AU - BYRON BAY

well we arrive in the evening and by the time we shuttle to Byron Bay the sun is down….we spend the first night in a great room with corner windows and are treated to various songbirds in the morning and temperatures in the high 20s…….after an amazing breakfast at a neighbouring bistro, we stroll down to the beach….we are definitely in sun block country and again, endless miles of beach…..about a mile south lies the town of Byron Bay and the beach there is packed…..up our way and further north  is spacious…..golden sand and beautiful water……some yoga and swimming and sun bathing wipe away the travel cob webs and we wander into town to shop and gawk…..this place is really bumping……this is a destination for many Aussies offering great recreational, shopping and, yes, party options…..we head back and move to our cottage which will be home for the next 4 days…..the place is fantastic, lots of space, barbecue, air conditioning, etc……we spend the next day hiking to the Byron Bay Lightouse…..it is really hot but the hike is beautiful and there are lots of sights along the way…..the next day we split up so the ladies can shop in town and that night we head into the Bhuda bar and Jess and I play a couple of tunes at the open mike….very cool to be able to share this with my lovely daughter……after enjoying some of Byron Bay’s hidden talent, we head home…..more beach and yoga the next day and we plan for tomorrow’s trip to Noosa…..I can see what Jess loves about Byron Bay….our trip is nearing it’s end…..a couple of days in Noosa then we fly back to Canada with a lot of great memories but without Jess……..that will be the toughest part of this trip.......

Byron Bay Lighthouse in the distance from Byron Bay Resort Beach.......

and yes, the water is very warm.......and fun!!

to the north nothing but spacious beach.....you can barely make out the Sleeping Giant Mountains on the horizon....

a visitor to our picnic area........

ahhh, so this is the reason.....this great orange berry.....yuuuummmmm!!

but something scares this guy away......

a wild turkey chick......they are vicious you know!!

the berries fall from this tree which is in the yard of our cottage.........

so this jelly fish is pretty big but about 20 yards up the beach there was a bigger one which had been picked at.......not very photogenic.......

a shot of the lighthouse as we head up the beach towards it.....

from the path to Watego Bay, we can see the resort beach in the distance, kayaks and surfers.......

we also spot this little guy looking pretty vigilant about something.......

he spreads his wings to leave but.......

something keeps him there.......you spotted it.....he's having fish for lunch.....

the path out of Watego Bay to the lighthouse is tropical and narrow.......

 Watego Bay to the north now......

3 little maids looking determined at the first lookout.....(did I mention that it was stinking hot??)

a Byron Bay peace sign.....the lighthouse lies just beyond that point which is the eastern most point of mainland Australia....

we can do this.....follow Jess!!

Cathy gazes out at Julian Rock and a paddle boarder busy with something......

ahh, I see....he's located a couple of bottle nose dolphins.........

the first lookout from the eastern tip.....

3 little maids - almost there - they are smiling but we better be "almost there".......

Byron Bay Lighthouse......

a beautiful day now that we have no more climbing.........

to the south, more endless beach.....what a place!!

on the return hike, we spot this little beauty fluffing up their tail feathers......

I guess that was enough......

our big pink cottage......in the jungle.....

if I had a hammock, I'd hammock in the morning......la la la la........

just one more picture.......please!!.....OK, go to town........

NZ TO AU

so today we are sitting at Christchurch Airport waiting for a plane to Gold Coast, Australia and I am thinking about whether we missed any of the neat things that are characteristic of this great little country….I think that we have conveyed pretty effectively that people here are very friendly and accessible….if you need something, just ask and a Kiwi will find a way to help….there is a true pride of ownership evident in the conditions of the buildings, homes and roads and an incredibly strong sense of responsibility to the environment…..though the history of contemporary NZ starts with significant burning down of flora and fauna and destruction of their dependent life forms, modern NZ society practices significant protection and restoration of these same life forms…..the coffee is amazing and some of the roads are so winding that you have to ensure that your back seat passengers don’t lose their lunches….driving on the left side of the road is horrible and roundabouts are even worse…you could easily get lost hiking because just about every step every trail, road and waterway here is filled with unique and incomparable beauty (which is horribly distracting when a map needs to be used)…..Kiwis love meat pies….from most places on the islands, on a decent night, you will see more stars and constellations than you can see from anywhere else in the world……Kiwis would describe Grouse Grind as a walk and rate it as a medium challenge…….well, that’s enough for now. I’ll let you know if I think of any more…oh, one last thing - I love this place more than words can say - New Zealand is so wonderful........next stop is Gold Coast Australia…big travel day ahead!

sitting on the lawn at Christchurch Airport waiting for a plane to Gold Coast......

Aussie airport greeter.......

