Back in the USA!

We returned to Long Beach, CA July 3rd at 10AM.

Fini!

Nelson

We really liked this area, it would be a good spot to live.  Rolling hills with mountains in the background, vineyards, the ocean, the sunniest area in NZ and they grow apples here.

Abel Tasman

 This morning we took a water taxi from Marahau out to the Abel Tasman National Park and were dropped off in Bark Bay.  We then hiked 21 km back out along the Abel Tasman Coast Track to our car.  We took a short cut across Torrent Bay at low tide only to find out that there was still a river running through the bay, which Laura can be seen crossing in the picture.  It was a great hike.

Marlborough

 After skiing we drove up to the Northern end of the South Island.  We saw this fur seal along the way and we stopped in the Marlborough wine region to taste some wine.  This picture is from Cloudy Bay winery.  Try their Sauvignon Blanc or Te Koko Sauvignon which are both exported to the states.

Ice Skate NZ

 

Another day on the Mt Hutt ski fields, we were both a tad sore from yesterday.  It may have had something to do with not skiing for 15 months.  Or maybe it was the spills Laura and I took while skiing yesterday.  We awoke early to try and make the first chair in the morning.  We were close, they had only been running for one half an hour by the time we skied into the lift lines.  Our hope was that after grooming the snow would be a nice mix of the new snow from yesterday and some machine groomed granular (east coast slang for chopped up ice.)  It turned out that the winds had blown most of the snow away, but at least there was little wind in the morning and the skiing was pretty good if you picked your lines correctly. 

After lunch, things turned a bit nasty, the wind really picked up and this scored off the layer of snow leaving some icy patches.  Not to mention that the snow whipped up in the wind was painful on your face and cold.  We called it quits a bit after 3pm and headed back down the mountain towards the warm fire at the lodge and a hot cup of tea and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.  One cool thing about Mt Hutt is they have an electric pass system, which logs how many times you ride up each lift.  On their web site you can check the meters you have skied, we logged 15,288 meters over 2 days.

Ski New Zealand

We were living the dream today...my dream at least.  For a long while now I have wanted to go skiing in New Zealand, not exactly sure why, but it has always intrigued me.  We flew into Christchurch yesterday from Sydney and drove up to Methvan last night.  This morning we rented skies and boots from town, Laura lucked out and received brand new Volkl Tierras for her rentals, and headed for the mountain.  It was an 25K drive up from the Canterbury plains, once we hit the mountain road, we had to chain up because it was snowing.   They had a nice set up, you give them the rental fee and they put the chains on for you.  No fussing in the wet mud with cold chains.

To get to Mt Hutt we had to drive 14km up a steep and twisty road with shear drops on the edges and no guard rails.  We were happy to make the parking lot at the end.  I will let the pictures speak for the mountain and the skiing.  There were no crowds on the slopes and the morning snowfall provided a nice cover over the hard-pack underneath.  Mt Hutt is the highest ski slope in the Southern Alps and had decent coverage for this early in the season.  There is some really awesome expert terrain that needed some more snow and I will have to wait for next time to experience these chutes.

Sydney

On our way out of Australia and on to New Zealand, we spent the weekend with Laura's high school friend Scott and his fiancee Lyo.

We arrived on Friday afternoon having just returned from our diving trip, spending the night at our friend Paul's place and trying to hand off our car and pick up our deposit from our house. Needless to say, we still had a few errands to run by the time we arrived to Sydney. Once we were done we met up with Scott. We went to a cool little place for drinks and for dinner and he took us to a very authentic Korean restaurant. We weren't quite sure what we were ordering, but it was delicious. After wandering around the city a bit, we took the train out to their house.

They live in this really cool little town, Stanwell Park, right on the ocean 1 hour south of Sydney. So Saturday morning we had breakfast at a restaurant down the street. We took the scenic route back, walking along the ocean. Rough life. Matt and Lyo relaxed while Laura and Scott did the marketing for the night's dinner. Later in the day we went on a great hike along the cliffs. We had some snacks along the way to keep us fueled, but the real treat was dinner that night once we returned.

Scott grilled shrimp on the barbie, which tasted phenomenal. The main of the evening was lamb. Always a good choice. Sadly we had to get up early to catch our flight to New Zealand so it was a quick visit.

