Downunder Adventure

home again jigidy jig

djswanson — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 06:59:00 GMT

WELL WE MADE IT BACK HOME TO RAINY PARADISE, HAWAII. GOOD TO BE HOME AGAIN. WE SPENT THE LAST 2 MONTHS TRAVELING TO TWO INCREDIBLE COUNTRIES, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THIS ADVENTURE AND VERY THANKFUL TO EXPERIENCE ALL THE THINGS YOU ONLY SEE ON T.V. THERE ARE TOO MANY THINGS TO SEE AND DO ON A TRIP LIKE THIS. YOU WOULD HAVE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE ON THE ROAD ALL THE TIME AND HAVE TONS OF MONEY TO PULL THAT OFF, ( OR BE WELL CONNECTED TO NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICS ) AND YOU WHO KNOW US KNOW WE DO NOT HAVE THE TONS OF MONEY AND FOR LIVING ON THE ROAD WE HAVE LEARNED IT IS NOT WHAT IS CRACKED UP TO BE.

- OUR JOURNEY -

On Feb. 1st we flew from Hilo to Honolulu, then took a 767 from Honolulu to Sydney, Australia for a 10hr. flight Mid-way we crossed the date line. Bingo, its the next day. Amazing how that works. Arrived in Sydney at approx. 8:30 p.m. and had a 1/2 hr. taxi ride to our 1st nights hotel at Cremorne Point. Apparently, this is a very exclusive area in Sydney. (How would we know) Arrived at our hotel at 10:30 p.m. There are two flights of stairs and we have the biggest suitcases that we own. There was a note on the door for us and the key was in the room. It is a small, stuffy room and the fan doesn't work. Doesn't matter, we are exhausted.

