Later today I leave for 3 weeks of vacation in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. Instead of going out last night, I should have stayed home packing. While it's not a big deal really, the frantic pace of last-minute packing is stressful, even though I've done it many times before. During the process you eventually pace back and forth trying to figure out what clothes to take and wondering how you're going to fit it all into your suitcase and carryon. You also keep going over your mental packing list again and again to make sure you didn't forget something. I call it Travel Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). You also start packing items you'll never use because you think you might need it. Eventually I get rational again and fall back to the basics. But what a mental roller-coaster. Yes, I have cash, tickets, and passport in hand. The camera is packed. I stopped mail delivery. I changed my voice-mail and email greetings at work to tell people I'm out. My razor and camera batteries are fully charged and I didn't forget my toothbrush. Whew! Guess that about does it. I'm ready to go. I can't imagine the trauma my travel companions Vicki and Vicky are going through because they're women.I called Vicky in Arkansas before leaving for the airport to make sure she was packing lightly. She had been leaving stuff behind but then started adding to her luggage. We have to pack for summer, fall and winter because of all the climate differences we will experience in Australia and New Zealand. I only packed 4 days worth of clothes, including long and short sleeve t-shirts, 2 pairs of long pants, some shorts and my running gear. We have plenty of opporunities to wash clothes along the way.
I left Milwaukee at 1:15 pm bound for Minneapolis, and after a mechanical problem that delayed us one hour, was on my way to LA. It was a very turbulent flight over the Rocky Mountains. NWA really sucks--there were no snacks on this 4 hour flight. Vicky and Vicki arrived in LA at 7 pm as well, so I agreed to meet then at the Chili's restaurant in the international departure terminal. We ran into Peter my roommate in the terminal. He was easy to recognize with his umbrella. Our Qantas flight to Sydney was delayed. By midnight Pacific time, I found myself sleeping in a chair in the terminal. Vicki slept on the floor. The flight to Sydney was uneventful. It was on a huge 747-400. There was no one sitting next to me, so I was able to lay down and sleep for about 8 hours on the way over. Having my face pressed down into the bottom seat cushion of a coach-classs seat that God-knows-how-many people have been sitting on was a humbling experience. I got up few time to go to the bathroom. Everyone was sleeping. Seeing all those gaping mouths illuminated by the dim cabin lights was a pretty funny sight. The flight lasted 14 hours, but you never would have known it. On the way, we crossed the International Date Line, so lost an entire day (We left Saturday and arrived on Monday). Australia is 15 hours ahead of Milwaukee and New Zealand/Fiji are 17 hours ahead. We also crossed over the equator into the southern hemisphere. The sun had been shining from about 3 am onwards as we chased the dawn of a new day from one time zone to the next as we traveled from east to west.
When we arrived in Sydney, it was a holiday called Anzac Day, which is a combiation of Veterans Day and Memorial Day. The first glimpse of Australia reminded me of the Cliffs of Dover.
Once in Sydney, which was experiencing gorgeous weather, we hung out in the departure terminal and got to meet a bunch of people from our group. We were late arriving so had to sit it out in the terminal for 4 hours when the next flight to Cairns left. I am clearly the youngest person in the group. It is a good thing I did not dye the gray out of my hair so I will fit in easier. The average age of a traveler with Grand Circle (the company I am traveling with) is 72. When I went to Egypt with this company, everyone asked how a young person like me got in.
Eventually, we left for Cairns which is straight north 3 hours by plane from Sydney. The landscape changed from lush forest desert, to coastal rain forest along the way. Upon arrival, it was downright tropical--80 degrees and sunny. There were lots of palm trees. The airport had a fence around it to keep crocodiles off the runway.
As we drove into town, someone asked why none of the palm trees had coconuts on them. The bus driver explained that they cut them off so people don't get hit when they fall off the tree. The people who cut them down are called nut cutters. One private company that cuts down coconuts is called Nut Busters. I was the only one on the bus who knew that "busting a nut" refers to a male orgasm. Of course, the average age of the people in my group has to be 65.
We stayed at the Trade Winds Esplande Hotel right on the boardwalk in Cairns. Really nice location and views.
Day 3 - 04/25/2005 Cairns, Queensland, Australia
We arrived in this tropical northeast Australian city today. On the way out of the airport we saw the fencing to keep crocs out of the airport. We drove around town to get the lay of the land. They cut all the coconuts off the trees to keep tourists from getting hit over the head. They call the removal of coconuts (nut removal). One private company in Cairns is called "Nut Busters" which went over everyone's head but mine. Cairns is on the coast. When the tide coast out, there is a quarter mile of mud. There's a nice pool on the shore and lots of bars, shops and restaurants. We saw lots of see birds and large fruit bats in a tree. After checking in the hotel, I took a walk along the Boardwalk then went back to the hotel to get my friends. Vicki was sleeping, which they told us not to do or it would prolong jet lag. We walked over to the Rattle & Hum Pub & Grill for beers and pizza and to people watch. I had a tandoori pizza. Was different but good. It started to rain so we hung out for a while. We saw a little mouse cross the road and get hit by a car. It then hobbled over and sat under our table by my foot and eventually climbed on my shoe. It probably died later. After dinner we went back to hotel and I fell asleep immediately at 8:30 pm. I woke up a few times during the night. It rained all night.
It's now Tuesday, April April 26. It's a beautiful day. We explore Cairns today. First stop is the Hartley Croc Adventure where we see crocs, koalas and roos. THen we go to Port Douglas for lunch and stop at Wetherby station in the afternoon to see a working cattle farm.
