that I had seen them in Boston when I traveled to Cambridge on business. I never had the time to take the tour there, though.

Originally Posted by sc507

I would sooooo go zorbing!!!!! Looks like so much fun!!

Originally Posted by Two4Disney

I think I saw zorbing on "The Amazing Race." My younger self might have done it but even my younger self wouldn't have posed in my swimsuit - lol!

But how fun to have seen Hobbiton - looks like you're having a great trip!

They don't go terribly fast, but they do pick up some speed.

Originally Posted by MGW

It is interesting that you compared the look of NZ to SouthWest Va. I think parts of Scotland look a lot like SWVa too. And sheep are big in both places. I don't know if bunches of people from Scotland immigrated to NZ like they did to SWVa, but they could have. NZ was an English colony, yes?

Yes. NZ became independent in 1907. First nation in the world to give women the vote, by the way. [Fun facts! ]

Originally Posted by MGW

Zorbing? I've seen the inflatable hamster ball thing before, but the water in the ball is different. Can you see out of that inner chamber thing? I don't think I would like tumbling around and not being able to see where I am going.

I think it would be something like trying to see through frosted glass.

Originally Posted by mitchg

Just got caught up. What a great trip! I've wanted to go to New Zealand for a long time, and now I have to add Fiji to that list!

I certainly encourage it.

Originally Posted by tcmary

I love this story!!
Larry, I just read through the full TR in one evening. You have had me entertained, captivated, educated and extremely JEALOUS. You are visiting some amazing locations. One thing though - I am really confused about the dates you traveled.

Sorry--I haven't taken time to go back and check the dates on the posts. But I pretty much lost Friday due to crossing the Int'l Date Line. I get a second Monday on the way back (which hardly seems fair).

Originally Posted by Jillybean

No zorbing for me anytime soon.

Jill

I bet the girls and Thom would love it!

[LLaffinPlace]

Thursday, July 21, 2011 Auckland to Sydney

I had a so-so night. It was too warm in the hotel room and I tried to cool it down by opening the window, but there was too much street noise to leave it open. Also, it was not the greatest bed in the world.

Anyway, I actually woke up before the alarm that I set for 4:15 AM. I got combobulated in good time and made my way down to the lobby. There were boxed breakfasts waiting for us--pastry and OJ and an apple and boiled egg. Certainly enough to tide one over, though coffee would have to wait. We performed our passport check and filled out our NZ departure card and Australia entry card before pulling all the luggage outside.

We got loaded onto the bus and headed over to Auckland Airport (#7, remember?), where we bid farewell to Barry, motor coach driver extraordinaire.

We cleared immigration and security after getting our boarding passes. The ticket agent, Ryder, was a very pleasant woman and noted after examining my passport that we have the same Birthday. She did, however, put Sue's tag on my bag, though.

We boarded our 737-800 on time with Sue at the window, Debbye in the middle and me on the aisle. As soon as we were aloft at cruising altitude, breakfast was served--baked beans, Canadian bacon, poached egg, juice and . After second breakfast I settled down and watched "The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon. I enjoyed it--it was one I had been hoping to see sometime.

Our landing in Sydney was delayed due to air traffic delays, and then we were waived off our first approach due to dead birds on the runway. This meant that we got to see the harbor, Harbour Bridge, and the Opera House twice from a relatively high vantage point.

Once back on terra firma (airport #8!), we quickly made our way through Customs and Immigration. Interestingly, you are required to have a visa to visit Australia. It's no big hassle, though. There's a web site where you can apply (and pay), and it is all handled electronically (though I had a hardcopy listing with me just in case).

It was raining fairly heavily. Nevertheless, we got the bus loaded pretty rapidly, traveled to the Travelodge Sydney Wentworth (near Hyde Park in Sydney if anyone is checking), and unloaded the bags into a conference room for storage upon arrival. We walked to a food court not too far away (yes, still raining), where Sue and I each had a bagel sandwich. Mine was smoked salmon and quite yummy. We topped this off with some Mrs. Field's cookies. And, yes, if you didn't know you were in Sydney, just sitting in this Food Court you could probably be most anywhere in the English speaking world.

After lunch we hoofed it over to the Opal Museum, which was fascinating. We watched a short film about opals and how they are mined, and then had some live instruction and examined the exhibits. Of course, opals were also for sale.

