Beach time at Airlie

We're staying in a resort here for three nights and very lovely and relaxing it is too. There's a pretty esplanade to wander along ( you have to wander because it is HOT) and an infinity pool and jacuzzi. A lazy day yesterday; found a good ice cream shop, swam in the pool and read some rubbishy magazines. Today we did a snorkelling trip in a big, zippy inflatable, calling into two bays in the Whitsunday islands to snorkel and then lunch on the beach and a walk to a view point of some gorgeous silica beaches. It was a bit special. Saw some amazing corals and some colourful fish. N saw a turtle that I missed because at that time the guide had called me over to see one and by the time I got there it had disappeared!! Damn it!
 

 

Our boat on the left!

 

 

 

 

A Little Gem

There were two opportunities for NP visits on our way to Airlie Beach. The one where we may have seen platypuses was unfortunately just a bit too far, especially given the long drives over the last couple of days, so we plumped for Cape Hillsborough, a small one on the coast. Beautiful beaches and cliff top views again, with the selfish plus that it was deserted! The real treat here though were the swarms of butterflies. I have to say swarms as I realize I said "loads" for the park at Noosa! A lot of them seemed to be having a party on the road into the park! We had to slow right down to avoid sad deaths. They were mostly "blue tigers" but there were others around too; some lovely bright colours. More turtles from the cliff top too.

 

 

There's gold on them there beaches!

 

 

Hot, hot, hot

 The sun cream is properly back out of its bag now as we head north. A pretty walk around the headlands at des-res Noosa, which is a small national park. No koalas spotted but we did see two turtles in a wild bit of surf and some dolphins, both nearby, which was a bit of a treat. There were LOADS of butterflies here too. Managed to avoid the nudists on one of the beaches on the way round!

It's ANZAC Day and the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings today too. We caught the last post near the marina here this morning.

 

From Blue to Green

Mountains that is, in Lamington N.P.

Another beautiful park with rainforest walks, and some old volcanoes, ridges and valleys- "the Green Mountains". We stayed at an historical, family- run "retreat" and it really did feel like one. The grounds were teeming with parrots and pademelons (a subspecies of wallaby which we'd never heard of). We did an early morning bird walk and got to see one of the Bower birds that David Attenborough filmed here (remember the one that makes a bower to attract the female and fills it with all the blue objects he gathers). He had straws, plastic spoons, bottle lids.... We also were lucky to catch a glimpse of a lyrebird, he was on one of A's programmes too; The one that can imitate just about anything, chainsaws as well as other bird calls! More walks here, but less challenging, with gentle slopes down into the forest. Some amazingly corkscrewed branches, natural swings, lots of the strangler figs and trees with huge buttresses. We got covered in caterpillars at one point and followed a snake along the path a bit later!

It's a foodie area here too. I've been enjoying the macadamias.

On the way out this morning we called in to an alpaca farm. Who knew that they enjoy a good spitting session?!! Usually while you're feeding them and all over your face.
 

 

 

 

 

It's raining in Byron Bay

Comparing very unfavourably with the weather at home today.

We manfully put on our waterproofs and walked along what would be a beautiful beach on a sunny day and uphill to the lighthouse and the easternmost point of Australia. Rewarded with dolphin fins out at sea, some kookaburras (common as muck now!) and a Domino's pizza for £3!

The grey misty photo would only make you feel sorry for us!!!! Xx

Saw our first kangaroo on the drive this morning.

Koala Hospital

To guarantee seeing at least one koala we visited a hospital in Port MacQuarie. They treat about 250 koalas a year here and the main problems koalas have are conjunctivitis, curvature of the spine and "wet bottom" ! ( a nasty infection). A couple more facts the volunteer on the tour told us- koala babies are called joeys too and of the over 700 species of eucalyptus trees in Oz koalas only eat from 60. Apparently the best way to find a koala is to look for their poo on the ground, so it looks like more walks for us!

 

 

They were very cute!

The Beautiful Blue Mountains and beyond

Blue because of the haze that forms when the sunlight reflects off the oily eucalyptus leaves.

Three nights here and so glad we did. There were lots of great walks in a truly beautiful setting. I wasn't expecting anything this special as I hadn't seen any pictures so it was all a lovely surprise! We walked two longish walks, one where the path went along a ledge halfway down the mountains with a tall, veil-like waterfall and another called "the grand canyon". You get the gist!

