Sydney Highlights

We embraced our inner tourists on our second day in Sydney and visited all the major attractions.  I LOVE that public transportation there is on open-air boats and not underground in stinky subways or on grimy buses.  The transport is almost as fun as the destination!

We headed straight for the famous Sydney Opera House.  What a stunning innovation in architecture.  The inside is just as beautiful and intriguing as the outer shell.  

After the Opera House, we toured the Rocks district and visited some historic homes.  Then Eric surprised me with a trip to the Sydney Wildlife Park to meet the KOALAS!!!  While we were there, we also got to meet our first wombat and kangaroos in Sydney.  

After the Wildlife Park, we headed next door to the Sydney Aquarium.  Let me just say, I find fish fascinating, but I discovered that I harbor a deeply irrational fear of sharks.  Maybe it has something to do with the rows and rows of sharp, jagged, needle-teeth.  Those spiral shells I'm touching in the water below are actually shark eggs.  Weird, gross, cool.   

I also re-discovered that I'm married to a total goon as he insisted that I photograph him climbing inside the old diving apparatus.  There's a bench inside that the occupant is supposed to stand upon to see out the glass face window, so you can easily infer the audience's intended age range.  I guess some little boys never fully grow up, and I sure am glad that I found one of them.  He makes everything new and fun and exciting!  


I love you, Eric!

Traveling Down Under

We were sad to leave New Zealand, however, the prospect of going to Australia definitely eased the departure. . . Here I am suffering from creative boredom on the plane ride as Eric confiscates my camera.  

We arrived mid-morning in Sydney.  We jumped on a shuttle to our downtown digs, ditched our bags, and headed out into the city.  I soon discovered that Sydney is the most beautiful city I've ever seen!  We walked through the city parks, rode a harbor ferry, and drank in all the sites.  We asked some locals where the best place to get some good lunch would be, and they directed us to the Fish Market out on the harbor.  We sat on the boardwalk and shared the a platter of the most scrumptious seafood, and when Eric got up to get some more napkins, a seagull swooped in an inch from my face to swipe a shrimp of his plate.  I screamed out loud, and Eric came running back to see what happened as the other diners around us chuckled at my fright.  Jerk seagull.

We spent the rest of the afternoon touring city sites.  We thought this sign about a block from our hotel was humorous, and we perused a local farmers' market and picked up some new fruit.  We were intrigued by this custard apple below--it was definitely unlike anything we'd tried before.  

It was a wonderful day!

The Road to Rotorua

Over the course of 4 days, we did a lot of driving through New Zealand.  New Zealanders have a particular whimsical flair, and yes I'm odd, but I absolutely adored their roadsigns.  Here's a brief montage of some of my favorites that we snapped out of El Heap's window along our travels:

On our fourth and final full day in New Zealand, we went down south to Rotorua. I saw a feature in our travel guide for "Kiwi 360" and I'd really wanted to go there, however the actual address was somewhat lacking in the book. We knew we were getting close according to the map, so Eric pulled into a gas station for directions.

Eric asked the guy, "Do you happen to know of a place called Kiwi 360 around here?" The attendant's response was simultaneously shocking and hilarious: "Oh yeah, of course. It's just up the road a bit. You won't miss it. It stands out like a dog's balls." When we traveled about five minutes further up the road, we found that while his description was rather crass, it was also fairly apt:

Kiwi 360 is an enormous kiwi farm (fruit, not birds).  We experienced much of it in a heavy downpour of rain, but it was fascinating nonetheless.  We learned that kiwis originated in China and were first marketed as "Chinese gooseberries," but that name was a fail with American consumers, so they were rechristened "kiwi fruit" which sounded more appealing and exotic.  We were also surprised to find that--Tyler and Steph, this is for you--kiwi fruit grows on vines not trees.

After leaving Kiwi 360, we continued our southerly travels to Rotorua.  We loved the picturesque museum there.  Eric is pictured below standing in an athletic field in front of it.  He asked me, "Do you know what kind of a pitch this is?" He was not impressed with my immediate response of "Quidditch!" and he rolled his eyes and sighed, "No, it's cricket."  (I think I'd have preferred Quidditch.)  I also really enjoyed all the colorful poppies--they're one of my favorites!

We continued on to Whakarewarewa (try saying that three times fast) to the thermal village.  The village consisted of small streams and hot pots that emitted a foggy steam.  It reminded me of the geysers in Yellowstone.  Really beautiful, really interesting, and really stinky.  The whole place reeked of sulphur, but once you got past the stench, it was really quite enjoyable.

Eventually, we headed back to Auckland and bid a fond farewell to New Zealand!  We both loved, loved, loved New Zealand and agree that it's one of the most beautiful places we've traveled.

The Northern Island, NZ

Our third day, we headed about 3 hours north with El Heap to upper New Zealand, which is covered in lush forest and lined with sandy beaches.  It was only about 68 degrees outside, so it was a bit chilly for swimming, but it was perfect for sea kayaking.  We rented a little kayak and took it out to explore some islands in the bay.  We were completely alone on the islands, so it was pretty hilarious watching Eric meticulously perch the camera on a bit of driftwood, set the timer, and race back to the kayak so that we could get some photos together.  On the way back to the mainland, I may or may not have accidentally on purpose splashed Eric a few times with my oar.

After returning our kayak, we took El Heap exploring.  We drove to the summit of a nearby mountain overlooking the valley below and the sea beyond.  We passed more sheep (with lambs, too!), and we found a beautiful waterfall.  I took my chances as a left-hand-driver, and I may or may not have swiped my passenger-side rearview mirror on a narrow one-way bridge, and Eric may or may not have screamed like a little girl from the passenger seat and cried that he was fearing for his life.  Hypothetically speaking, of course, it was a good thing we fully insured El Heap.

We stopped and toured a chocolatier, and came away with some phenomenal chocolate covered raspberries, strawberries, and apricots.  Eventually, however, it got dark and we headed back to the city, snacking on our treats and rocking out to Eric's iPod.  It was a fabulous day!