Lady Elliott Island: Snorkeling

We finally received a nice sunny day on the island today.  It was warm in the sunshine and we could revert back to shorts and t-shirts.  We donned our wetsuits and went for a snorkel on the West side of the island.  Our swim started at the lighthouse and we drifted along 2nd reef with the current to coral gardens.  I decided my favorite fish were the Parrot fish; they come in a variety of colors and are neat to watch as they chew on the reef.  Another favorite were schools of these little blue/green fish that changed colors depending on how the sun hit them.

After a brief rest and cup of tea we headed out to snorkel in the lagoon on the East side of the island.  You can only snorkel here for a couple hours on each side of high tide because it is so shallow.  The best way to define the area is it is like being in a fish tank.  You are so close to everything you can reach out and touch the fish.  We were lucky to come across a group of about 6 green sea turtles who were feasting on the diced jellyfish coming in across the reef on the tide (they get broken up by the wave action on the reef.)  We spent the rest of the afternoon reading on the beach, until it was time for our plane back to the mainland.  Our evening turned into quite an adventure as we drove back to Yeppoon and tried to find our friend Paul at whose apartment we were planning to stay the night.  He had had lost his phone and the intercom in his building was broken, we finally managed to get a hold of him by climbing up a wall next to his apt. and throwing wood chips at his windows.

Lady Elliot Island: Diving Day 2

This morning we were greeted by a rainbow in the sky and sunshine.  The wind had died down a touch and it looked like we were going to have a nice day.  At the dive shop we geared up and loaded on the transport trailer to the beach.  We went out to the Severance wreck this morning.  It is a 10 meter sailboat that ran aground on the reef and was towed out to its present location to create an artificial reef.  There was a swift current out here and we had to hold tight to the mooring line as we descended to 22 meters to check out the wreck.  Once on the bottom, there still was a swift current and we carefully moved around the wreck.  Having had our fill of the Severance and the current we headed off along the bottom towards Three Pyramids.  We had used up a good amount of air by the time we got here because of the extra work swimming and the depth, so this would be a shorter dive.  There was a large Bull Ray guarding the Pyramids as well as a black tipped reef shark and we spotted a small colorful lobster hiding in the coral. 

After a quick shower to warm up, I snuck out to the east island lagoon for some snorkeling.  Others on the island were raving about the sea life out here so I had to see it for myself.  I will tell you all about it in tomorrow’s blog. 

For our afternoon dive we went out onto the reef at the Lighthouse Bommie and drifted North with the current on the Western reefs.  One of the divers in the group was having a little trouble getting equalized on the decent, so Laura and I became intimately acquainted with an anemone and its clown fish while we waited.   We saw more of the same fish and coral we had seen over the last few dives, but it still was amazing to look upon. 

Lady Elliott Island: Diving

This trip had been planned exclusively to get more diving in on the Great Barrier Reef here in Australia.  As Laura does not like being on a boat for very long, we chose Lady Elliot Island because, although you dive from a boat you gear up on land and are shuttled back to shore as soon as the dive is over.  If we had gone north to Townsville or Cains, we would have to been on an overnight boat trip to dive on the reef up there. 

We meet at the dive shop at 7:30 AM to get our gear picked out and put together.  It was still very windy, so we were headed to the leeward side of the island for calmer seas.  We were told that in the winter the ocean is often like glass on the leeward side.  Not so today, but that doesn’t matter once you are under the water.  Once in the water, I had a slight mishap of not having enough weight on me and I could not sink.  I added a weight to my BCD and we were off.  We dove today along second reef and swam along with the current along the reef.  Laura and I quickly remembered how to keep ourselves off the coral in neutral buoyancy and we were able to enjoy the sea life.  We both agreed the fish were more colorful here than we had seen off the Keppel islands.  Visibility was 15-20 meters and the highlights included a reef shark, huge sea cucumbers, a blue starfish and schools of tiny blue and purple shimmering fish.

Back on land we took hot showers to rinse off and warm up, and then we relaxed with our morning tea and books while waiting for the afternoon dive.

We headed out to Mauri Wrasse on the North-West side the island for our afternoon dive.  The current was heading south, so we drifted with it through arches down to second reef.  Laura and I both really enjoyed this dive; we were used to being underwater and could really concentrate on the sealife.  We saw a huge grouper tucked away inside an arch, lots of turtles (green and loggerhead) a few which allowed us to scratch their backs and numerous schools of colorful fish.

