Hello all, and welcome to what may be our final post for this journey. We got home safe and sound on Sunday, January 21st. Once home, we slept as much as possible and remained confused about the date and time. But we now want to catch up, reflect, and share the remainder of our incredible journey down under.
In our last post about the Southern Alps, we talked about how spectacular the nearly vertical mountains were. The mountains are the result of the Australian Tectonic Plate dipping under the New Zealand Plate and are the fastest-growing mountains in the world. Our first traverse of the Alps was from east to west, and we saw a road sign that showed an 18 percent grade going down. Quite impressive, and we were glad our Mercedes bus had really good brakes. Margo was glad we were not on the motorcycle!
Nothing prepared us for the majestic beauty of the South Island. Everyone who has been here told us, and we thought we understood. But seeing the beauty, hearing the stories of the native people, and feeling the spirit of the South Island is – to our ability – simply indescribable.
We have been very busy exploring New Zealand’s North Island with our group on Intrepid Tours. Overall, it’s a nice company to tour with. We have seen attractions and sites we would have never known to visit; we have learned so much about the culture and history of the area; we haven’t had to drive, and we haven’t had to be concerned with lodging. BUT, neither can we say STOP when we need a break!
We’ve had a couple of busy days. First we traveled from Auckland to Waitomo Glow Worm Caves, then to see Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, and companions at Hobbiton. The next day was to see Pohutu, the largest geyser in the southern hemisphere, and the Kiwi Conservation Centre.
Today, we boarded the ferry for a 35-minute ride to Waiheke Island, formerly a “hippie hangout” but now an expensive island famed for its sandy beaches and glorious wines. It was a beautiful, lush island with amazing trees (unfortunately, we didn’t learn their names) and abundant bright, large, colorful flowers.
Today’s post doesn’t have beautiful pictures or tales of nature, but we like to keep our stories real so we can remember our adventures.
We chose a locally owned tour company, Wavelength Reef Tours, which was the perfect choice for our trip to the GBR. With a maximum of 48 passengers, only snorkeling (no SCUBA diving), and three marine biologists on board, we were treated to one-hour swims at three different sites. The water was calm, the temperature was delightful, and the skies were clear as we took the 90-minute boat ride out 39 miles NE to Opal Reef, where we snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef
Today’s post is a tale of two days. Yesterday was an enchanting day in the rainforest, and today, we are adjusting to the continuing aftermath of Cyclone Jasper, which hit the area earlier this month.
The drive from Cairns to Port Douglas was supposed to be an hour up the coast. Due to the cyclone earlier in the week, the road was washed away, and we had to take the inland road, which was a two-and-one-half-hour bumpy ride on a curvy, two-lane, mountainous road. The coastal road would have taken an hour. Part of the roads were tight switchbacks. Often, the road was narrowed to one lane because of washouts. And at times, the two – switchbacks and wash-out – happened at the same place.