Got to go. Will add more later.
Day 4 - 04/26/2005 Cairns, Queensland, Australia
I have 5 minutes to write this so here goes. We drove north from Cairns on the Captain Cooke Highway to Port Douglas to visit Hartley's Croc Adventure today north of Cairns) to get up close with koala bears, kangaroos and alligators. The entire area we're in is at about 16 degrees south latitude so it's hot here even though it's the fall. It was a beautiful drive up the coast with water on one side and lush mountains on the other. Duncan our tour guide at Hartley's was not the most respected employee at the croc farm. But he did manage to charm all the ladies and get a kiss from all of them when they reboarded the bus. He told a joke about how to keep crocs from mating (give them a yank). Our tour guide kept telling him not to tell it but he did anyway. Duncan reminded me of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter and least repected Aussie on earth. At Hartley's they had a gigantic croc model with it's mouth open so I put my head in it for a picture. Besides petting koalas and feeding grass to the kangroos, we witnessed the mass feeding of baby crocs which was amazing. They were fed chicken heads. I have a great movie. We also sampled croc meat. 
After Hartley's we went north to Port Douglas for lunch. We had the $6 special of fish and chips. I sweat you can't tell the difference between the Australian people or towns here from America because (except for the accent) Aussies look like Americans. Sorry about that to the Australians.
After lunch we went to a working cattle farm (Wetherby Station) at Mount Molloy near Port Douglas to watch the manager Jenny tell us a little about living in the outback and herding cattle. We took a very windy road into the mountains and stopped for a drink at the local pub where our tour guide did "a shout." That is, she bought us a round of drinks. We had some time to talk to the locals and get a lecture about the hotel (built in 1900) from the owner, whose husband was described as a "bower bird" (pack rat). The hotel has rather interesting guest accommodations on the second floor which could only be described as rustic (and $35 a night). Along the way to Wetherby Station we passed miles and miles of sugar cane fields. Australia produces 95% of the world's sugar cane. We had a nice dinner at Wetherby station after watching Jenny show us how she and her dogs round of the cattle. Her horse was named Cameo. Jenny had a magical relationship with her horse and her dog. After dinner we were senarnaded by some chap with a guitar. We all sang Aussie songs.
Day 5 - 04/272005 Cairns, Queensland, Australia (Great Barrier Reef)
We had the most amazing day at the Great Barrier Reef, which is a 90-minute boat ride from Cairns. The water was so rough that 1/2 the people got sick while on the 90 minute ride to the diving platform on the reef. They handed out barf bags. I sat out on the stern, where every 20 seconds, one of the crew came out the inside lounge with a half-filled barf bag and deposited in a garbage can by us. Lovely. Once we arrived, we docked at a floating platform. I quickly donned my snorkeling gear and was first in the water. I had an underwater camera case so got some amazing pictures. The number of colorful fish was absolutely staggering. You swim through large schools of them. They just get out of your way. I also saw a giant sea turtle that I swam over to and touched. The water was 85 degrees, so was rather nice. The water depth goes from a few feet to 20 feet, so I dove all around examing all the amazing coral formations, plants and fishes that live on the reef. I took lots of pictures. The underwater case I borrowed from my friend in Boston worked great. 
Tomorrow is another big day. We're going on train and gondola through the rain forest north of here to visit an authenic aborigne village.
G'Day all.
Day 6 - 04/28/2005 Cairns, Queensland, Australia (Tjapukai, Skyrail, Kuranda)
This trip gets better everyday. Today was a free day so took vistied the local aborigines at Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park and then on the SkyRail tour up into the rain forest surrounding Cairns. Tjapukai showcases the culture of the rainforest people of Tropical North Queensland. The park is situated on 25 acres of land owned by the Tjapukai people at Caravonica, north of Cairns. There are seven separate arenas that allow visitors to experience every facet of the rainforest people’s culture. We watched a film about the people, who like the Indians of America, Latin America and South America, were slaughtered by European explorers. We also saw local dancing and a demonstration of a large wooden flute-like instrument called a didgeridoo. After that we learned to throw boomerangs and spears. It was pretty fun. My spear went into the trees but it was one of the longer throws. We posed for pictures with the natives who were all dressed and painted in authentic aborigine style. They smelled pretty bad though.
After that, we drove 2 minutes over to The Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, which spans 7.5 kms over Australia’s pristine tropical rainforests. There are several stations to get on and off. The first stop was Red Peak where we went on an elevated boardwalk through the tropical rain forest. The next stop was Barron Falls where we saw spectacular views of the Barron Gorge, a deep chasm lined with dense rainforest vegetation.
We continued to the top where our bus took us to the tourist town of
Kuranda where we had meat pie lunches at Annabell's, then poked around in the shops and markets.
Tonight we go to the home of a local family for dinner. We leave for Sydney in early afternoon so will have some time to shop around Cairns before we leave. It's a great town.
Day 7 - 04/29/2005 Cairns to Sydney, Australia
We had a wonderful home hosted dinner last night with a local couple here in Cairns. While the meal was nothing special, the opportunity to talk to real live locals was great. My roommate Peter was a little disappointed that the left-handed lady in our group insisted on sitting in his seat, but after a little wine, he was back to normal.We check out of our hotel in Cairns today an fly 3 hours due south to Sydney. We'll stop at the Royal Flying Doctors on the way out of town. They used to fly planes into the Outback to take care of people, either as part of routine medical exams or emergencies.