Lady Elliott Island

Today was a busy day that saw us packing up and leaving our home in Rockhampton and ending up on a secluded island on the Great Barrier Reef.  In the morning we put the final touches on moving out of the house.  We left a few things under the house for the Salvation Army to pick up and tried to get our checked bags as close to 23 kg as we could.  I may end up paying a weight penalty at the airport when we fly out on Friday.  We packed everything we had left into the car and stopped at a friend’s house to give him some of the useful stuff.  The rest was bound for the Salvo or a trash bin.  With the car emptied of all but the bags we were going to be taking home with us, we took off to Bundaberg.  Unfortunately the plane to Lady Elliot Island doesn’t fly out of Rocky. 

After a 3 hour drive we were at the airport with plenty of time to spare.  We checked in our small bags for the trip and relaxed in the airport.  The airport was very small no security checks and the pilot came to the gate to get us for our flight.  It was a small plane only 11 seats, every one had a great window view out both sides.  We saw a couple whales on the approach to the island and the pilot circled them once so we could watch them for a bit.  Things were very windy as we approached the grass runway, we had never been in a plane that approached the landing sideways, but the pilot knew his stuff and we had a relatively soft landing.

 The island hostess took us on a quick tour and then showed us to our Eco-tent, which although comfy was a loud place to sleep with the wind whipping all night long.   We signed up for diving the next day and played a lousy game of pool before grabbing dinner and hitting the hay.

45 Degrees

Early this morning I went out for my last Tuesday morning group ride with the cycling club here in Rockhampton. It was bloody cold this AM, 7.1 degrees Celsius, although this allowed me to wear some of the cold weather cycling clothes that I hauled all the way over here. Who would have know the tropics get this cold. We had a solid 60K ride and I was able to enjoy the sun coming up one last time. I will be packing up the bikes Thursday and they will begin their journey back to the states on Friday. I had a great time cycling in Rocky, the highlight was definitely the track riding and I will not soon forget the experience. My next scheduled race will be in Long beach in July, but maybe Laura and I will do a little riding while we are traveling in New Zealand.

Bali: Day 6

Today we headed back to Legian. So, after breakfast we packed up the bikes and hit the road. The ride back to the city was luckily uneventful. We checked into the hotel, and dropped off the bikes. Jeni then took us to another of her favorite places for lunch. Delicious, but even more spicy than we had before. Afterward she took us to another of her favorite spots, the beach club called Karma Kandara. A cliff side spa and restaurant with a lift down to the beach. We happily spent the rest of the afternoon lounging on the beach, sipping fruity drinks and swimming in the ocean.

That evening we met Esi for dinner. She chose a restaurant that was on the beach. You pick the seafood and they grill it over coconut shells and another special (secret) ingredient. The served us fish, two sizes of shrimp, calamarie, and more. Everything was delicious. The night was still young once we had finished so they took us to Rock Bar at the new Ayana Resort (formerly the Ritz-Carlton). The bar was built out on an outcropping of rocks onto the water. The waves were crashing as we sipped our fancy drinks on a lounge sofa. We were sleepy but happy by the time we returned to our room that night.

The next day was spent being lazy, lounging on the beach until it was time to catch our flight back to Oz.

Bali: Day 5

Today Matt and I took the motorbike out for a short ride in the AM. Kurt and Jeni had gotten up early to try for a bit more exploring further out. We would meet up for lunch. Matt drove the bike along all of the little side roads off the main streets which allowed us to get a closer look at the way people live. We could also see how people would set the rice out to dry on giant tarps in the middle of these streets. Even though we tried to navigate around the rice, they just motioned us to drive right across it. We also ran into school children on their way home from school. They would smile, wave and say hi to us. Some even gave us a "high-five"!

We arrived to the hotel before Kurt and Jeni affording us the chance to jump in the pool. It gets pretty hot riding around on those bikes. Once they returned we headed to the Babi Gulang for lunch. That is spit-roasted pig. So, we had coconuts to drink along with the pork, which was very tender and delicious. After lunch we decided to go for a little walk to an artist colony that Matt and Kurt had found on their first day out on the bikes. It took a few wrong turns for them to remember the way, but they were all down roads we had yet to explore and gave us more photo opportunities. One of the artists we met painted intricate designs on wooden eggs. The detail was remarkable.

