Melbourne - Day One

Today we flew from Sydney to Melbourne, Australia's second largest city arriving in time for lunch. One thing I can definitely say about this Road Scholar adventure is that we have been fed well and often. I've had to cut way back on how much I've been eating or be ready to diet when I return home.

After lunch we went to the Eureka Skydeck 88 for a 360 degree panoramic view of the city. From our vantage point 88 floors up, we could see the sprawl of the city, the harbor and some of its skyscrapers. One of the sites we could see was the Rod Laver Arena where the Australian Open is contested each year. That was a highlight for me. Unfortunately, visiting the arena is not on our itinerary.

Our next stop was the Shrine of Remembrance, a shrine to those who died in WWI and other wars. The Shrine is constructed so that at the 11th hour on the 11th  day of the 11th month, a ray of sun shines on the word "love" in a memorial containing the phrase "Greater love hath no man". For

tourist consumption, artificial light is used to simulate the real event with a voice recording recognizing the sacrifice. It was quite moving.

Sydney Zoo

We began today with a visit to an opal showroom. Opal is the Australian national gem. After viewing a short video about opal mining, we were subject to a very soft sell. Beautiful gems, but I didn't buy anything.

Our next stop was the Sydney Zoo. Although the zoo has typical zoo animals, our guided tour focused on indigenous Australian animals. Here are a few pics.

Red Kangaroo

Tasmanian Devil

Sydney

On our first full day in Sydney we got a half day lecture about Australian history, culture, government, and economy. Frankly, when I saw on our itinerary that we'd be sitting in a lecture for so long on our first day,  I was disappointed. But the professor was fantastic and provided just the right level of content for our exploration of Australia's most populous city.

Good weather continues to follow us. We couldn't have asked for a better day to visit Bondi Beach, one of 29 beaches in Sydney. With temps in the high 60s, the beach was crowded with young people swimming, surfing, sunning, and just enjoying their first day of the beach

season. Bondi is where the 2000 Olympic volleyball games were contested.

We also had a fantastic private tour of the Sydney Opera House. The next evening we attended "La Sylphide", a love story in which the witch wins. It was absolutely fantastic.

After a walking tour of The Rocks, where loosely described as old Sydney (similar to Georgetown or Old Town Alexandria), we went on a boat tour of Sydney Harbour. We got a water view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

So far this tour has exceeded my expectations. Now that I've seen the Opera House, one of the main reasons I came to Australia, I can't wait to see my second main reason, Uluru.

Rotorua Thermal Springs

Today was a tiring but exceptional day in Rotorua. The city is a resort town that caters to tourists - primarily hikers and bicyclists, although there was a group of Hell's Angels of NZ staying at our hotel. The major evidence of tourism is the number of motels that line the major thoroughfare through the city. However, during the entire day, we saw few people probably because it's still early in the season.

Commercial tree plantation

We continue to be blessed with good weather - partly cloudy with temps in the high 60s. 

One of the major industries in the city is timber. The first pine trees were shipped to the area from Great Britain in the 1860s. Since that time the government has invested heavily in forestry research. Commercial tree plantations were evident along the mountainside. Most of the timber is exported to Asian countries such as China and South Korea. 

Steamy thermal spring

The primary attractions though are the sixteen lakes, therapeutic hot springs, geysers and bubbling mud pools. Rotorua has been sustained by tourism (mostly from Asian countries) since 1870. The city is situated 1,000 feet above sea level in a vast caldera and is nicknamed "Sulfur City".

An 1886 earthquake at nearby Mount Tarawera erupted for 4 1/2 hours destroying seven nearby villages around Rotorua, resulted in major changes to the landscape and created 21 craters in the area.

Boarding for a cruise on Lake Mahana

In the morning we took a boat ride on Lake Mahana which occupies the largest of the craters. Barry, a tall Samoan was our captain and guide. Barry is a park ranger and was knowledgeable about the history, landscape, animals, flora and fauna of the area.

Lake Mahana

Mahana is a Maori word that means "warm lake". It is a 425 foot deep freshwater, rain filled lake that was stocked the brown and rainbow trout by the government. However, there are no public boating ramps as fishing is not permitted. The water is pristine. 