NZ - AKAROA

today we head for Akaroa which is the area that the French settled in New Zealand over 150 years ago in their endeavour to colonize the South Island…..it is at the tip of a peninsula which juts out into the Pacific about 60km east of Christchurch…the trip is great and the sun is shining…..we wander around the little town for a while then decide to have some Akaroa grilled salmon at one of the waterside restaurants…..the salmon does not disappoint nor does the Marlborough sauv blanc……..a little Kiwi ice cream for desert and we have blown a good part of the day but in the best way possible…..we head over to Sumner on the way back to Christchurch to check out the beach but are unable to make it past town centre on the esplanade…..Sumner was also hit hard by the quakes and has been unable to open many of the roads….houses on the hillsides are red tagged which means that they are potentially in danger of losing occupancy rights….not the best way to end our last full day in New Zealand before heading to Australia but sometimes a little taste of reality helps you appreciate things…..we head back to our little apartment for the last sleep in New Zealand….

the road into Akaroa from the pass....

our destination lies in the distant harbour.....

the town library......the French here aren't big readers.....

Jess in front of the local "Gaiety".....not quite sure what happens here? Sounds like a theatre....

some of the old homes in the harbour area have been well cared for .........

the local salmon is amazing.....the view from the patio is pretty sweet too!!

Kiwi beach art.....what is even more amazing is that nobody touched this part of the beach.....pretty cool!

Linda has her portrait painted by a statue of an artist in the square - - she's very patient!.....I think she might still be down there, we haven't seen her for days........"So how is my portrait coming Leonardo? No I can wait....surprise me!"

NZ - CHRISTCHURCH VIA CASTLE HILL

we are on the road by 9:00AM….it is another beautiful day and we will take a side trip to Castle Hill then head into Christchurch…..Castle Hill is incredible - I know what you are thinking, “who would have thought!” - and we spend some time crawling around the boulders…..there were a couple of LOTR scenes shot here and the anthropomorphic experience is uncanny…I would even guess that Peter Jackson may have designed some of his characters looks from these rocks….after excessive mystical enchantment we wander into Christchurch at mid afternoon…..we settle in then walk down into the city through Hagley Park…..the park is amazing and features every tree imaginable, some of them over 150 years old…..the city itself is still in bad condition from 2 major earthquakes in the last 3 years…..the cathedral is basically a pile of stone and a lot of other buildings - low rises and high rises - are still fenced off and untouched…..it is like a scene in a movie after a bombing….the cost to rebuild is considerable and there are issues with everything from earthquake proofing to possible risk of another quake in this area…..it’s not hard to see how beautiful this city must have been before this devastation…..we are all a little bummed out by the walk…..

the countryside approaching Castle Hill is beautiful......

below one of the sets of formations lies a cattle grazing area owned by the farm that also owns the property that Castle Hill lies on......

we head up the trails into the central area of the hill.....the feeling of being watched begins at this point....

3 little maids fear nothing and prepare for a fun hike.......

a boulder sentinel watches as the 3 little maids read the information post....

Linda demonstrates some of her P90 moves........

Cathy and Carter wave from a smooth boulder perch.......

one of the many strange results....there is a small rock suspended in this gap - someone may have put it there....

time has smoothed these rocks and left smooth holes and connections between them.....

I think that this is where Frodo was stabbed by the Witch King.......

the ladies wander through the smoothed out passages between the boulders.....

peak a view!

life imitating rocks......

Castle Hill looking out at the valley......

taking a break on a smooth rock........

3 little maids with a couple of boulder people looking over their shoulder......

another P90 demo.........

no hobbits around here, just that creep over there in the Canadian baseball hat........

I said Rocky.....not Arnold!!

one of the many incredible trees in Hagley Park....

looking up the tree along the trunk.......

the rose garden at Hagley Park......

corkscrew branch!!

Linda is swallowed by a tree......

this fountain is being backlit behind by the sun......amazing!!

businesses are operating out of containers until actual buildings become available......

the old cathedral in Cathedral Square......not much left of it.....

all that is left of this building is a flooded area where the ducks swim.......

Regent Street....once the downtown action centre.......(Friday night and it is very, very quiet)......

this is a dance area....dance music is being played in an effort to encourage Christchurch residents to gather and express happiness....

these sculptures near the dance floor represent growth and vitality.....

Cathedral square from another angle....you can see the extent that the old church has been damaged.....

another sad sample of the great old architecture that has been severely damaged.....this is the Christchurch University

the old stones eaves have been cracked by the earthquakes and are falling down......(hard hats required)....

the grand daddy of all Eucalyptus trees......look at the trunk......

grass tennis courts - about 30 of them - fenced off, unrepaired and unused........