In the light of day, we discovered that our little hotel has a balcony with a great view of a little harbor. Took the ferry into Sydney Harbor. Its much like San Francisco, with street people and vendors. Great meat pies, quiches and fish & chips. Walked to the famous Opera House. It is covered with tiles, but you don't know that from a distance. We didn't take the tour of the inside. We walked through the botanical gardens. Stayed up until 3:30 a.m. talking to another couple staying at the hotel. Everyone is in good shape. They walk alot. Went to dinner with another hotel guest. He is from Vietnam but just bought a house in Sydney. Very nice man, great dinner of steak, potatoe & salad for $10.00. We could get used to this. On our third day, we rented a car to head to Brisbane. Driving on the wrong side of the road, on the wrong side of the car is an experience in and of itself. Glad Dan did the driving to begin with. Headed north along the coast towards Lake Macquarie, the largest salt water lake in the world. The rest stops have 3 restaurants, restrooms and picnic areas. Spent two nights in Swansea. A budget motel right on the water for $79 AUD. Walked to the local fish & chips shop for dinner. So much food. One portion of their chips (large french fries) can feed three. Wine is not sold in the grocery stores but in liquor stores only. Cigs are $11.00 a pack! and of course I didn't get cigs in Honolulu at $32.00 a carton at the duty free store. Our camera died on Feb. 6 so we had to buy a new one. Went to Coffs Harbor. What a beach! Walked for miles while Dan swam in the surf. Drove north to Byron Bay. Its packed with young people looking for hostels. We went to the Byron Lighthouse which was beautiful and gorgeous views of the beach. Drove north to Tweeds Head. This was a long day in the car and we are both tired. Drove north to Brisbane. It is a very big city and we spent an hour looking for our hotel. It is conjested and was very difficult for Dan to drive. Flew from Brisbane to Cairnes and over the great barrier reef which you can see from the air. We have a week at a 2-bedroom condo in Cairns through our time share. It is good to have space again after several days in one room hotel. There are no cars available when we arrive at the airport so we took a shuttle to the resort. Booked a snorkel dive at the Great Barrier Reef through the resort. They pick you up and drop you off. It is a 2 hr. boat ride to the reef. There are lots & lots of jelly fish in the water. I get out immediately. Dan of course, stays in the water for the 2 hr. limit. The coral is not as colorful as the brochures tout and there are less fish than where we snorkel in Hawaii. But there are huge clams. Headed back to shore in heavy winds and finally rain, but its warm. Dan took a 7 mile long tram ride over the rain forest. He loved it. Rented a stick shift car and avoided an accident. They have gambling both Australia and New Zealand. They call the slot machines "pokies". Cairnes is very tropical and has many large white cockateels, larakeets and kingfishers. Drove south from Cairnes back to Brisbane. Acres of sugar cane and cattle ranches. Took a snorkel/dive cruise to Whitehave Beach. Miles of absolutely white, silica sand beach surrounded by aqua blue warm ocean. Incredible! Dan took a diving lesson and is hooked. Saw a crocodile on the beach at Yeppoon. It was Dan's goal to see a croc in the wild. Couldn't get close to this one, thank heavens. Saw thousands of fruit bats each evening in Hervey Bay. Amazing. You can drive on the beach at Rainbow Beach, but we walked. We needed the exercise. A truck almost got stuck due to the rising tide. Rainbow Beach has a huge sand dune which has blown inland several hundred yards. Our flight from Brisbane to Christchurch is cancelled. We got up at 4:30 a.m. to catch the flight at 7:00 a.m. We finallly got on the plane at noon and flew only to Auckland since had we gone all the way to Christchurch we wouldn't have landed until 9:30 p.m. with no car and no place to stay. Met up with Inga & Gunter, two people we met on our dive boat at White Haven Beach, at the Auckland airport. We all stayed at the same hotel and had dinner together. Dan called this guy & his brother, who bought his old 56 Chevy pickup, who lives in Auckland. Tony took us on a guided, narrated tour of Auckland and we met Phil & wife for dinner. Stayed the night with them and Joyce woke up with vertigo. Tony & Phil let us use their beach house for 2 nights. You literally have to drive on the beach to get to it. Spent my birthday at the beach house and had desert for dinner. Spent one night in a hostel in order to drive to the 90-mile beach. The waves are crashing so loudly you can't hear each other talking. Drove down the 20 mile dirt road to the tip of New Zealand to see where the Pacific and Tasman seas meet. It was so overcast and cloudy, you couldn't really tell the difference in the color of the oceans as we were told. On the way down the peninsula we stopped at a national park that has a 2,000 year old tree, but thats about all it had. Met with lots of rain for several days. Stayed in Rotorua where it is famous for the natural hot springs. With hot springs comes sulfer, with sulfer comes the smell of rotten eggs. Every hotel has hot tubs! Visited the Bath House which is an old building which used to be an internationly famous bath house which used the natural hot mineral waters, it is now a museum. Outside of this museum is a long green area for lawn bowling and croquet. Gorgeous gardens. Went to the Huka Falls with aqua blue rushing water falls. They have a geyser that goes off at 9:30 a.m. every day. Back to the east coast to Napier, known for its art deco buildings. They had an earthquake in 1934 and after that they only built two-story buildings and it was the art deco era, thus the beautiful art deco buildings. At Welllington we took the ferry to Picton on the South Island. It was a huge ferry holding, cars, trucks and many people. It was a pleasant 3 hour crossing. Took the narrow guage train from Picton to Christchurch. It was a very shaky ride the whole way. Stayed in Christchurch for two days. It is a beautiful city with lots of century old buildings and a 30 acre park/garden. From there we drove south along the coast to Oamaru. Saw penguins in the wild. Felt like we were in a National Geographic movie or something. Then on to Dunedin. Also beautiful old buildings and more penguins. Took a tour of the Larnach Castle, the only castle in New Zealand. Built by a wealthy banker in the 30's. Drove east to TeAnau and booked a cruise for the Milford Sound, which is really a fjord. Fabulous scenary. Steep mountains surround the sea filed valley. Dan took a jet boat ride to a place where they filmed a portion of Lord of the Rings. Drove north to Queenstown. A small, extremely conjested little city, planted on the side of a mountain. Drove into Arrowtown which reminded us of Murphys only smaller. The weather had been mostly cold and overcast for several days. Drove east through beautiful mountains and crystal blue lakes to Franz Josef and home of the Franz Josef Glacier. The city of Franz Josef is four blocks long and four blocks wide. The Franz Josef Glacier is amazing. Of course, Dan has to get close enough to touch it, even though there are danger signs suggesting to keep your distance. The weather in Franz Joseph was warm and clear and you could see the glacier from our hotel. Stayed in Greymouth for 2 days. There is little to nothing in Greymouth except for a place to stay. Drove north along the rugged coast to see the pancake rocks. And they look like layers of pancakes. This is where we decided to come home a week early. We are both a little travel weary and Joyce's back hurts due to all the sitting in the car. Drove back to Christchurch through Arthur's Pass. Tiny little towns along the way. Stayed at the same hotel in Christchurch that we had stayed in before. The hotel hosts were great. Went to the show and watched the Johnny Cash movie. Their popcorn is old and burnt. You can drink alcohol at the movie theater. Went back to the plaza, its so beautiful. Had buffet lunch at the casino for $20.00 Great food, great price. Of course we lost the money we saved in the pokies. The flight home was horrendous. We were dodging storms for 8 of the 10 hour flight and when we arrived in Honolulu it was pouring down rain with a thunderstorm. We arrived in Hilo to warm, sunny skies. It was good to be home.