After our shopping trip Matt and I headed back for a rest. Kurt and Jeni had to make one more stop at a shop Jeni had seen earlier in the day. When they had returned, they told us they had been invited by the shop owner to the local temple festival. Not something most tourists get to do here, again the bonus of travelling with a local. So, we donned our sarongs, boys too and headed off to the temple. Luckily, there are people at the temple that will tie your sarong for you so you don't look like an idiot when it falls off and you are standing there in your shorts!

 The festival was an anniversary celebration of the temple and women were arriving with enormous pyramids of fruit delicately balanced on their heads. The first part of the celebration was the blessing which was performed in groups since there were so many people. Both flowers and water were used during this part. Once the blessing was complete that group moved into the community area. Here they were preparing for Balinese dancing. The dancing and the costumes were more detailed and elaborate that what we had seen earlier in the week.

Bali: Day 4

Today we woke up and Kurt, Matt and I had breakfast together. We were finished and still hadn't seen any sign of Jeni. Turns out she overslept, so I waited for her to get ready and eat while the boys took the bikes out for a spin around the area. I wasn't quite ready to get back on the bike yet. So while they were sightseeing Jeni and I wandered the streets of Ubud going in and out of shops and checking out the monkeys that were hanging by the women selling bananas in front of the monkey reserve, and yes one managed to get away with a bunch for himself.

We met the boys for lunch at Cafe Wayan. This restaurant stretched far back behind its store front with individual table tucked in along the path. The place was like a garden complete with water features. My lunch was served in a pineapple boat, very cool, and tasty. Matt tried a Lassy (basically a fruit smoothy). For dessert we had black rice pudding which is black rice, milk, coconut and banana. Very tasty. It is also eaten for breakfast here too.

Today was Jeni's birthday, so after lunch I joined her on a trip to the spa. After checking a few out she finally found what she was looking for...a place where you could have a massage in an open air room looking out onto the rice fields. Never would have though of that, but very cool. So we both had Balinese Massages very relaxing.

After our tough day at the spa we joined the boys to watch a Balinese dance performance. The Balinese are known for their unique style of traditional dance which is used to tell stories. It is marked by the distinctive eye movements and footwork and brilliant costumes. Afterwards we had dinner to celebrate Jeni's birthday. This restaurant also had the other Balinese beer, Storm. This one came in different varieties and had a bit more taste to it. We were hooked.

Bali: Day 3 to Ubud

Our goal today was Ubud, we had told Jeni we would wait for her to drive up there, as she had an early business meeting.  After a lazy morning, we decided to fuel up the bikes.  We cruised around until we found a proper petrol station, opting not to purchase the petrol in the absolute bottles from the roadside stands.  Once the scooters were topped up we attempted to get back to the hotel.  We took a circuitous route and at one point we found ourselves separated from Kurt.  Fortunately we managed to find our way to the beach and from there back towards Leigan and our hotel.  Kurt arrived not too long after.  After a yummy Indonesian lunch at Three Brothers we took off on the trip to Ubud.  It took approximately 2 hours to get there and the highlight was getting stopped by the police at a registration check point.  My fake international driver’s license passed the test and we were back on the road.  (By the time we learned we needed get an international license it was too late to get one.   Apparently if you don’t have one you just bribe the policeman with 50,000 rupiah (~ $5 USD.)  Good thing we didn’t have to bribe a policeman.

Once in Ubud we took a quick spin around the center and then found a place to stay.  The neat thing about Bali are all the temples they have around the place.  They practice Hinduism and every home and building has a small, with some having a larger more elaborate, offering area.  Our hotel had some very neat statues and arches where they placed their daily offerings.

For dinner we went for a local special called crispy duck.  We choose the Dirty Duck restaurant, because it was supposed to have the best crispy duck in town.  It was a real neat place; we sat outside on an elevated platform at the edge of a rice field.  The duck didn’t look like much more than an overly fried breast and wing, but did it ever taste good.  We also tried berem, the local liquor.  It went down easy considering it tasted like lemonade, but a bit more potent.  We topped off the meal with a rich chocolate cake for dessert.  Very decadent!

