Thanks all.
We flew to Aukland....nine*** hours in airplanes! Spent 3 days there doing
the city tour, visiting the tower, climbing a volcano, and taking a very
interesting tour to the rain forest, waterfalls, black sand beach, etc.
Then on to Tauranga, Christchurch, and Dunedin by ship (the Diamond
Princess) with various tours in each place. We had a cabin with a balcony
which we enjoyed immensely. One port had coal being shipped in and out.
Another had logs. Everyone was so friendly.
We then sailed through the Fjordland Park on the west coast of NZ which was
awesome! Tall, snow-capped mountains rising out of the water! From there
it took two ROUGH days at sea to get to Hobart, Tazmania. At one point the
captain slowed the ship so much to avoid the rough ride, that the engines
weren't moving us, just keeping us headed into the 30 foot waves! It was a
bumpy, lurching motion rather than a sea-sick causing motion....so DH and I
never missed a meal!!
We had some great tours in Tazmania, and Melbourne, and then arrived in
Sydney, where we were wisked off to the airport to fly to Cairnes. This
land portion of the tour was by plane and bus and we were accompanied by a
guide. We stayed in the best hotels available in each city, and I'm spoiled
for life! We snorkled on the Great Barrier Reef, had champagne while
watching the sunset at Ayer's Rock (Uluru), drove for hours through the
Outback, met Aborigines and toured a fascinating wild life park. Yes, I
petted a kangaroo and a koala! Then, back to Sydney, where much to our
amazement, our hotel room overlooked the harbor and the Opera House!! I
have photos of the Opera House from every angle, inside and out! We took a
city tour there and a harbor tour. Each night we were on our own to explore
and find a place to eat. We ended up staying one extra day near Chinatown,
and then headed for the airport for the long trip home. I promise I'll have
pics on my Webshots soon. This is just a brief history of what we did.
And now we're stting here looking at 24 inches of snow!
--
Alice in PA
http://www.FoundCollection.com/
Quote:
> Welcome home, Alice.
> PAT
>> Hi everyone,
>> Returned from Australia and New Zealand trip Thursday night,
by