Stayed in a nice B&B with the best breakfast yet. A big thunderstorm last night cleared for a lovely day today as we drove into the Hunter valley. Called into an award winning winery and came away with a bottle of Chardonnay. Not like me and especially strange as their awards were for Shiraz which I am usually pretty fond of! Followed this up with a bit of local cheese tasting which was delicious too. A pretty good day for me! Neil had an ice cream and was happy!!
 

 

Cockatoos being fed at the B&B

Sydney

Stayed in a really well situated hotel here in "The Rocks" area, 3 minutes from the harbour and the sights there. We enjoyed a wander round the historic area (with a great craft fair!), harbour areas and through the park (with white cockatoos and rainbow parakeets). A ferry trip to Manley the next day took us up to North Head for great views of Sydney centre and the cliffs along the coast. Walking round here we're noticing already the different plants around in the bush. Looking forward to seeing more animals here than in NZ. Eyes peeled for marsupials!

 

Just one of the many "Banksia"

 

 

Last days with the Kiwis

I tried a whitebait "pattie" on your behalf T and E! Very nice it was too. From the Westland area, the place to indulge in whitebait. We've visited two glaciers here, Fox and Franz Josef. On the walks to get as close as we were allowed to get there were lots of signs of glacier activity! Rivers and streams, waterfalls, interesting rocks of different sizes, moraines and this time some notable areas of smooth rock that really looked like a glacier and its melt water had been this way! We managed to dodge the threatening rain this morning but got very quickly soaked in a proper downpour on our way back through the rainforest! Noticed lots of different kinds of ferns here again, I am quite attached to them now, they're a real symbol of NZ. We are definitely sad to leave, but also looking forward to seeing what Australia brings.

 

Near Wanaka, Lake Hawea

 

 

 

 

Fox Glacier

 

 

 

Queenstown and Wanaka

It definitely feels like autumn down here with some lovely leaf colours about. Arrived in Queenstown a couple of days ago on a beautiful day so decided to do the scenic drive to Glenorchy, as the forecast was not looking so good for the next day. No sandflies here which is great because the females are bloodsucking terrors! A moment on a beach or by a lake can leave you suffering. We had a walk around the area. The river Dart which flows into Lake Wakatipu is sacred for the Maori as this is one of the places where you can find greenstone or nephrite jade. The stone was used by the first settlers for making tools, as a status symbol and for adornment and lots of myths and legends are associated with it. Lots of greenstone jewellery in the shops. Proud to say I have resisted, but was not so successful with the paua shell!

Big Scottish influence down here. The locals say "wee" a lot! (I know, first I can't spell, then I'm being rude!)

Then it was on to Wanaka, about an hour up and down some big hills. We would call them mountains! We hired bikes here as they have a lot of tracks for bikes and walkers, and headed around a promontory, admiring the views. Some posh houses here with beautiful outlooks. They have the best of both worlds here with a serious ski season too.

This morning we walked up Rocky Mountain. It was quite a hard slog, but had wonderful 360° degree views at the top. Very friendly English hostesses at our B&B here, with a big shared kitchen and lounge area, so we are spreading out and relaxing in it!

 

It's autumn!

 

View from Rocky Mountain

 

 

 

 

On the way to Glenorchy

 

 

 

 

View of "The Remarkables" from our apartment in Queenstown. Not bad eh?!

Fiordland

A lovely drive to Milford Sound on Wednesday, with a couple of side walks for sights. Once there we enjoyed a boat trip up the Sound towards the Tasman Sea for a couple of hours. In some places here the water below us was 300m deep. Picked up a (slightly smelly but very nice; hope he didn't notice me turn the air conditioning on!) backpacker on the way back. We were a long drive from civilisation and thought it was about time we did our bit- it's very popular for backpackers out here.

Yesterday on a walk along part of the Kepler Track from Te Anau we met a guy with what looked like a space helmet at the top of his huge backpack! Turns out he works for google and was mapping the walks in NZ. Like "streetview" but for hikes. Doesn't look like you can access it yet but will keep checking.
 

 

Waterfall in the fjord...and someone's head!

 

 

 

 

One of the side trips on the drive