We walked part of the way back to the hotel and then caught a bus--the bus driver helped all 44 of us get on, and was really good natured about it--laughing and talking to us. I can just picture trying to do this in some cities--I daresay it would not have been as fun.

Back at the hotel we piled into the lounge area to review the "optional" activities that were on offer, since we were going to have to sign up and pay Sladj for these. Afterwards we retrieved our bags and got our keys. Both Sladj and I had corner rooms and she asked if I would mind switching with her, which I did not, of course. I made my way upstairs (one had to be patient for the elevator), where I unpacked and did some prep for the morning.


Travelodge Sydney Wentworth room - a nice TV.





It was a good bed.


Microwave, tea service, safe, iron, ironing board, hanging space.


It was a bit of a challenge to not get a lot of the floor wet outside the shower space.

I liked this room.

Dinner was on our own, so some of us decided to accompany Sladj to a restaurant in Chinatown, which was absolutely wonderful! I was not surprised, because Sladj lives here after all. Some folks accompanied her to the chocolate restaurant, and I know I am going to disappoint you when I say that I was pretty much exhausted by this point and did not go. It's okay, when I saw the pictures I was suitably punished!

By the way, we were told that Sydney was having it's wettest winter in 60 years. But the sun will shine eventually.

Coming Up: Dodging puddles but still having a grand time.

[dutchdisneyfamily]

I'm glad you made is safely. Looks like a nice room. I can only imagine a few times I've been too tired to go to a chocolate place, but I can imagine that would have been one of them.

[ilovedisney247]

Wow! You did a lot of flying in a very short time! Was that third breakfast? Or did the bagel count as lunch? I love second breakfast--although I haven't been up early enough to have one since One More Disney Day.

[sc507]

Gasp! No chocolate! Kidding . I can only imagine how exhausted you must have been!

[chezp]

My goodness, what a day! You certainly are doing a lot of travelling in this trip!

[shazza]

Can't wait to see your adventures in Sydney.

[Kenny]

Coffee, finally!!
The Opal Museum I would have liked.
The room looks nice.

[lauriep]

Great updates! Sorry about all the rain and the not-so-great hotel room and the traveling, but it really does sound like a wonderful trip. I'm not big on sparkly jewelry, but opals I like-- opals and jade on this trip. I'd have been in serious trouble!

[LLaffinPlace]

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

I can only imagine a few times I've been too tired to go to a chocolate place, but I can imagine that would have been one of them.

I was very tired, though when I saw the pictures and heard Debbye and Mick's descriptions of the place, I kept wondering, "Couldn't I have done this?"

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

Was that third breakfast? Or did the bagel count as lunch? I love second breakfast--although I haven't been up early enough to have one since One More Disney Day.

Definitely lunch with the cookies.

Originally Posted by sc507

Gasp! No chocolate! Kidding . I can only imagine how exhausted you must have been!

It was a difficult decision, but I wanted to be awake enough for touring the next day.

Originally Posted by chezp

My goodness, what a day! You certainly are doing a lot of travelling in this trip!

Yes, it really added up.

Originally Posted by shazza

Can't wait to see your adventures in Sydney.

We've had so much to enjoy on this trip already, but I loved Sydney.

Originally Posted by Kenny

Coffee, finally!!
The Opal Museum I would have liked.

The Opal Museum was very interesting.

Originally Posted by lauriep

Great updates! Sorry about all the rain and the not-so-great hotel room and the traveling, but it really does sound like a wonderful trip. I'm not big on sparkly jewelry, but opals I like-- opals and jade on this trip. I'd have been in serious trouble!

The rain didn't really stop us, though it was sometimes inconvenient. Also, Sladj rearranged items on our itinerary to move some things later that required more outside time, which just underscores how great a tour director she really was. It all worked out, life was good, and of course the saving grace was that it did clear up eventually and we got to see Sydney in all its sparkling glory in the sunshine. You'll see!

[Two4Disney]

My goodness - that does sound like an exhausting day! But Mrs. Fields cookies - ah, the comforts of home. Too bad the bed wasn't so comfortable - hate that!

