Countdown to the day
26 сентября 2023 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
We will be using this site to post daily photos and stories. Please enjoy the trip through our eyes.
We plan to eat regional, great food. Drink local beer and wine.
And so It begins.....
16 октября 2023 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F
Boarding our first flight today.. Cincinnati to Dallas. Dallas to Sydney!!
And so it begins.....
16 октября 2023 г., Соединенные Штаты ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
It's Monday morning and we're boarding our first flight to Dallas. Then, a 4 hour layover. Then, a 16.5 hour flight to Sydney. We will cross the international date line and miss Tuesday on the wayЧитать далее
End of "Day 1" in Sydney
18 октября 2023 г., Австралия ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
We spent Wednesday walking all around Sydney. 11 miles in all. It's so beautiful as it is spring here. Brian tried a few local brews. We walked around the Sydney Opera House. We ended with a greatЧитать далее
Bondi Beach
19 октября 2023 г., Австралия ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
We spent today touring by Hop-On-Hop-Off bus. Still managed 5 miles of walking. We played in the sand and water of Bondi Beach. Had drinks and lunch at a rooftop bar. Finished up with meeting the restЧитать далее
Sydney Opera House and The Rocks
20 октября 2023 г., Австралия ⋅ 🌙 68 °F
We took a private tour of the Sydney Opera House. It was so cool. There are 6 individual performance venues under those roofs. The entire roof of the shells are individual tiles!
After that, weЧитать далее
Native Animal Refuge
21 октября 2023 г., Австралия ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
Part 1: Morning. What a day! Started with a trip to Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park. A small native animal refuge. Lots of interacting with the animals!!! We got to pet and feed koalas, kangaroos,Читать далее
Harry's pies on wheels.
21 октября 2023 г., Австралия ⋅ 🌬 75 °F
Part 2: FOOD. We went out of our way to get a traditional Aussie Meat Pie. Tiger Pie-beef pie topped with potato mash, pea mash and gravy!!! YUMMM. Then, another location for Bug Sliders, Cuttle FishЧитать далее
Manly Beach and Sunset
21 октября 2023 г., Австралия ⋅ 🌙 68 °F
Across the harbor to Manly Beach. It was quite windy as we walked to the Tasmanian Sea. Did a bit of shopping today and found a "Prue" jewelry type vendor, so I bought a crazy necklace... and I loveЧитать далее
Cairns
22 октября 2023 г., Австралия ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
Just arrived (note, "Cairns" is pronounced "Cans.") Such different scenery. We had the afternoon to just relax, so we did not take many photos. Our new travel buddy Dave is a retired firefighter fromЧитать далее
Great Barrier Reef
23 октября 2023 г., Австралия ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F
OMG!!! SO COOL! We took a catamaran out to two different points on the reef. Both were so amazing. I was surrounded by schools of small fish as well as a school of giant Humpnose Parrotfish. I saw seaЧитать далее
Mossman Gorge
24 октября 2023 г., Австралия ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
We headed out to the rainforest today. We had a wonderful walking tour with a native tour guide. He performed a paper bark burning ritual to welcome us to the forest. We identified native plants andЧитать далее
Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas.
24 октября 2023 г., Австралия ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
Apparently, Nitamarie is very appealing to the birds of Australia! The animals , especially the birds, are very friendly. One of the black cockatoos decided she was his bestie! He settled on herЧитать далее
Auckland New Zealand
26 октября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ 🌬 68 °F
We got to our hotel in Auckland around 2 am this morning! (That will be our longest travel day until we come home.) It is overcast and windy.
We had an amazing walk about with an elder from theЧитать далее
Waiheke Island
27 октября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ 🌧 59 °F
Today, we took a ferry to Waiheke Island. I think i remember that it is the 3rd biggest island of NZ... it was a pretty rainy, foggy, overcast day. But that did not mean it wasn't beautiful. (It is anЧитать далее
Rotorua day 1
28 октября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
We got on a bus and drove from Auckland to Rotorua. Beautiful country. Cows, lamb, horses!! Along the way, we stopped at Hamilton Gardens. A beautiful collection of themed gardens. Everything here isЧитать далее
All Blacks Rugby World Cup Finals!!!
29 октября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F
We were in an Irish Pub at 7:30 am this morning to cheer on the New Zealand Rugby team battle for the World Cup. A very big deal! Our tour leader Michael is plays in a league with one of the nationalЧитать далее
Day in the life of a Ngati Manawa Commu
29 октября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
After seeing the All Blacks rugby team get defeated (by the referees, of course), we headed about an hour outside of Rotorua to Murupara, home of a landlocked Maori tribe. We were greeted with manyЧитать далее
Hobbiton movie set
30 октября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия
Brian's bucket list...check!
Dinner with a local family!
30 октября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
We were hosted by a local Maori family tonight. What a delight, inspiration, and blessing!! These native people are so proud, so confident, so welcoming, and so giving. Their children are right thereЧитать далее
One more video
30 октября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
Too good not to post!
Christchurch
31 октября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ 🌬 59 °F
We left the North Island and flew to the South Island. We took a propeller plane from Rotorua Airport. There was basically no security as you could walk in and out of the airport at will.
Anyway, weЧитать далее
Canterbury sheep farm!
1 ноября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
What a fun day. We got to sleep in. Then, we took a bus into the area of Canterbury to a sheep farm. We were able to learn about the types of dogs used and trained for sheep herding. Then we got toЧитать далее
Oamaru and Moeraki Boulders
2 ноября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F
Today, we left Christchurch to travel by bus to Dunedin. We stopped for lunch and explored Oamaru. This is an old Victorian area known for its white limestone buildings. It is also known for the sealsЧитать далее
Larnach Castle and Baldwin Street
3 ноября 2023 г., Новая Зеландия ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
We are halfway through Day 19! Today, we started with a drive around the Oamaru peninisula to the only castle in NZ. Very pretty castle with spectacular views. We stopped at Saint Clair Beach andЧитать далее













































































































































































