We passed through Sydney on our way to Cairns last Monday. We arrive at 4 pm so there won't be much to see or do, but will try to head over to the Hard Rock Cafe to get some souvenirs. We have several full days in Sydney before heading to New Zealand.
Day 8 - 04/30/2005 Sydney, Australia
Our day started at Royal Botanical Gardens across the harbor from the Sydney Opera House at McQuarie's point where we had a group photo with the Harbor Bridge and Opera House in back ground. Then we drove over to the Opera House for a tour. On the way we saw Russell Crowe's apartment on the wharf across from McQuarie's Point. 
The Sydney Opera House was really cool inside. The funny moment of the day is when everyone went to the bathroom prior to the tour because the tour would not stop long enough for people to make a pit stop before the tour. I'm standing in the men's room with a bunch of 75 year old men from my group and one guy farts long and in a low tone that sounded just like a cow mooing. Then the guy next to me says "I don't know if I have to go but I'll go through the motions." Then another guy from the group walks in and says "Hey, do you guys know what you're doing." Classic moment.
After the Opera House, we went over to Sydney's most popular beach, Bondi Beach. On the way we drove through several east Sydney neighborhoods like Kings Point, Woolloomooloo and Paddington. Then went to the Sydney Tower (tallest structure in Australia at 76 stories) for view of town. We then walked to Hyde Park, St. Mary's Church, Anzac Memorial, Queen Victoria Building, Town Hall and St. Andrew's Cathedral. After that we walked through Darling Harbor and China Town. For dinner, we took the subway to Circular Quay to go to Sailor Thai up in The Rocks area. Then came home.
We were marveling at the fact that water in a sink circles clockwise as it drains, whereas in the northern hemisphere it is counterclockwise. It is also noteable that the sun is in the north sky here in south of the equatoir and in the southern sky north of the equator. I haven't been able to recognize any constellations, except Orion which is upside down in the sky here.
Day 9 - 05/01/2005 Sydney, Australia
Another big day. The weather here has been most cooperative for the past few days. We started out at 8 am with a walking tour of The Rocks area of Sydney where the town was literally founded. We saw many old pubs, government buildings and hotels dating back to the mid-1800's. The area is right by the Harbor Bridge and across from the Opera House. It is the most exclusive area of Sydney. 
After the tour, we went on a 2:30 hour cruise of Sydney Harbor. Sydney has 240 nautical miles of coastline so there are many beautiful homes all along the coast and numerous inlets. The view of the Harbor Bridge and Opera House were amazing and I now have too many photos of these landmarks. On the way back, we got to watch the BMW Classic Sailboat race coming out of Sydney Harbor. After the cruise, we walked halfway across the Harbor Bridge. The most popular tourist attraction is to actually walk over the arches of the bridge ($170). People are teathered to the bridge to avoid falling to their death. I opted to simply walk on the pedestrian path to the halfway point for even more pictures of the Opera House and Circular Quay/Rocks area. After the bridge walk, we went over to the Sydney Observation Hill Museum. After that we went over to the Museum of Contemporary Art to see Australia's most important collection of modern art. Like visits to similar museums, it left me wondering how bad the artist's were tripping out when they came up with their art work.
We had dinner at Wolfie's down on the wharf under the Harbor Bridge. Had a great steak dinner and great views of the Opera House and Bridge at night. We then went over to the Aquarium by overloaded water taxi for a private tour. The best part was walking through the underwater tube and watching the sharks and other creatures swim by.
Tomorrow is a free day, so will have to figure out what to do.
G'Day,
Day 10 - 05/02/2005 Sydney, Australia
This is our last day in Sydney so doing lots of last minute sightseeing. The weather is cold and overcast with ocassional rain. There are no organized tours so I'm on my own. Went up to the Rock by Subway to see Dawas Park under the Harbor Bridge and take some pictures of the wharf where we had dinner last night (Wolfie's). I also strolled down upper Georges St. and down Argyle St. where there are lots of interesting side streets and buildings to see. Then went over to the Museum of Sydney and down McQuarie St to see the mint, St. James church and the fountain at Hyde Park.
I then walked over to Darling Harbor and visited the Australian Maritime Museum, the Chinese Friendship Garden and the Powerhouse Museum where I am now using free Internet. Tonight we have dinner at a local restaurant near Darling Harbor, to which we will get to by Monorail.
We leave for Christchurch, New Zealand tomorrow morning.
Day 11- 05/03/2005 Sydney, Australia to Christchurch, New Zealand
We got a nice 4:30 am wake up call so we could make it to the Sydney Airport well before our 8:30 am departure. The view of Sydney from the plane was amazing. We circled the downtown area so got some good aerial photos of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. I love Sydney but was ready to move on. We had a 3 hour flight to Christchurch, New Zealand on the lower island. The view of the towering snowcapped mountains of the west coast were unbelievably beautiful when I first saw them.
Once in Christchurch, we stopped at the International Antarctic Center where we learned about what all the various countries are doing and learning about this vast continent. The best part was the exhibit where we put on Arctic clothing and went into this room where they simulated conditions on Antarctica, complete with sub-zero temperatures, 50 mph winds and darkness. We all really huddled together when the temperature was dropped and the wind machines were turned on full blast. We all nearly froze to death but it was quite realistic.
Afterwards, we went back to our hotel where my group of 4 was picked up by a local family to spend the night and have dinner and breakfast at their home. We stayed with Cedric and Elaine Cole. They had a mansion of a house which was decorated in all sorts of antiques. We spend much of the night talking about our different countries before retiring. We learned that several liberal minded women are now in charge of the country. They already legalized certain drugs. Prostitution and civil unions were also legalized. Our hosts were not too happy about this. It's the fall here any very much like Wisconsin with the fall leaves, frost and cold temperatures. I miss the warmth of Australia.