Bali: Day 2

Today Matt got up early just after rainstorm to catch some waves while the rest of the world slept. Later we met up for breakfast to plan our day. Matt and Kurt were going to rent some motorbikes (the local preferred mode of transport) and take them for a spin to get used to them. Once they had the bikes, we grabbed some lunch. Our first Indonesian lunch consisted of a dish called Gado Gado. It was steamed vegetables (called salad) served with a sliced hard boiled egg and fried tofu all topped with peanut sauce. Yum.

After we were fed, we decided to take the bikes out to get petrol, (which was purchased by the roadside out of Absolute Vodka bottles). We also purchased some helmets as those that came with the rentals were more for novelty than protection. After we were properly outfitted, we went back to the hotel were our new friend Jeni was going to meet us for a trip to Tanah Lot, a nearby coastal temple which we hoped to catch a sunset.

The ride was about an hour, but due to the overcast nature of the day, we did not have much of a sunset once we arrived. We did get to enjoy our first taste of the countryside and rice fields getting out of the city finally. Arriving during low tide meant we were able to walk up to the base of the Temple. At high tide it is surrounded by water. This Temple is not open to the public, but we were able to appreciate the view from the base and walk along the nearby cliffs that jutted out parallel to it.

As it was getting dark, we hit the road to make it back to Legian before dark and rain set in. We accomplished neither. Fortunately we made it back unscathed and only took a couple wrong turns. For dinner we met Esi at one of Jeni's favorite Warungs, a kind of like a buffet restaurant. Jeni and Esi helped us pick out some of their favorite foods, as well as some local specialties. Another delicious try at Indonesian food.

Bali

We arrived in Bali late Saturday evening. After making our way through the airport, we arranged for a taxi to take us to our hotel. The ride was to be the first of many adventures. Pulling out of the airport we were faced with hordes of traffic, mostly motorbikes and some cars. The narrow roads were marked for lanes which seemed only suggestions rather than firm traffic laws. One way streets were also merely recommendations that pertained to the cars, definitely not the motorbikes. The locals on motorbikes sped, weaved and cut their way through lines of traffic. Many were not wearing helmets. We arrived about 30 minutes later, not too worse for the wear.

The next day our agenda entailed: get breakfast, get water, get money, get to the beach. Which we did. We were able to stock up on drinking water and change some money into rupiah just down the street from our hotel. Afterward we grabbed our things and headed out to the beach. Spending some time wandering down the beach we picked a spot and Matt was able to haggle us the use of some chairs and an umbrella for the day. I settled in for some serious relaxation and Matt went to check out the surf school, owned by a Balinese world champion surfer (turns out his American parents had moved here from Hawaii when they were young). Matt was able to arrange for a lesson the next morning and borrowed a board to have some fun that day.

Our lunch was provided by an older woman walking up and down the beach with a fruit basket on her head. We had some bananas (tasty little ones, unlike any we'd had before) and a pineapple which she peeled right there with the machete she was carrying around with her. Delicious! Our friend Kurt was to arrive around 4, so we headed to our hotel pool around then to wait. When we hadn't seen him by 4:30 Matt decided it was time to try the local beer, Bintang. Not too long after Kurt arrived along with his friend Esi, who is from Jakarta, but moved to Bali a few months ago. After introductions, she went to pick up her friend Jeni also from Jakarta who was in Bali on holiday and staying with her.

We spent sunset on the beach along with the dozens of other locals who were flying kites, playing soccer and hanging out. After dinner we headed to the very posh Ku De Ta where we managed to acquire a lounge sofa for 5 overlooking the beach. We were quickly learning the benefits of being with a local...things are cheaper and you get better service. After drinks while watching the waves, we headed home for the night excited to explore the area a bit more the next day.

Northern Territory: Darwin

Today was Saturday and we had a late evening flight to Denpasar, Indonesia, so we had the whole day to explore the city of Darwin. We awoke after a long, restful, mozzie-free night’s sleep feeling recovered from the heat of the previous day. After storing our luggage in our car we headed out on a walking tour of the city. It started at the Smith Street outdoor mall in front of a historic hotel. We did not get far. Being in the capital of the Northern Territory (where the largest proportion of inhabitants are Aboriginal) we were in a hotbed for Aboriginal art. Numerous galleries lined the streets here displaying work produced by artists of the region, some famous with works selling for thousands and other lesser-known or up and coming artists. Having just come from Kakadu and seeing rock art first hand, we were beginning to have a new understanding of the different types of art produced. So, we spent some time browsing the various shops, searching for a painting.

