|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Australia/New
Zealand
Many of the pictures in this section can be viewed at a larger size. Click on any picture for the enlarged view. Click here to ask about current rates for a travel adventure like this one. |
|
||
|
There were many highlights on this trip. Starting first with Australia we remember Ayers Rock and the Olgas. The Big Red Rock, as it is sometimes referred to, was breathtaking as we viewed it both at sundown while enjoying champagne and hors d'oeuvres provided by our tour operator, Abercrombie and Kent, and again at sunup. We did not climb the Rock, but chose to walk around the base to the caves with Aboriginal drawings on the walls. |
|||
|
Another highlight was Lizard Island, a luxury resort, on the edge of the Barrier Reef. Before arriving at Lizard Island we enjoyed a ride by train from Cairns up into the tropical rain forest and then down by gondola. For us the final highlight in Australia was Sidney Harbor, with its famous opera house, its outstanding bridge and a shoreline steeped in the history of the convict labor sent out from Britain. We took a delightful boat excursion to Melville at the mouth of the harbor, enjoying the scenery and the many sailboats to be seen enroute. On our last night the tour company had chartered a catamaran, where we were entertained for our farewell banquet. Drinking champagne under sail, while we quietly slipped through the waters of the harbor, was an excellent way to say good by to our last continent. |
|||
In Auckland, we visited the
War museum where we were entertained by a group of Maori men and women
who
performed early dances
for us. We later drove to
Rotorua where we saw the famous steam and hot mud pits caused by the
volcanic action still at work. The area is inhabited by a Maori tribe
who supply the guides for tour groups such as ours. Each year the
tribe selects a small number of their brightest students to train in
the old ways of the tribe - weaving, carving, canoe making,
ceremonial dancing, etc. - used in ancient times. We were fortunate to
see these students actually plying their craft.
While in New Zealand, we visited several private homes for meals and interesting conversations with our hosts. We also toured a dairy farm and a sheep ranch where the owner demonstrated sheep handling by his dogs and sheep shearing. |
|||
|
|||
|
By far the most memorable part of the trip was the three days we spent in and around Queenstown. Our hotel was right on the lake with a background of gorgeous snow covered mountains. While there, we were taken up the Dart River in a jet boat, rode the gondola up the mountain overlooking the town, saw bungee jumping and drove through magnificent scenery in the surrounding countryside.
We arrived at the head of Milford Sound, boarded the boat and then sailed toward the entrance to the Sound. Again, the scenery was awesome and as a special dividend we saw penguins on the shore and seals sunning themselves on the rocks. Just before we landed, the Captain took the bow of the boat under a waterfall, another exciting moment. We flew over the mountains in small chartered planes back to Queenstown. The view from above, of the mountains, lakes, streams, and waterfalls was another spectacular sight and a fitting way to end our trip. |
|||
|
Due to the distances covered during this trip, wide ranging weather was encountered. Rain occasionally came down, temperatures covered the gamut from the moist, hot Caribbean-like climate to the cold, windy Nova-Scotia-like climate. This made packing a challenge and dictated the layering of clothing to be comfortable at all times. We seriously considered only two competing tour companies, although there are other choices available. For information about why we selected A&K or for more details about our trip, please contact us by email or contact a Uniglobe travel specialist. |
|||
|
We selected a trip to
Australia because it was the only continent that we had not visited.
We had been told to include time in New Zealand as the scenery was
magnificent. It was, and this turned out to be an excellent decision.
The trip to Australia is long, about 17 hours. To avoid starting out
in a state of exhaustion, we arrived a day before our tour started.
Another wise choice.
In the evening we were
picked up and driven into the bush to have an outdoor "barbi"
. The guide first gave us lessons in a dry riverbed on
throwing a boomerang. We then returned to the campfire where he cooked
us a wonderful meal of steak, "bangers", salad, potatoes,
and for dessert, "damper" cooked in pots buried in the
coals. Afterward he entertained us with stories of the
"outback". Before we drove home he took us off the trail,
into the wilderness, where we spotted a kangaroo in our headlights.
On a day when there was not
a cloud in the sky, we drove through the mountains to Milford Sound.
We stopped at wonderful lakes, saw gorgeous fast-running streams and
waterfalls with mountains looming above us.