Day 12 - 05/04/2005 Christchurch, New Zealand
It's another cold but clear day (36 degrees this morning). Our host family, Cedric and Elaine Cole drove our group (Vicki, Vicky, Peter and myself) back to Christchurch where we met up with the rest of our group. I shivered all night because our room was so cold. We turned on the heater but it didn't work too well. We went to a pearl dealers shop to hear about how pearls are made (boring). We then went to a Maori village to learn a little bit about this native New Zealand Indian tribe and their history. One person in our group had the audacitiy to ask one of one of the native speakers why her skin was so light relative to the darker skin of the other Maori people we met. Turns out her father was English. When the white lady from the Maori culture center spoke next, I was waiting for the same lady to ask why here skin was even lighter. Anywho....we toured the meeting house which was full of wood carvings made by the local people. We then toured the rest of the grounds and visited the sewing school and the wood carving school. I concluded after the tour that the Indians here would be better off with Casinos like American Indians than learning skills that would only relegate them to low paying jobs outside the village. 
After the Maori Village, we went back to Christchurch to roam the Botancial Gardens before being freed to do what we wanted. I went to the Art Centre to watch local artists create their various artworks. Then I went to lunch for a few hours. By then the sun was high in the sky and the temperature reached 60 degrees. So I viewed the Bridge of Rememberance over which the local soldiers marched across on their way from the barracks to waiting ships to fight World War I in Europe. Then I went back to the hotel to freshen up and then over to the Cathedral to climb the Tower for a panoramic view of Christchurch. There's not a whole lot to do here.
I went back to the hotel at 5 pm and fell asleep so I missed the Maori storyteller in native costume who came to tell our group about her family and other tribal stories. We then went to Cafe Bleu en masse for dinner. I had lamb (the specialty here). Afterwards, I went over to this place called the Loaded Hog across from the hotel for a beer, but they were having Western Swing Night so I just went back to the hotel and went to bed.
Day 13 - 05/05/2005 Christchurch, New Zealand
Today is a free day. We are going to the French town of Akaroa near Christchurch. It sits inside of an extinct volcano along the coast of the Pacific. I somehow was designated Tour Guide because no one else on the tour bothered to do any homework on how to spend their free time. So our Program Director Tracey gave me her cell phone number in case anything happened to the 11 people going with me to Akaroa.The bus picked us up at 9:30 am. It's a beautiful fall day although a little chilly. Our driver Ron is pointing out all the highlights. There are lots of volcano lava fields, mountains and sheep to be seen along the way. The road also winds up and around steep hills and valleys. We stopped at the beach in Teoka Bay to have a second childhood (that's what the bus driver said). We were given a small zip lock baggy and sent to the beach to collect interesting rocks--mostly agates, which make good souvenirs or jewelry if polished. After the beach we stopped in the town of Little River for a "comfort stop." Along the way we passed by a large number of non-flowering lime trees which lined both sides of the road and were stunningly beautiful in all their fall splendor--really bright yellow leaves.
We then stopped at a Hilltop for a panoramic view of the Akaroa area, but the clouds were too thick to see anything, so we just finished our coffee and moved on. A little further on, the clouds disapated and we were able to snap some pretty good photos.
One we got to Akaroa, we poked around the wharf, discovered the whale/dolphin watching would take too long and just went to lunch at some Fish & Chips shop. There was too much food so Vicky and I just shared a single order (Vicki #1 is sick today so stayed back in Christchurch). We managed to ditch the rest of the group after lunch, take a quick tour of the town, including the small, but quaint St. Patrick's church, before heading back to catch the 2:30 bus. Being the offseason, many of the shops were closed, so there wasn't a lot to do. But the ride to Akaroa alone was worth the trip. On the way back, we stopped at Hilltop again for a photo op. This time the clounds had cleared and you could see everything. It was very beautiful.
I'm at the Internet Cafe in Christchurch. We'll probably go over to the Loaded Hog for beer and dinner. I hope they're not having another weird theme night.
Tomorrow we head to Queenstown on our bus, which will take all day. We'll stop at Mt. Cook along the way. Some folks we met on the bus back from Akaroa said they came from Queenstown yesterday, and it is simply awesome.
By for now.
Day 14 - 05/06/05 Christchurch to Queenstown, New Zealand
I hardly know what day it is anymore. It's a long travel day today. We're going by bus from Christchurch on the eastern coast to Queenstowns, which is several hundred miles southwest of Christchurch. We'll be travelling south over the Canterbury Plains, then west, up and over the southern Alps (which are visible even from Christchurch)into Christchurch. The day started with one of those mind-numbing 5:30 am wake up calls for a 6:15 am departure for Queenstowns, where we arrived at 7:30 pm after several stops, including the Mount Cook National Park.
Being with a bunch of old people, we made several bathroom stops. One place about two hours into the trip was the Tin Shed, which is about all it was. Besides a bathroom, it had lots of shopping opportunities. I was one again mistaken as the Tour Guide which I will use to my advantage the next time (I'll get free stuff or discounts on merchandise). After petting all the farm animals at the Tin Shed, we continued through the towns of Geraldine and Burke's Pass. The bus dropped three of us off at the church on the southern shores of Lake Wakatipu where Air Safari reps put us in a van and shuttled us to the airport.