We eventually found time to continue on the tour, seeing the harbour and the WWII memorial (the US lost ships and men in the harbor in a Japanese bombing.) Most of the historic buildings were destroyed though, since Darwin had suffered devastating damage after Cyclone Tracy over Christmas 1974. That afternoon we learned a great deal about the storm at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. After a quick dinner of fish and chips we headed to the airport to catch our flight to Bali, our first flight out of the country since arriving and our first time in Asia!

Northern Territory: Kakadu National Park

Late in the afternoon on Thursday we finally arrived in Darwin after a long day in airports and airplanes. Following a brief stop at a pharmacy to pickup and inject a vaccine for our trip to Indonesia (Matt's parking lot medicine), we headed out to Kakadu National Park. We arrived in the park after dark and the mozzies were on the prowl, so we had a pint of beer at the hotel bar and headed to sleep.

The next day, we had an early start as Kakadu is huge…20,000 sq km. It is also on the World’s Heritage List, not just for the ecology of the area, but its Aboriginal cultural significance. Technically dry season starts in April, however, this happens to be one of the wettest years on record and many of the roads open only in the Dry were still closed. This meant less of the park to have to cover in a short amount of time.

The focus of the day was to see some of the unique features of the area including the geography, geology and rock art sites. We started in the Yellow Water region which is known for its wetlands. Since much of the access to this area was closed we checked out the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre to learn a bit more about the local Aboriginals. Our next stop was the Nourlangie Region. Here we were able to walk past many rock art sites and a hike to a lookout over the Anbangbang Billabong (a dry season residual lake). The temperatures were already hitting the low 90s with high humidity and the mozzies were out in full force. We began having flashbacks of summer in Rocky, so we decided to head back to the air-conditioned car. After lunch we headed to the East Alligator region which has rainforest in addition to floodplains and more rock art. We attempted a rainforest walk along the East Alligator River, but within 5 minutes we were swarmed with mozzies the size of fruit bats so we decided to head to Ubirr. Here we saw more rock art and climbed a rocky outcrop that overlooked the Nadab floodplain. The view was spectacular. You could still see waters that hadn't yet receded and the rest of the valley floor was emerald green.

It was getting late in the day, so we hit the road to Darwin. On our way out we saw some smoke and fires that are common here during the dry season. These controlled burns have been performed by the Aboriginals for centuries for hunting and environmental management. We arrived at our hotel after dark and took a much needed shower before heading out for a delicious dinner at a Turkish restaurant.

The Rajniks

We had the pleasure of hosting Kitty and Larry (Mom and Dad) for a couple of weeks in May. This gave us the opportunity to show them around Central Queensland. It also gave us an excuse to check out some new places. The first weekend they were here, we drove north toward Mackay to the Eungella National Park. The Broken River runs through this rain forest and is a permanent home to many Platypus. Arriving at dusk, we were just in time to see them head out for their nightly meals. We had enough daylight left to observe them swimming and diving under the water for about an hour. They were a little tough to spot at first since they come out in the worst light and they are not that big (50cm at the very largest). Once we got the hang of looking for the ripples in the water and used the binoculars, they were much easier to spot. Staying at a cabin right at the river we were able to enjoy a delicious evening meal and I was able to get up bright and early (while everyone else slept) to view the morning antics of the little guys. I also had the opportunity to see the bright blue kingfisher bird which is commonly found around the platypus.

We also had the chance to go back to Great Keppel Island. Matt and I hadn't been there since the heat of the summer, so the cooler temperatures made it nicer for further exploration of the island. We started off with a glass bottom boat tour around the island when we arrived. This tour educated us on the names of the different types of coral found locally and the fish as they swam under our boat. Afterwards, we hiked over to Monkey Beach where there is reef not far off the beach. We snorkeled until we were thoroughly chilled by the water and saw some pretty amazing corals. We also convinced Mom and Dad to try snorkeling for the first time. They loved it!

The Dreamtime Cultural Center is Rockhampton's museum dedicated to educating people on the Central Highland Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. The local indigenous are well known for their stencil art some of which was on display. The tour discussed the history of the people, their mythology and tools of their day to day life. We finished off with an education on playing the didgeridoo and throwing a boomerang.