And that is the adventures of Joyce and Dan

Gallery: Random pis of our whole adventure

djswanson — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 04:30:00 GMT

OZ To NZ In 2 easy Months

Gallery: Nz South Island

djswanson — Sun, 9 Apr 2006 07:25:00 GMT

Christchurch, Milfor sounds, glaciers

Gallery: SOUTH ISLAND / N.Z.

djswanson — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 09:13:00 GMT

NEWPICS

South Island, New Zealand

djswanson — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 08:58:00 GMT

We took the ferry (looks like a large ship) from Wellington (North Island) to Picton (South Island) last lastweek or fivedays ago or something like that. The ferry ride was good. Clear skies and calm waters. Took three hours. It was fun. From the ferry station in Picton we took a train to Christchurch. 6 hours on a narrow guage train track. Very rocky. Dan loved it. Met a man from Spain who travels all the time and leaves his wife and grown son at home in Spain. Teaches philosoply. And another from Sydney,Australia coming home to New Zealand to visit his sister. We were originally planning on taking the train over the Alps until I realized how rocky it was just going down the coast. Christchurch is the most amazing, beautiful town. Reminds me of what England must look like. We walked all day long in the central business district and took lots of pictures. We also took the little narrated tram ride around town. Very much fun. From Christchurch we drove south along the coast finally have landed in Dunedin, the buildings and central business district are much like Christchurch. Gorgeous. We have seen penguins in the wild as well as many fur seals. Amazing. You feel like you are in a National Geographic film. We are heading towards the Alps and Milford Sound tomorrow and for several days thereafter. I think we are going to need warmer clothes. Gina: I did get your last message. Thank You. So you much be doing it right. I don't know what happened to the other messages you sent. Went into Never, Never Land I guess. I MISS YOU TO PIECES. Amy: You will fly into Hilo, stopping over in Honolulu. I can't wait for you to come over. WE LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH. Traveling is good, but HOME is the best. I am homesick for what I don't know. Just looking forward to sleeping in my bed again I guess. Dan is getting better at this driving on the wrong side of the road stuff. The street signs are impossible to read if they are posted at all. We are sending a few pictures. Be sureto check the picture gallery at this wedsite. Hope Trevor is doing well. I pray for him daily. I am thinking of coming to San Diego for Thanksgiving at Darlins house. Maybe a couple days in Vegas while I'm down south then north to Gina's, Amy's and of course Uncle Ronnie's for Christmas. Dan will probably stay home in Hawaii for the holidays. So we can party down or you can go to Hawaii for the holidays and be with Uncle Dan. Thank you Connie for taking such good care of the homestead. HAPPY ST. PATRICK's Day. LOVE YOU.. AUNT JOYCE & UNCLE DAN.