At the airport, we joined some nervous Japanese travelers from some other tour company. After we all got weighed, we boarded this small 6-seat plane. I got to sit in the copilot seat and put on headphones. I also had the best view of anyone. After take-off, we climbed over the mountains and headed towards Mount Cook. Mount Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand at 12,349 feet. The weather was awesome and the views amazing. You could see several glaciers (they were blue not white) and several tall peaks and braided rivers and alluvial flow. The highlight was Mount Cook. We got so close to the side and the summit that you could practically reach out and touch it.
After 50 minutes, we landed at a different airport close to Mount Cook National Park where we had lunch and waited one hour for the bus and the rest of the group to meet up with us. It was so beautiful with all the snow capped peaks towering all around us and looking at the aqua-blue water. It actually looked like it was green in color. It gets this color due to mineral run-off from the Alps.
While waiting, there was a car with three girls and a stalled car that needed a push out of the parking lot onto the highway, which was uphill. After some stuggling, we managed to get the car onto the highway where the girls tried to flag down a passing car to get it to tow them to the next town 15 miles down the road (Twizel). They tried starting the car, and it did start and they drove away. But our bus saw them stranded several miles down the road. This time the girls were stranded in the middle of nowhere. It might have been easier to pay the $200 towing fee. They might still be stranded today since we only counted about 1 car every fifteen minutes coming down the road.
Anyway, after the bus picked us up, we drove to Mount Cook National Park for a walking tour of the park. There was a statue of Sir Edmund Hillary there. Hillary made this area famous because this is where he first climbed a mountain and discovered his love for mountain climbing. The employees in the Park live in a compound there. They have a school for children up to age 12. Afterwards, the children go to boarding school or their parents quit the Park and work elsewhere because the nearest town with a high school is some 50 miles away. The tour guide also talked about the large number of rescues they do every year -- about 3 a week. It doesn't cost anything to be rescued, but they do ask for a $500 donation. Storms cruise up fast so climbers often get stranded. Most of the climbing occurs in the summer (October - February).
After Mount Cook, we drove another 4 hours to Queenstowns. We stopped at some roadside fruit market where our half-starved group devoured all the samples. But it was worth it for the owner since we spent a lot of money there.
We arrived at our hotel at 7:30 pm and had dinner. Afterwards, I strolled the town and scoped out the pubs. I also bought a t-shirt at the Hard Rock Cafe. They closed their restaurant a year ago, so only sell souvenirs now. Tomorrow I have to get up early and check out the jet boat, river raft tours, gondola ride, bunjy jumping and other activities since we opted out of the day tour to Milford Sound. I've already seen fjords and the tour lasts some 12-1/2 hours (9 of it on the bus going back and forth from the coast to Queenstown).
Day 15 - 05/07/2005 Queenstown, New Zealand
We're here in Queenstown, New Zealand enjoying our first full day here. It's much cooler and they've already had snow. The town is surrounded by towering peaks and is situated right on Lake Wakatipu. We started the day with a leisurely breakfast and then boarded the 90-year-old steam-powered TSS Earnslaw for a cruise of Queensland Harbor and then on to a tour of Walter's Peak Station (sheep ranch). The fall colors never cease to amaze me here. Mostly yellow leaves, but a nice contrast to the snow and green fir trees that grow in abundance on all the mountains.
We arrived to rain at Walter's Peak Station, but I quickly grabbed an umbrella out of the barrel on the pier. The tour guide showed us the deer, cows, and sheep they raise on the farm. Then he demonstrated how they use their dogs to round up sheep. The dog responded to a series of voice and whistle commands. Sheep are so stupid. The dog would first hunch down and stare at them to establish her presence. The sheep then gathered together nervously watching the dog. Now I know what it means to be sheepish. Then the dog would herd the sheep and get them running towards the pen. It was very interesting. Sheep will even follow each other over a cliff if the lead sheep goes over it. They lost 300 sheep last year because they were so dumb they jumped off the steep cliffs. Then we got a sheep sheering demonstration. If the sheep are on their feet, they squirm and buck. But once you turn them on their back, they become docile. The guide sheered that thing with a big pair of clippers in about 3 minutes. The female sheep dog used earlier in the demonstration just gave birth to pups five weeks ago, so we got to hold onto the pups during the sheering demontration.
After the sheep ranch, we got back on the boat and went back to Queenstown. We then went on the Shotover Jet Boat. The damn thing goes 55 mph down a narrow canyon. The boat is powered by two Buick V-6 supercharged engines and only needs two inches of water. We zoomed by the canyon walls with only two inches to spare. And if their was a rock or something sticking up out of the water, the driver would aim for it and steer out of the way at the last minute. We also did a lot of 360 degree turns and got wet. It was a lot of fun but none of us was really ever scared.
After the jet boat, we booked a flight a cruise to Milford Sound tomorrow. The rest of the group is going there on bus, which takes 9 hours there and back. I told them I was incontinant and couldn't sit on a bus that long without wetting myself.
After that we went to the Cow restaurant for pizza and pasta dinner. Almost everyone else from our group went there as well, but we didn't have to wait for a table. Afterwards, we went to the Casino where Vicki lost $20. Helmut and I went over to Pog Mahone's for a beer and then went back to the hotel. I sneaked out a little later and went to Monty's where all the locals were watching the rugby match on TV. They are fanatical about their rugby here.