There were a few other spots we checked out worth mentioning as well. One was the Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary where we were able to pet a kola, hold a Komodo dragon and take photos with a python. The Central Queensland Military Museum was full of memorabilia from several wars. There was also a good bit of American memorabilia here as General MacArthur chose Rocky as an important military base in the Pacific front of WWII. Finally, the Archer Park Station and Steam Tram Museum has the Purrey Steam Train, which they operate every Sunday morning, and interesting exhibits on the history of the station and the steam train in Rocky.

A Day at the Races

One thing that is fairly common in Australia is horse racing.  It just so happens that Rockhampton is home to Callaghan Park which is one of "the largest provincial thoroughbred racing Clubs in Queensland".  It is quite a popular way to spend a day for an Aussie, dressed to the nines at the track.  So, today Laura and I decided to put on our finest and go to the track to watch the the horses races ourselves.  If only we had proper hats to wear, then maybe we could have competed with the locals!

There were 6 races on for the day and we arrived with enough time before the first race to check out the horses and place our bets.  We didn't have a much of a clue about betting and still don't really, but we managed to do okay.  Laura had a knack for picking winners and came out on top for the day.  I didn't pick a single winner.  The picture of Laura here shows her with a winning ticket in her had waiting for the race to get started.

Stars

Driving back from dinner in Yeppon tonight we marveled at the night sky.  There was a glowing quarter moon and the stars were crystal clear.  The nice thing about a country the size of the US with only 20 million people is there are not too many lights to pollute the night sky.  Even in on the main drag in Yeppon we had a beautiful view of the stars and moon over the ocean.

Tasmania: Hobart

We woke up to a brisk sunny day today and after packing our stuff, we headed out on a walking tour of the city. Not too long after we started we were distracted by the Tasmania Museum which had an interesting exhibit on the local Aboriginals and a large exhibit on Antarctic Expeditions (most of which depart from Hobart).  From there we wandered over to the no longer operating Henry Jones IXL Jam Factory (so named because Mr. Jones felt he excelled at everything), one of the oldest buildings in the port area. The structure has since been converted to a hotel and series of shops. In one we found some of the most interesting Aboriginal works on canvas that we have seen, unfortunately a bit out of our price range.

Moving on in our tour we crossed the wharf over to Battery Point. This area houses many homes on the Historic Trust list. The streets are equally as historic. Since our bed and breakfast was a little lacking on the breakfast in the morning, we stopped for a mid-morning pick up at a french bakery. Once full and caffeinated, we moved along wandering the streets. Winding our way down to Salamanca Place we wandered in and out of the shops taking in the local crafts many made of local wood.   On Saturdays a huge market takes place here, but we were unable to make this.  Soon we passed Knopwood's Retreat, Hobart's oldest pub, we went in to check out the place and settled at the bar for a pot of beer.

For lunch we decided to head back to the wharf.  Looking into the water along the way you could see dozens of starfish hanging out in the shallow water. Fish Frenzy was our lunch destination. We were hoping for fish and chips and this place came highly recommended. Its reputation was well-earned, we agreed this was the best fish and chips either of us had ever eaten.

From here, we collected our car and headed up to Mt. Wellington. This is the peak (4170 ft) that overlooks and dominates the city.  You can drive to the top to take in views of the city and on a clear day see all the way to the northern tip of Tasmania.   They had a nice enclosed observation point set up, good thing too since it was so windy and cold at the top.

We ended our day at the Lark Distillery where we partook in a single malt whisky tasting. The bartender told us how the peat of Tasmania is more floral based and how that affects the taste of the scotch. A good way to warm up before our final dinner: rock lobster!

Tasmania: Styx Valley

Today we got an early start and headed to the southeast part of the state into the World Heritage Area. Our destination was to reach the "Valley of the Giants" where the tallest trees in the southern hemisphere can be found. On our way we passed through numerous fields of hops (Tas is the largest producer of hops in the southern hemisphere). We arrived at the turnoff for the Big Tree Reserve and found it to be bright and sunny as we made the turnoff onto the dirt road. The Reserve is in the midst of one of the larger logging areas in the state and we were confronted by huge logging trucks at break neck speeds on these narrow, windy roads. Best not get in their way.

