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World Tour 2019-2020
  • JohnKim Duncan
  • JohnKim Duncan

World Tour 2019-2020

Starting in Morocco, with stops in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, the Seychelles, the UAE, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, & Hawaii, this is the culmination of 5 years of planning. Read more
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  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler
    1

    Port Arthur’s Historic Site

    March 1, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Today we spent the entire day at Port Arthur’s Historic Site, which is 43 degrees South Latitude. We are 43 degrees North Latitude back home! This is a sprawling 100 acre site with over 30 historic buildings, many of which are just shells, as wild fires swept through in the late 1800s. This is where the famous penal colony was that housed repeat offenders, mostly from the UK. They housed boys on a separate island, which was rare in those days. Boys as young as 7 were often housed with the most dangerous adult prisoners back in the UK and elsewhere in 1830, when this place accepted its first boatload of prisoners. Military officers & their families lived on the site, as well. Many floggings were conducted on prisoners with bad behaviour, but what was more feared by convicts was being sent to the separate silent prison, where they were in solitary, silent confinement for 23 hours a day, & only let out for an hour of silent exercise, when they wore a hood so no one could recognize them, & they couldn’t communicate. Some of the most hardened criminals were broken after only a short time there. As a result, they had to build a lunatic asylum next to this building for the increasing number of convicts that went “insane.” Our introductory tour guide was terrific, & shared many interesting stories about what life was like between 1830 & when the place closed to convicts in 1877. We had a boat cruise that circled the “isle of the dead” where more that 1100 convicts are buried. Another tour guide told us stories, sometimes gruesome ones, about the many escape attempts. Fascinating stuff. The day ended with a “Ghost Tour”. Another excellent guide told us more documented stories about visitors to the place seeing, smelling or hearing strange things. Only 3 months after the prison closed, in 1877, tourists, many from England, started to visit the site, and they’ve been coming ever since. They’ve done a great job resurrecting fire damaged buildings to help paint a picture of daily life for the convicts & guards. When we returned to our AirBnB we had to open and close the gate. The gate keeps the wallabies & Tasmanian devils off of her lawn.Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler
    Growing lavenderA prison cell at the Coal MineTasmanian countryside2Remarkable cave

    Driving Back to Hobart

    March 2, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We drove back to Hobart today, stopping at various lookout spots. We’re flying from here to Proserpine, Australia tomorrow. Today, we stopped at Remarkable Cave, the Coal Mines Historic site, where convicts worked from 1843, the Tasman Arch, the Devil’s Kitchen, & the Tasman Blowhole. We also stopped at a family owned & operated Lavender Farm, where they grow & distill lavender. They sell a wide variety of things made of & with lavender.Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler
    1
    Pic of Heart reef courtesy of our honeymooning friends from India, who arrived in a helicopter

    Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef

    March 5, 2020, Great Barrier Reef ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Today we snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef. We were reminded again that in the world of scuba diving & snorkelling it really is the Great Barrier above everywhere else. We were here 26 years ago (prior to kids) & the reef looks as healthy today as it did then. We boarded a catamaran at 8 am & powered out to the reef, 40+ kms from Airley Beach. At 11 am we tied up along side a vessel called Reef World, which offers an overnight stay on the reef for $800 per person. That gives you a room below the waterline where you can watch fish all day & all night long, if you want. You can also pay $575 per person to sleep in a zippered tent on deck. We had an amazing day! We were chauffeured along the edge of the reef in a “glass sided” boat when we first arrived. After lunch we snorkelled. Tons of fish, lots of unique & healthy coral. The crew looked after our every need. We all wore a stinger suit to avoid suffering if we were stung by a jellyfish. This precaution is year round here now. Jellyfish are a big problem. We spared you the pics of us in our suits!Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler

    Travel Day

    March 7, 2020 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    We flew to Sydney to connect to our flight to Christchurch New Zealand. We’re hoping for cooler temps. The last few days in Australia have been brutally hot & humid.