Pink Terrace Bay thermal spring

New forests destroyed by fire or other catastrophes go through stages of regrowth beginning with plants that have short sharp pointy leaves followed by plants with shiny broad leaves. The surrounding area is going through such a period of regrowth. The vegetation around the lake is only about 100 years old so there are few tall trees.

There are many hot springs in the area. The one in the Pink Terrace Bay has erupted for 40 seconds every 15 minutes for 127 years. Today it was spectacular. The water is 92 degrees centigrade so there are plumes of steam all around. 

Thelymitra orchid

At the end of the lake tour, Barry led a walk along one of the hiking trails. He talked at length about the forest regrowth, animal life and thermal springs. He pointed out the delicate Thelymitra orchid that only blooms one day each year. It is tiny, but gorgeous. He mimicked local bird sounds and they seemed to respond to his call.

The silver fern, a symbol of national pride

Barry showed us the silver fern, one of New Zealand's 133 varieties of fern. When turn upside down, the silvery underside of the fern leaves glow in the moonlight lighting the way for Maori hunters to find their way home. The silver fern is a proud symbol for

Poisonous tutu berry

many New Zealand companies and has been a symbol of the country's national rugby team since the 1880s. He also pointed out the tutu, an extremely poisonous plant that is the cause of many sheep and cattle deaths and has the ability to kill an elephant.

Inferno Crater

We walked pass several thermal streams and bubbling mud ponds. We climbed many steps for a view of Inferno Crater. We were rewarded with a view of the crater's brilliant blue

An erupting geyser

water. Due to the blue silica floating in the water, the lake is blue even on cloudy days.

After lunch we visited Te Pua, a Maori cultural center. There we saw another geyser that erupts every hour for 20 minutes.

We then had an opportunity to see our first real kiwi bird, New Zealand's national symbol. The kiwi is a nocturnal bird about the size of a chicken. To enable tourists to see the kiwi, the keepers have reversed the day/night cycle by adjusting the lighting in the sanctuary so that it's dark during the day and gradually grows lighter at night (photos not allowed).

Dress made of flax

There are only about 65,000 kiwis in the wild, 75% of them are on the North Island. By the way, the kiwi fruit is originally from China where it's called the Chinese goosenberry. 

We also saw some of the Maori craftsmen at work. One of the dresses on display was made out of flax and took 18 months to weave.

Maori cultural performance

In the evening we went back to the Maori Cultural Center for an "authentic Maori cultural experience". 

Audience participation

There was dancing, singing and, of course, audience participation. That was followed by a hangi, a traditional meal prepared by the men who cook the meat in an underground pit. 

All in all, a really good day. Tomorrow we fly to Invercargill. 

Milford Sound

Today was a photographer's delight. We left Te Anau and drove through the Fiordland National Park, one of the wettest places in world. The 3M acre park is a Royal Heritage site and has outstanding scenery and history.

It was the site of the first white settlement in the country. With crystal clear streams, moss, lichen and fern covered trees, sheer cliffs, and cascading waterfalls, the landscape was simply spectacular. 

Our destination was Milford Sound, one of the most picturesque fiords in New Zealand.

Along the way we followed an undulating, serpentine road (seat belts required) in a valley between rugged, towering snow capped peaks. We passed through the one lane Homer Tunnel, New Zealand's highest tunnel.

As the coach descended through hairpin turns, I had to swallow to pop my ears because of the sharp drop in elevation on the down the other side.





The mountains remind me a lot of the Rockies but in a
way that I imagine the Rockies would look if if took
a ride through them on late spring (something I've never done).

Milford Sound, named one of the Wonders of the World, was spectacular. After boarding our cruise ship with boxed lunches, the captain regaled us with history and stories in our 1 1/2 journey through the fiord and out to the Tasman Sea and back.

 

With blue skies, white billowing clouds and temps in the low 70s, we couldn't have asked for a better day. The whales, a rare site in the area, even came out to greet us.