Gallery: Australia pics

djswanson — Wed, 8 Mar 2006 13:34:00 GMT

Middle North Island, New Zealand

djswanson — Wed, 8 Mar 2006 13:02:00 GMT

We are currently in Rotorua.It is a geothermal area with lots of hot mud pools and steaming vents in the middle of town. Smells like rotten eggs but it is still a nice town. We like the smaller towns as it is very difficult to drive on the wrong side of the road in the larger cities. I came down with an inner ear infection for a week just after we got here. Finally went to a clinic yesterday. Doc gave me a prescription for antibiotics. I'm much better, thank GOD. I was so dizzy thought I was going to have to quit smoking there for a minute. The whole visit and Rx cost me less than $100.00. Wouldn't see that in the U.S. We are having a good time but actually a little travel weary. I'm glad we are stahing in this town for a couple of days. It is good to get off the road for a day. Went to the museum here this morning. It used to be a bath house in the late 1800's due to all the hot water in this area. Still a very beautiful old building. All the hotels have jacuzzis in every room so we had a 2 hour jacuzzi and a bottle of wine. Life is good. Amy, thank you for keeping in touch with me via this site. Connie: I appreciate your newsy note. I'm serious not sarcastic. Thank you Tyra and the rest of you for your birthday greetings. I spent my birthday on the beach at the lovely little cottage we were able to use. By the time I felt like going out the restaurant was closing so we just had desert. I had it when I have to eat desert first. We will be heading south from here and with any luck the weather won't be too bad for our crossing from North Island to South Island on the barge that will take 3 hours. Actually, the weather has been a bit colder and rainy. If it gets too bad we will head back to Australia to the coast to warmth and sunshine. Thats it for now.... LOVE TO ALL. We will try to send pics via this site.

New Zealand

djswanson — Tue, 7 Mar 2006 09:01:00 GMT

WELL HERE WE ARE IN NZ. IT IS MAR. 7 ? AND WE ARE TOURING THE MID NORTH ISLAND. WE ACTUALLY HAD A CHANGE IN PLANS, WE WERE TO FLY INTO CHRISTCHURCH ON THE 28TH BUT THE FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED SO WE DECIDED TO TOUR THE NORTH ISLAND FIRST. FLEW INTO AUCKLAND AND HOOKED UP WITH TONY AND PHIL WILLOTTS, THE TWO BROTHERS WHO BOUGHT MY 56 CHEVY PICK-UP IN CAL. WE STAYED WITH PHIL ONE NITE AND THEY TOLD US TO GO UP NORTH AND USE THEIR BEACH HOUSE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. WHAT A TREAT, TWO DAYS ALONE ON THE BEACH IN A SECLUDED BAY, WE HAD TO ACTUALLY DRIVE DOWN THE BEACH (AT LOW TIDE) TO GET TO THE HOUSE. THEN OFF TO THE TOP OF NZ WHERE THE TWO OCEANS MEET, COULD HAVE SKIPPED THAT BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW. WELL TIME IS UP WILL WRITE AGAIN LATER, DAN & JOYCE