[LLaffinPlace]

Originally Posted by Two4Disney

My goodness - that does sound like an exhausting day! But Mrs. Fields cookies - ah, the comforts of home. Too bad the bed wasn't so comfortable - hate that!

Good cookies, but definitely not rocking Aussie culture at this point!

It often takes me a couple nights to adjust to sleeping in a new place, but not the first night in Sydney.

[LLaffinPlace]

Friday, July 22 Sightseeing in Sydney

I woke up the first time around 3:45 AM, but got up finally at 6:00 AM. I made myself a cup of tea and watched ABC News Breakfast on the telly. Then I dressed and got myself together for a wet day, though it appears that the rain should become more episodic and lighter than yesterday as the low pressure system over the Tasman Sea slides East. [Can't you just picture me in front of the weather map?] I will take my water repelling windbreaker with me in addition to my umbrella. I'd prefer sunny skies but it is winter, after all.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis landed safely last night (Australian time), which is always good news.

I went down to the lobby and got on the internet briefly. They have some coin-operated PCs (seriously). I sent my sister an email and asked her to call Sue's parents and let them know the trip is going great.

Breakfast was a marvelous buffet, and they also had magic coffee machines! Woohoo! You put a cup in the right place and select cappuccino or whatever and it just makes it for you. Sigh. Life is good.

We began our motor coach ride by driving past Hyde Park where the first race course was sited, and where the first cricket game was held in 1803. It is also the site of the ANZAC (as in Australia and New Zealand Army Corps ) War Memorial (I'll have pictures in a later post). Inside there are over 120,000 golden stars on the ceiling denoting the lives lost in WWII. The Art Deco structure was re-dedicated later to recognize other wars and peacekeeping missions. There is an inscription: "Let silent contemplation be your offering." And there is a famous statue of a fallen soldier carried on a shield held aloft by a caryatid: three women--his mother, his sister, and his wife. As we found out later, the memorial is especially moving when viewed at night. [I really like Art Deco buildings. ]

Sydney was named after Thomas Townsend... wait for it... Lord Sydney, who suggested that Australia be used for a penal colony. The first governors were not terribly effective and did little to build up the infrastructure of the colony, including Captain William Bligh, who spent several years in prison. However, Lochlan Macquarie (Governor #5) in 1810 developed and built infrastructure including a hospital, prisoner barracks, and botanical gardens. He is credited with being one of the founding fathers of Australia. [More on his wife in a later post.]

Just a couple of fun facts--Sydney has the largest IMAX theater in the Southern Hemisphere and it also has a monorail, which is disparaged by many of the locals because it doesn't go anywhere useful to them (I think it mainly serves the convention center or some such):
"It makes a silly loop and people who use it are silly duffers." {Sladj}.

We got our first close-up view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You should note when you look at the pictures that there are no curved pieces. Near the Chinese Gardens--a gift from Sydney's sister city Shanghai in 1988, is a park where the best picture can be taken of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. We disembarked to take pictures.


Sue with the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and the iconic Sydney Opera House.

There was actually an even better spot, though it was dangerous to get far from the motor coach.



Of course, about this time the heavens opened up and there were many, many people scrambling to get back on the bus!


Liquid sunshine--Sydney style.

Here are some closer-up pictures of the bridge. First, here's part of what anchors one end:




It's not curved. Really.


Down under the bridge (I couldn't resist!).

We proceeded to drive around different parts of the city, with history lessons as we went. I don't think I will transcribe all that I wrote down (especially since I cannot read some of it), but suffice it to say that it was all very interesting and we were out of the rain!

I managed some other pictures.



Sydney is blessed with an huge natural harbor (they would say 'harbour').



If I recall correctly, this is about all I saw of the famous Bondi Beach. Well, the surf was rough and it was raining, so it wasn't like anyone was going to enjoy it today. No matter. We would make it to Manly Beach another day and I have pictures from there and our nice long walk on the beach when the weather was much more pleasant.

Coming Up: More touring around Sydney and why are the archeologists so indebted to the rats?

[shazza]

Sorry about the rain, but at least it sounds like most of your tour kept you dry.

[dutchdisneyfamily]

Even though it was wet, your pictures are great. I'm dying to know if you got to climb the bridge! Thank you for the descriptions and stories. I find them so interesting!