Once we reached the actual reserve part of the forest a big storm cloud pulled up, it is a rain forest after all. So we put our hoods up on our rain jackets and headed out of the track that had been built to guide people to Big Tree and Bigger Tree, so creatively named. These being the tallest at approx. 320ft, shorter only to the Redwoods and Sequoias of the northern hemisphere, both of which we had the luxury of seeing during our residence in California. These trees are of the swamp gum variety. Magnificent to look at. After our time spent being awed by the forest we headed across the road and took a short hike to the Styx River which runs through the area.

Back in the camper, we headed back the way we came. This time we stopped at Mount Field National Park. Easily accessible from Hobart, this is a busy park. With that in mind we selected one of the longer hikes in hopes of keeping off the beaten track. Our trail was filled with swamp gums, myrtle and sassafras trees, as well as Matt's favorite, the tree fern. The trail also covered a number of waterfalls along the way including Russell Falls, the signature of the park. Once we had returned, we were feeling a bit peckish and decided to hit the riverside tea room on our way out for a Devonshire tea. Delicious!

We made it back to Hobart just in time for the visitor's center to be closed, so we went off a recommendation from a fellow traveler for accommodation for the night. All we really wanted was a nice hot shower and a comfy bed anyways. We were able to achieve that, but not much else in the place we stayed. Fortunately, we were walking distance from the Harbour, so once we had showered and changed we headed out to find a nice meal for the evening. Being Sunday, most things were closed. We ended up at a place right on the wharf where you picked your fish and they grilled it right there. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was some of the best tasting fish we've had. A good way to start our time in Hobart.

Tasmania: Pirates Cove

The cold chilly Tasmanian air didn't stop us this morning from waking up before the sun rose and scrambling out on the rocks to the edge of the sea.  We pulled on our hats and prepared to take in the view and a few pictures.  The sky turned bright pink before the sun cleared the clouds and struck the rocks turning them an unbelievable shade of burnt orange.  After taking as many pictures as our cold fingers would let us, we headed back to the van for warm tea and breakfast and to plan our route for the day.  Our goal was to make it down to the Tasman Peninsula by evening.

On our way out of town we snapped a few more pictures of the sun on the turquoise waters and white beaches.  After reaching St. Helens we stopped at the grocery store to replenish our dwindling supplies.  Then off east to Pyengana where the Pyengana Dairy Company has been producing cheese since the early 1900s.  We dropped in at the Holy Cow Cafe, next to the dairy company, to taste the cheese.  Since it was drizzling, we decided to have a cuppa before hitting the road.  It just so happened that they were having a coffee and cake special.  After stuffing ourselves and loading up with local cheeses we were back on the road with a full day of driving ahead of us.

We enjoyed the views as we drove back down the coast stopping at Bicheno, a seaside town, to stretch our legs.  Our next stop was at the Milton Vineyards at 42 degrees South latitude for wine tasting.  We had their pinot noir at dinner a few nights before and decided to taste their other wines.  The winery was situated on a hill overlooking a pond, very picturesque.  We left after a brief visit, but not without buying a couple of bottles to enjoy later.

We reached the Tasman Peninsula in the late afternoon.  Driving toward Tasman National Park, we hoped to do some hiking along the sea cliffs before it was too dark.  We searched for the hike recommended in the guide book, but could not find the turn off.  Instead we went to see the natural formations the Arch and the Devil's Kitchen.  While wandering around the area we found the beginnings of a hike, so in great need of some exercise we decided to take this trail instead.  Luckily it too meandered along the cliff's edge with spectacular views along the way.

It was nearing dark when we returned to the camper, but there was enough daylight to drive over to the Blowhole and watch the ocean water rushing down a tunnel then exploding out as a powerful spray.  On the way we drove through Doo Town, a little village of cottages nestled in the hills where each house is named using the word "Doo" in the name.  For instance one home was named "Love Me Doo" while another was "Thistle Doo Me".

Now that it was dark we decided it was best to get some dinner and find a spot to stay for the night.  Driving back along Pirates Cove, there was a beach that was home to Blue Penguins, we stopped to see if we could spot a few.  Just when we decided it was too cold and windy and started heading back to the camper, the rush began.  We squatted down and remained still.  We waited and watched as the rush of little penguins made their way to their homes for the night.  They were a bit skittish so we had to be perfectly hidden just so they would walk past.  Just when we thought they had made it home for the night we headed out, but at the top of the hill there were several gathered and we had to sneak through the fence without letting any get out onto the road, or stepped on!  What a cool experience.