Day 16 - 05/08/2005 Queenstown, New Zealand
Today we went to the western coast of New Zealand for a cruise down the Milford Sound. It's a gigantic fjord with mountains rising out of the water some 2,500 feet on all sides. There were also several waterfalls cascading down the sides in several places. We also saw a group of seals sunning themselves on the rock at the base of the fjord. The tallest moutain in the fjord is Mitre Peak, which is a huge triangular shaped mountain that comes to a narrow peak jutting out at the top. I've been to the fjords of Norway, so wasn't all that impressed with what I saw, but it was a nice trip. It was plenty cold too out on the deck of the boat so we stayed below until the good photo ops came up. The best part of the trip was not enduring the 9-1/2 hours on the bus out to Milford Sound and back. We snubbed the group by flying out there in a 8 seat Brittan Norman twin prop plane from Queenstown. The group left on the bus for the 4+ hour trip out there at around 7 am. We slept in late, had a leisurely breakfast, did our laundry, shopped and even went to the Internet Cafe for an hour before our noon flight. We were supposed to be on the 10 am flight but it was cancelled due to snow conditions at Milford Sound, so we had to wait for the 12 pm flight. By then, the weather cleared and it was a beautiful sunny day. The taxi picked us up from the hotel and took us to the airport. The pilot just taxied out to a grass strip and took off. We climbed forever it seemed to clear the mountains surrounding Queenstown and then flew just over the mountains tops. There were tons of snowcapped peaks, farmland, glaciers, braided rivers and other sites. Towards the end, we came dropped town below the mountain tops and flew between the peaks. When we reached the coast, we flew out over the Tasman Sea and banked sharp left and flew right down the middle of Milford Sound between the towering cliffs. It was really amazing. As luck would have it, our tour group was on the same cruise ship so we got to hear how they saw our plane coming in. While the group had a box lunch in the front of the boat, we had a gourmet buffet lunch as part of our tour package. We felt too sheepish about having better food so we hung out below deck to eat.
After the cruise, a shuttle took us back to the Milford Sound landing strip. 2 people and our tour guide also opted to fly back rather than drive. We got back to Queenstown at 3:45 pm while the rest of the group got back around 7:45 pm.
Around 4:15 pm, I decided to take the trail to the top of the mountain that the gondola goes up rather than pay the $15 to ride to the top. Had I known how far it was with all the switchback, I wouldn't have done it. But I needed the exercise badly. So I climbed and jogged up for about 45 minutes. I went off the trail thinking I was taking a shortcut and came to a deadend after I climbed for 5 minutes, so turned back and got back on the trail. I reached the summit of the mountain at around 5 pm. I took a few pictures of Queenstown below and then literally ran the whole way back town. This time it took only 20 minutes. I then went back to the hotel to do some more laundry so I wouldn't have to wash anymore clothes for the rest of the trip.
Around 5, I went out to the bars around town to find a guy in our group who has been barhopping everynight. I tried Pog Mahones, Loaded Hog, Buffalo Club and Monties before going back to Buffalo Club where a young girl from Sarasota was working for the next six months. I struck up a conversation with some 23-24 year old guys from England and Ireland (Jamie and David I think) who came here for the next six months to work the ski season doing restaurant jobs to earn enough money to earn their way around the globe. What a great life, but I don't think I would ever have done anything like that. On the way home, I stopped at Montie's where much of the staff was in the samet situation as the other two guys. One guy was from North Carolina. Takes a lot of guts to move 3/4's the way around the world to work.
Tomorrow we have a 1/2 day here in Queenstown before we fly to Auckland on the north island of New Zealand (2 hour flight).
Day 17 - 05/09/2005 Queenstown to Auckland, New Zealand
Today we left Queenstown and flew to Auckland on the north island of New Zealand. I got up early and took a dawn stroll through the Queenstown Botanical Gardens, which was right next to the hotel. I got some great pictures of the snowcapped peaks, fall colors and water. 
As I was having breakfast with our program director Tracey, I mentioned I had been once again mistaken by the hotel staff as the program director for our group. She used the opportunity to lecture me on how it would be unethical to pretend to be a program director to get discounts on merchandise at shops and restaurants--especially while wearing a Grand Circle name tag. I wasn't happy about the lecture and never intended to do such a thing though a local merchant who had offered me a 40% tour guide discount had been tempting a few days earlier.
Before going to the airport, we stopped in nearby former gold rush town of Arrowtown. My guide book said the best time to go was fall because of the mountains and brilliant fall colors. The book was right. I've never seen mountains in the fall and it was well worth it with the sea of yellow, red and green. We toured the historic museum in town, and then a local guide dressed in 1880's clothing gave us a guided tour of the town, including the Chinese Village and the old Gaol (jail).
By noon we got to the airport for our 1:25 pm departure for Auckland. The flight was nice since it was a clear day. As we passed over the northwest corner of the southern island of New Zealand, we could see Farewell Split, a cape that juts out into the Tasman sea. A short while later, we saw a volcano sticking up out of the clouds on the southern end of the north island. Pretty cool.
We had a group dinner at our hotel in Auckland in the evening and it was off to bed. We are only here in Auckland for 1-1/2 days. Free time is tomorrow afternoon. The weather is much warmer up here in the north than down in Queenstown. I have had a little cold for two weeks now. I have succeeded in passing it along to about 6 other people. Those who couldn't shake it started there visit to Auckland with a visit to the medical center next to our hotel.
Day 18 - 05/10/2005 Auckland, New Zealand
This is the second time I am typing this because the Internet Cafe sucks.This is our first day full day in Auckland. We leave tomorrow already for Fiji so it was a busy day. We arrived late last night so only had time to have a group dinner, go down to the wharf for a look around and a few expensive cocktails.