 

At the end of our cruise, we reboarded the coach for a long ride to Queenstown, the "adventure capital of the world".

Arrowtown and Wellington

Today was a travel day. On the way to the Queenstown airport we made a stop in Arrowtown, an old gold mining town. Although there isn't much to see there today beyond tourist shop, some people do still pan for gold. We didn't have enough time for that. However, I did buy a $2 scratch off lottery ticket and won $10. Guess I struck gold after all.

Many of the original cottages in Arrowtown have been declared historical properties and are well cared for. Lovely roses and other flowers are everywhere. The Arrowtown Lawn Bowling Club was engaged in a spirited game.

After a short stop in Arrowtown, we headed for the Queenstown airport for our flight to  Wellington.

I'm loving New Zealand for the ease of check-in for air travel. Arriving 20 minutes before flight time is sufficient. No full body scan, taking off shoes, emptying water bottles, or any of the other security measures I'm used to.

So far the airports have had free wifi. So as soon as we arrive, most of us pull out our electronics to upload photos and catch up on email, Facebook or whatever.

We had a short flight to Wellington via Christchurch. Wellington is a major seaport and New Zealand's capital city. It's the southernmost capital city in the world. Remember that for the Jeopardy final answer.

This is a beautiful city with many old houses perched on the steep mountainside. Like all of New Zealand, Wellington is susceptible to earthquakes. An 1855 earthquake pushed up the land that is now the airport runway near Wellington Harbor.

The harbor is lovely and can accommodate the big cruise ships. Two of the 96 ships scheduled to visit the city this year were in port when we arrived.

Our afternoon outing included riding the cable car up a high hill to the Wellington Botanic Gardens where we had a bird's eye view of the city below.

The Botanic Garden includes plant collections  that pay tribute to New Zealand's natural heritage as well as plant species from

different parts of the world. The centerpiece for our visit was the formal rose garden with over 3,000 roses in a rainbow of colors. It was spectacular.

After dinner we drove up to the Mt. Victoria Lookout. The

Admiral Richard Byrd Memorial

nearly 650 foot high viewing platform has a 360 degree view of Wellington and the harbor. There is a memorial to Admiral Richard Byrd, an American aviator who mounted numerous Antarctic expeditions from his base in New Zealand.

We spent the following morning in Zealandia, a facility fully dedicated to telling New Zealand's unique conservation story.

The facility is enclosed in a seven foot high woven wire mesh fence that goes more than six feet below ground to guard against digging

Perimeter fence

Kaka

predators. This is to protect the rare and endangered wildlife inside from the non-native animal species on the outside such as mice and possums.

In the early days after the island country was formed, its birdlife had no mammalian predators. So the birds, flora and fauna thrived in the way nature
intended and included species that could be found nowhere else on earth.

The predators introduced by humans about 700 years ago upset that balance of nature, destroying some species and nearly destroying others.

South Island Takahe once thought to be extinct

Zealandia is a sanctuary about two-thirds the size of New York's Central park that provides conservation and restoration for many of New Zealand's original species. It includes a wide range of birds as well as the forests, lakes and wetlands to support their habitat.

Of all the species at Zealandia, the tuatara lizard is indeed one of a kind. It is one of the most unique

Tuatara lizard

animals in the world. It is found only in this island country. Most species have known close relatives in today's world. Not the tuatara lizard. It's not even a lizard. Its closest relative are an extinct group of reptiles that lived when the dinosaurs walked on earth. The one pictured here is relative small. Tuataras can grow to more than six feet.They do everything slowly including breathing with the ability to slow breathing to once a minute.

Here are some of the other photos I took while touring Zealandia.

Pied Shag

Toi toi grass

Cabbage tree

We spent part of the afternoon at the Te Papa Tongarewa, the National Museum of New Zealand. Te Papa Tongarewa literally means ‘container of treasures'. The museum indeed has many treasures with collections that include exhibits of New Zealand  and Maori art, history and natural environment. My small group's guide, Tony, was from Washington, DC, near my home. After leaving his home in the Anacostia section of the District of Columbia, Tony became a citizen of the world before settling in Wellington.