GREETINGS FROM DOWN UNDER

djswanson — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 11:49:00 GMT

HELLO TO ALL: We have managed to drive to Brisbane, Fly to Cairnes (Great Barrier Reef) and dry again from Cairnes and we are currently in Hervey Bay, next to Frazier Island. While in Cairnes, Dan took a gondola ride that lasted for 7 miles one-way over the rain forest. I stayed home and read. I learned how to drive on the wrong side of the road and actually I'm much better at it than Dan but he would never admit that. The highlight of our trip tus far has been a snorkel/dive trip out to White Haven Beach. It is a small island made up of pure white silica sand. The ocean is warm and aqua blue. I'm not kidding and have taken pictures to prove it. Dan took a dive lesson and now he is hooked. I finally spent more than 2 minutes snorkeling from a boat, hurray. Actually the fish are not as plentiful as in Hawaii but we did see sea turtles eating jellyfish. Lots and lots of jellyfish here. Dan had a very good look at some colorful coral deeper than I can see from the top of the water while snorkeling. Hervey Bay is a lovely place with a zillion tropical birds. Last night we saw about a thousand (I'm not exagerating) fruit bats fly over our little cabin. Amazing. We will travel south towards Brisbane and stop at Rainbow Bay tomorrow (2/24) for a couple of days. We leave Brisbane for Christchurch, New Zealand out of Brisbane on 2/28. That will end our journey to Australia. I would recommend Australia to everyone and we have barely seen the east coast. It has rained several times but it keeps it cooler. It is very warm and tropical here and they have casinos. The chickens back home are being fed and now apparently even have names by Betty Ann and Paul the people watching our house. Connie will take the month of March and into April until we return. I sure hope Amy, Trevor and Bella are coming to Hawaii for the last 2 weeks in May. We miss you all and it is terrible not having phone contact. We are getting a disc of our photos and will be forwarding a few in our next update. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES AND LOVE TO ALL. Dan & Joyce

GREETINGS FROM DOWN UNDER

djswanson — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 11:49:00 GMT

AUSTRALIA ADVENTURE

djswanson — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:07:00 GMT

HI ALL, WE ARE IN CAIRNES AUSTRALIA, WE STAYED 3 NITES IN SYDNEY, WHAT A CITY, WATER FERRIES EVERYWHERE AND WHAT A GOOD THING BECAUSE IF WE HAD TO DRIVE IT WE WOULD HAVE BEEN UP A CREEKIN THE CITY, THEY DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD.

WE RENTED A CAR AND OFF WE GO UP NORTH. FROM SYDNEY WE DROVE ALONG THE COAST TOWARDS BRISBANE (650 MI). STOPPED ALONG THE WAY, THE BEST WE FOUND WAS AN INEXPENSIVE MOTEL RIGHT ON THE WAY IN A LITTLE TOWN CALLED SWANSEA. LOTS OF FISH & CHIPS AND MEAT PIES. THE CRUST IS MADE OF PHILLO DOUGH, YUMMY! IT TOOK US FIVE DAYS TO GET TO BRISBANE. GOT THOROUGHLY LOST IN THE BIG CITY OF BRISBANE. DAN'S NERVES ARE SHOT TRYING TO DRIVE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE CAR, ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD. FLEW FROM BRISBANE TO CAIRNES (GREAT BARRIER REEF). CAIRNES IS TROPICAL, HOT, HUMID AND BEAUTIFUL. GOT THE SLOWEST, OLDEST, CHEAPEST BOAT IN THE FLEET OUT TO THE REEF. DAN LOVED IT. TOO MANY JELLY FISH AND OPEN OCEAN FOR ME. I JUST TRIED TO KEEP MY EYE ON HIS BOBBING HEAD. NOT AS MANY COLORFUL FISH AS WE HAVE IN HAWAII. AND OUT OF CAIRNES THE REEFS ARE NOT AS COLORFUL DUE TO THE POLUTION FROM THE CITY. WILL DRIVE NORTH TO PORT DOUGLAS WHERE APPARENTLY THERE IS LESS POLUTION AND THE REEFS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MUCH BETTER. WE ARE STAYING AT THE NOVOTEL PALM COVE RESORT UNTIL THE 18TH. IT FEELS GOOD TO BE IN ONE PLACE FOR A FEW DAYS. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! LOVE AND TAKE CARE. JOYCE & DAN

Gallery: Hawaii

djswanson — Sat, 28 Jan 2006 17:30:00 GMT

Just a few pics of places close to our home.