We're staying at the posh Stamford Hotel where all the dignitaries and celebrities stay when they come to town. They have lots of pictures of politicians (Bill Clinton) and rock stars in the lobby.
The day started like all the other--with breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Unfortunately, a lady in our group had her purse stolen when she went to the buffet. She didn't have her passport in her purse, but she did lose some money and her credit cards. Her husband and her spent the morning calling credit card companies while the rest of us toured Auckland.
We started at the famed National Maritime Museum where we toured for 45 minutes before the museum opened, followed by a sailboat ride around Auckland Harbor. There wasn't much wind so we puttered around with the motor running most of the time. Most people got to steer the boat, but they were more interested in photographing the Auckland skyline and harbor bridge than sailing.
After the boat, we went over to Mount Eden, an extinct volcano on the edge of the city. The observation platform is on the edge of a deep crater looking into the volcano. It had killer view of the city, the harbor and surrounding countryside. Auckland is second in size to Los Angeles in terms of areas, so is a sprawling city on the ocean.
After that, we went to the Auckland War and History Museum for a Maori culture dance show and lecture on history. The dance was fine but the lecture boring. Several people left before it was over and Vicki fell asleep during it. After that I briefly toured the entire museum and then walked half way across the city to Sky Tower. This is the most prominent building in the Auckland skyline and the tallest structure in New Zealand. The views were great. The elevator had a glass floor so you could watch as you got higher. Also, the observation platform had glass tile floor that you could stand on and see the ground 1000 feet below. It made me dizzy and I was apprehensive about standing on the glass floor even though a sign said it was a strong as concrete. They also have this bungy-jump-like thing where people dive off the top of the building and then get lowered to the ground below. We watched some Japanese girl do it. There was a warning just before she jumped so we would have our cameras ready. I got a movie of the girl jumping. She dropped down from the 53rd floor observation platform, dangled there for a moment or two, and was then lowered to the ground by cable at high speed.
Tomorrow we go to Fiji where it is 84 degrees and sunny everyday. It will be a nice change from the 60 degrees weather here.
Day 19 - 05/11/2005 Auckland, New Zealand to Korolevu, Fiji
We got to poke around Auckland for a few hours before our 1 pm flight to Fiji. So I just walked around taking some last minute photos and going to the Internet Cafe to catch up on email.The flight to Nadi, Fiji on the south island was uneventful, except for my roommate Peter who was coming down with a cold and mixed too much wine with too much cold medication and was just bouncing off the wall during the 3-hour flight. He stood for the entire 3-hour flight, pissing off our entire group and the cabin crew who had trouble getting around him. The other notable event was the chorus of coughing coming from the members of our group, most of whom have come down with a cold and were hacking and wheezing incessantly the entire trip.
By the time we arrived at 4 pm, the sun was already going down. I noticed the landscape tropical, green and mountainous. Upon arrival, we stood in a long line at customs. Peter, however, trip on the stairs and fell on his way off the plane, so got a wheelchair ride to the front of the long customs line while the rest of us stood for 20 minutes waiting to get through. We all looked in dismay as he nonchalantly stood up out of the wheelchair and walked off to baggage claim. He said he had difficulty managing the uneven surface coming off the plane, which I interpretted as being the stairs coming off the plane. He was pretty screwed up on medications and alcohol.
By the time we boarded the bus for the two-hour ride down to our hotel down on the southern Coral Coast town of Korolevu, it was already 4:45 pm and getting dark. The main road we followed from Nadi to Korolevu was just a two-lane road in need of repair and clogged with slow moving local traffic, trucks, people and animals.
The hotel we stayed at was the Warwick Resort. It was wonderful and right on the water. It had several restaurants to choose from as well as free equipment for snorkeling and diving on the reef, a couple of swimming pools, mini-golf, golf and other amenities. It was nice coming from 60 degrees in Auckland to the tropical 85 degree temperatures of Fiji, which is north and between Australia and New Zealand.
We had dinner at the Papagallo italian restuarant, a few beers at the beach bar, and then to bed. I like it here.
Here are some Fijian words we learned:
Bula - hello, greetings
Vinaka - thank you
Eeyo - yes
Sanga - no
Sanga melanga - no problem
Day 20 - 05/12/2005 Korolevu, Fiji
It's another beautiful day in paradise--sunny, little humidity and 85 degrees. Today we boarded the bus early for Kula Ecopark, the only nature reserve in Fiji. Kula is a colorful bird that is abundant here. There we saw all sorts of animals. Most were introduced by those who colonized Fiji (Polynesians, Europeans), including iguanas, snakes, huge bats, parrots, tropical fish, spiders and perigrine falcons. The only native animal to Fiji is the fruit bat. We got to hold the iguanas and snakes. I even got one of the bats to lick the end of my finger as he hung upside down on the side of the cage while others crawled around on the floor or hung around elsewhere in the cage. How do I know he was a male bat. Well, he had rather large, unmistakeable male anatomy which he used to piss on my shoe. Enough said.
After a $20 donation to Ecopark we were on our way back to the hotel. I should get a letter from school kids in the next few weeks thanking me for my donation. I spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling the reef and catching some rays, and reading "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown, author of "The Da Vinci Code." I read Brown's "Deception Point" earlier in the trip. The reef did not have as many fish as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, but was satisfying nonetheless. I also needed the exercise since I haven't done any in over 3 weeks.
Anyway, I went to Happy Hour after the beach, had dinner with some people from the group at the buffet restaurant at the hotel, and went to bed.