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler
    1Cardboard Cathedral
    185 Empty chairs to commemorate 185 deaths in Feb 2011 earthquake11Cathedral squareAlbert Edward Oak planted 1863 to commemorate marriage of Prince of Wales to Alexandra1Centre Rose Garden at Botanic GardensDamaged ChristChurch Cathedral

    Christchurch, New Zealand

    March 8, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Today we walked, & walked around the centre of Christchurch. It became obvious that Feb 22, 2011 changed this city forever. That was the day when a devastating earthquake hit the Canterbury region hard, killing 185 and wounding 1500-2000 more. Many buildings, that were weakened by an earthquake the year before, still lay in ruins, including the CTV building where 115 bodies were recovered. The quake occurred at lunch time so many of the casualties were people on buses, & on footpaths, crushed by crumbling buildings. Rescue efforts were severely hampered by collapsed bridges & flooding caused by a tsunami after the quake. Right across from where the CTV building stood they’ve set up 185 chairs in 185 square metres to commemorate those that were killed. They’ve also set up a white wall & a bridge of remembrance along the Avon River. Christchurch Cathedral was damaged badly & much of it remains standing. The Anglican Church of Australia decided to demolish & rebuild but “friends of the church” wanted it to be salvaged, so after several court cases what’s left of the structure remains standing & cordoned off. Stabilization efforts have begun. In the meantime the Anglican Church built the Cardboard cathedral several blocks away. The inside is built partially of rolled up tubes of cardboard. The Japanese architect designed the building for free to honour the 12 Japanese students who died in the Foreign Language school housed in the CTV building. The city centre is slowly rebuilding but many condemned structures remain, even after 9 years. A tram runs through the centre of the city and many electric scooters & bikes buzz around with locals & tourists. Restaurants & hotels are slowly returning. We visited Cathedral square & the Botanic Gardens. Christchurch is known as Garden City. We saw some very beautiful street art as we walked around too. We almost reached 20000 steps today!Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler
    1Our first glimpse of snow in 12 months!
    Gas is over $2 a litre hereLots of sheep & beef cattleCold mountain streams. Water looks low

    Christchurch to Franz Josef Glacier

    March 9, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    We rented a car and drove 385 kms across New Zealand to Franz Josef Glacier (on the West Coast), where we’ll stay for two nights. The drive was very hilly, curvy & scenic. What’s that white stuff in the mountains? We haven’t seen it in 12 months! We arrived safely, went out for dinner, then crashed. Update ... it’s comfortably cooler in the mountains!!Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler
    1

    Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

    March 10, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We stayed two nights in Franz Josef, a village with a population of 444, but with over 2000 rooms for accommodating tourists who come here to see the glacier. The town is within the Westland Tai Poutini National Park. The helicopter airport is busy all day taking tourists over & actually landing on the glacier. We couldn’t see spending $300+ each to get out and walk on something we wanted to avoid walking on at home.... We did walk close to the terminal end of the glacier, however, & were struck by how much it has retreated since the first photos were taken in 1867. After hiking, we spent some time at a place called Glacier Hot Pools, which has 3 large outdoor pools. The coolest is heated to 36, the middle to 38, & the hottest to 40 degrees Celsius. That was a nice treat for our sore, hiking muscles. We ate dinner at Alice May Restaurant, which has an interesting back story.Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler
    1

    Fox Glacier & Lake Matheson, New Zealand

    March 11, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    The highlights of today were our 2 hour hike around Lake Matheson & our glow worm after dark walk. With just one night here, we decided to hike around the lake prior to checking in at our hotel. The hike was nice, but unfortunately we missed out on the real reason tourists do the hike, & that is to see the Fox Glacier Mountain reflected on Lake Matheson. Clouds covered the top of the mountain the whole time we walked. It was a beautiful day for a walk though, & we did see some mallards, & an eel in the lake. When we checked into our motel, the receptionist suggested that we do the Glow Worm walk, but it needed to be pitch black. We ate dinner at an expensive restaurant in the town. We have noticed that even with our favourable exchange rate, everything is expensive here. We didn’t have to walk too far down the trail, after dinner, before we saw lots of glow worms all around us in the trees. It was another interesting experience. It was impossible to get a decent pic...Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler

    Wanaka, New Zealand

    March 12, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Today we did the scenic drive from Fox Glacier to our accommodation for the next two nights, just north of Wanaka. This was the most breathtaking drive of our trip so far. We saw waterfalls, creeks, rivers, lakes, & lots of mountains. The South Island of New Zealand, & this area, in particular, really is stunningly beautiful.Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler
    1

    Wanaka, New Zealand

    March 13, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today I went fly fishing & Kim went to a Lavender Farm & the A & P (Agriculture & Produce) show in Wanaka. It was a beautiful day here. High around 22 & sunny all day. I hired a guide today to teach me how to fly fish & hopefully hook into a big brown or rainbow trout. The good news is that I didn’t drown! Actually I had a great day. We walked 12 kms along the Makarora River, about a half hour outside of Wanaka. I have fly fished before, but my guide, Paul Wright, was a good teacher as I managed to hook into 6 trout. Two of them broke my line, & the other four managed to escape from the tiny barbless hooks. The first fish I hooked, I got too excited and set the hook too hard, breaking the thin tippet. It was about a 4 pound brown. Later in the afternoon I battled a 5 or 6 pound rainbow for 5 mins or so before it dragged the line across a sharp rock. I got to see some other trout in the ultra clear water, too, including a couple of huge browns over 10 pounds. I was happy that my clumsy casting improved enough to be able to entice all of these trout. It’s all “catch & release” fishing here. I was clearly better at the releasing part! It would’ve been nice to get to photograph the rainbow I had on. During the fight, it jumped clear out of the water. So, at least we got a really good look at it! Kim enjoyed visiting the Lavender farm, which was quite a bit bigger than the other one we went to in Hobart. The A & P show packed the village of Wanaka. Lots of agricultural, art, food displays, along with animal & fruit & vegetable judging made up the show. Lots of farmers, locals & tourists crowd into Wanaka for this once a year show.Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler
    1

    Wanaka to Te Anau

    March 14, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Today we drove just over 200 kms, over and through the Southern Alps. The views were spectacular once again. This is a very beautiful country. Te Anau is known as the gateway to Fiordland National Park & Milford Sound. Lots of cycling & hiking trails are in the area.Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler

    Milford Sound, New Zealand

    March 15, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Today we visited Milford Sound, which isn’t actually a Sound at all, it’s a fjord on the Tasman Sea. Captain James Cook sailed past the opening. Welshman John Stokes gave it it’s name in 1851. Donald Sutherland arrived in 1877, and became the Sound’s first European settler. He ended up staying 42 years & built an 18 room accommodation house. He rowed tourists around the Sound to become the region’s first tour operator. We missed out on the Underwater Observatory, as it was damaged by recent flooding. As it was, we had to travel to Milford Sound by coach bus convoy. The road just opened up to tour operators in the past month after flooding destroyed large sections of it. The convoys are allowed through at specific times to allow road crews to carry out repairs. That way they’re only interrupted twice a day, when as many as 120 coaches go in & out. We expect this operation may grind to a halt with New Zealand’s new policy of putting all visitors & returning Islanders into a 14 day quarantine upon arrival. We circled the Sound for an hour and a half in a huge boat. Highlights were seeing Stirling (155 metres) & Bowen Falls (161 metres), which are both higher than Niagara Falls. We did see a pair of juvenile fur seals, as well. The coach ride was 2.5 hours each way from Te Anau over a winding, steep (in places) road. We stopped at Mirror Lake on our way there. We climbed to 940 metres above sea level at one point, and travelled through a tunnel that was more than 1 km long. Great scenery once again. We were also fortunate to have a really nice day again today. Our bus driver told us that the Milford Sound area has rain over 200 days a year, averaging over 7 metres a year!! He said it receives the most amount of rain of any place at sea level on the planet.Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler

    Sad News

    March 17, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    We’re in the process of booking flights home. We had thought of continuing our time here in New Zealand, as we have accommodation booked here until Apr 14th, & defying Justin Trudeau.... The deciding factor was an announcement by New Zealand airlines that they are cancelling most international flights (including all to Canada) between March 30th & June 30th. Other airlines may follow suit. As you can imagine, trying to make these arrangements from here has proven difficult. We’re fortunate because we’ve had an excellent trip, so far, we’re both still healthy & still getting along. 😏 We are a little concerned about the long flights, & what we are flying home to. It seems as though there are more & more cases of COVID-19 being diagnosed in Canada. Certainly many more than here in New Zealand. It seems unbelievable that all sporting events are postponed or canceled. The Kentucky Derby is the latest to be postponed until Sept. That seems unfathomable. We certainly will try to practice “social distancing” at airports as much as possible. As far as a 14 day self quarantine at home, we can think of worse places than our home, on the lake, to be.Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler

    Dunedin New Zealand

    March 18, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Our last stop on our trip was Dunedin New Zealand. It may be the furthest south we will ever be, even though we still saw palm trees. Dunedin has a Scottish history and some quite unique architecture. It is home to the Royal Albatross Centre, furry seals, & the world’s smallest, & according to our tour guide, world’s cutest penguins. We visited the Centre & learned a lot about the albatross & how the Centre is working to save these birds from extinction. At dusk we walked down to a viewing platform to watch the little blue penguins come ashore for the night. We saw 30-40 of these penguins. Pics were tough to take, as no flash photography was allowed. The next morning we visited the Larnach Castle, which was built by William Larnach in 1871. It took 200 craftsmen 3 years to construct the outside & many more collecting the interior furnishings. The family history is fascinating. The Barker family purchased the castle, raised their family there, and with financial help from the country, & tourist donations, spent years restoring it. The gardens on the property are diverse and huge. We drove into town, toured the Dunedin Public Art Gallery & found the statue of Robbie Burns, the Scottish poet, & songwriter born in Scotland. Robbie’s nephew was the co-founder & first Presbyterian minister of Dunedin’s first church.Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler

    The End of our Journey

    March 19, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Today we started our long journey home, we hope. The COVID virus has caused us to cut our world tour short. We vowed to return to New Zealand to see the places we couldn’t get to this time, & to get to Hawaii in the future, as well. With the help of our travel company back home, we managed to book multiple flights home, the first ones on New Zealand Airlines. The New Zealand PM just announced that at midnight tonight their borders will be closed to tourists. We made our way back to Christchurch. If the flights aren’t canceled, we’ll fly to Auckland first, then to Houston, Texas, before flying back to Toronto. We plan on renting a car at Pearson to drive (on the correct side of the road) back home. We appreciate our daughter, Ashley’s, help in securing contractors to re-open our house, and fill our fridge & freezer with enough groceries to last for our upcoming 14 day self imposed isolation. Off to sleep now to rest up for what we hope will be an uneventful, very long, day tomorrow. We’ll post next, with a bit of luck, from home.Read more

  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler

    Back in North America

    March 20, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    We’ve made it to Houston, Texas. This airport is quite empty. We’re at the gate waiting to board our last flight of the trip, to Pearson Airport in Toronto. We’re delayed at least a half hour, as the inbound flight hasn’t landed yet. They just announced that they’d be coming around to ask everyone health questions before we board. They said it was a requirement of the Canadian government. Not sure if they’ll take our temperature or not. Would’ve been nice if this had been done prior to our 15 hr flight from Auckland. We likely will have an elevated temperature, having dragged our luggage a half mile to get here...
    Update - we just passed the health questions. Our plane is here. Now they say heavy winds at Pearson may delay us further here. We’re approaching 24 hrs of travel...    Read more

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  • JohnKim DuncanWorld Tour 2019-2020Traveler

    Home At Last

    March 21, 2020 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C

    After traveling for over 24 hours, we finally made it home safely, only to discover that after reinstalling our phone Sim Cards, we couldn’t get service, and Xplornet Internet required us to call in to reinstate our WiFi. That’s why we couldn’t post sooner. Our daughter, Ashley, came to our rescue, once again, and let is borrow her phone to “reach out” to Bell. Who knew that when we originally called to suspend our Canadian phone #s, they did that, but somehow they couldn’t stop charging us our full rate!? We were expected to call in to reactivate our #s. The 14 day self imposed quarantine prevented us from calling. If you’re wondering, Ashley dropped her phone on our front porch, then walked away from her potentially virus carrying parents! Health wise, we are both fine. We slept for 10 hours when we did climb into our own beds at 3:30 this morning.Read more

    Trip end
    March 21, 2020
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