Day 21 - 05/13/2005 Korolevu, Fiji
Today we did an half-day of touring, then back to the hotel for a little more R&R. The tour started in the village of Sigatoka. It's 30 minutes west of the hotel along the coast. It's known for it fruit and vegetable market, which we toured. It was amazing how many varieties of fruits and vegetable they grow in the tropical climate. It reminded me of a farmer's market here in the states. After the market, we stopped at a supermarket and a souvenir shop called Jack's Handicrafts to do some shopping before making our way back towards the hotel to visit the Taqage elementary school. Unfortuately, we didn't get to visit the school because it was the kids' two-week break, exacerabated by a death in the village. So the kids who planned to come to school anyway, did not come to see us and probably went to the funeral instead. We took up a small collection as a donation to the school (also sponsored by Grand Circle Travel) and gave it to the teacher who greeted us. Those who brought things from the US to give to the kids also gave those items to the teacher to give to the kids.
After the aborted school visit, we made our way back to Korolevu and stopped at the Komave village where we were greeted by the locals in a welcome ceremony and then had lunch at the homes of people in the village. On the way to the village, I was elected as the Chief of our group while Vicky was Miss Chief. I was to be our representative at the welcome ceremony where I would sit cross-legged on the floor facing the chief and other leaders of the village and drink Kava, a muddy like drink made from plant roots and numbs the back of your throat like novacane. We also had to come up with a song we would perform as a group at the ceremony. Rather than sing the National Anthem like most prior groups, we did the Hokey Pokey. After a few rounds of practice on the bus, we were ready. Prior to drinking kava from the community cup, the locals serenaded us with the Fiji farewell song (sang a cappella by the tribal men and women). It was amazing. We did our Hokey Pokey and it was a huge hit. They had never seen it before. We stood hand in hand in a large circle and did our schtick, followed by a "Bula" ("Greetings" in Fijian) at the end. The village leader running the ceremony wanted to know more about the Hokey Pokey so the two sisters traveling together from Massachusetts demonstrated some more, even doing one round by putting their "back sides in, and their backsides out," much to the joy of the villagers there. I can see them all now back at the community center trying to do this now.
At the Kava drinking ceremony, Vicky and I sat with Joe from the tribe cross-legged on the matted floor facing the tribe with the Kava bowl facing us. They mixed this concoction with a cococut shell cup from which the village leaders drank. When each was presented with the cup of Kava, each clapped his hands once, said the word "bula," drank the kava and then clapped three more times. Then as chief, I was presented with the cup of kava and repeated the chant. Then Vicky (Miss Chief) also drank from the community cup, followed by the rest our group. Then we had another cup to conclude the ceremony. Some people say Kava looks like muddy water or that it tastes like a sweat sock or dishwater, but I found it to be quite good. It was rather gray and cloudy in color. The root is crushed into a grayish powder and mixed with water.
Afterwards, we did some shopping at the community, and were then split up to go to a local home for lunch. At the home-hosted lunch, we all sat on the floor of a home devoid of furniture, except for a couch for the people in our group who couldn't sit. They had all kinds of food that had to be eaten by hand, even though a spoon was in order. But we got by. There was an assortment of fruits and meats. I stuck with the safe stuff. During the whole lunch, the hosts kept waving wicker fans around to keep the flies from landing on the food. Wonderful.
After the visit to the village, we went back to the hotel for some more snorkeling and sunning.
In the evening, we had our Grand Circle Farewell dinner. Once again, we were serenaded by the wait staff with the Fijian Farewell song. Then it was off to bed.
Day 22 - 05/14/2005 Korolevu, Fiji to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Today we went home. It was a great trip, but I was more than ready to go home. Three weeks is just too long to be on vacation.After breakfast, Helmut and I walked several miles down the beach from the hotel collecting shells and coral to bring home as souvenirs. I found a few nice pieces. The tide was also out so there were tons of little crabs walking around on the beach. They were really fast and I wasn't able to catch any before they made it to the water or into a hole they dug into the sand.
Around 11 am, I finished packing my bags for the 1:30 pm check out and then went to the lobby to say good bye to some of the group who were going on the post-trip optional Fiji Island cruise. Then I did some more snorkeling and hung out at the pool with Vicki and Vicky.
Around 4, we had lunch and watched a wedding ceremony at the beach before catching the bus at 5 pm for the two hour drive back to the Airport in Nadi.
Around 10 pm Fiji time (17 hours ahead of Milwaukee) we left Fiji on our 10-hour Air Pacific flight to Los Angeles. I slept for several hours, which was great because it is going to be hard to get back on Milwaukee time. The flight arrive in Los Angeles at 1:20 pm. That's right, we got home 9 hours before we left Fiji because we crossed the International Dateline and gain a day.
Once in LA, I had two hours to catch my flight to Minneapolis, which I almost missed because my luggage was the last off the plane. Then I had to stand in line at customs, Northwest check-in and baggage check in. I made my 4 pm flight with 10 minutes to spare. The alternative was a 11 pm red-eye flight to Detroit that gets in a 6 am Sunday morning flight followed by a 9 am Sunday morning flight to Milwaukee getting in at 12 pm Sunday.
Anyway, I slept for several hours on the 3-hour flight to Minneapolis, so by the time I walked in the door at midnight Milwaukee time, I was wide awake. So I rushed around unpacking, doing laundry and catching up on my mail before taking two sleeping pills and going to bed at 1 am Sunday morning. But it will help me get back to my usual schedule.
So ends another trip. I really enjoyed the places I went, the people I met and the company of my friends Vicki and Vicky.
