BootsnAll Travel Network



Cairns, Crocodiles and Cassowaries

January 21st, 2007

Nov 15- 17

After three months of travel, at long last we had arrived in the Land of Oz. We had chosen to fly into Cairns on the northeast coast and drive down the coast to Sydney in time for Christmas and New Years. Tropical Queensland is a lush oasis of rainforests and beaches in a country plagued by drought and, luckily, we had avoided the crowds by arriving at the beginning of their low season when temperatures start to climb into the 30’s on a daily basis. The heat and humidity was a welcome change after New Zealand. For the first few days in Cairns, we stayed at the Bohemia Resort which is a backpacker hostel masquerading as a hotel. The exterior was beautiful with a large pool, complete with waterfall and poolside bar, while inside, the rooms were a bit spartan but clean.

From Queensland, A…

Although we were anxious to get out to the Great Barrier Reef, unusually high winds and rough seas made conditions on the ocean and visibility less than ideal. Instead, we hung around Cairns and spent a few afternoons lounging by the town’s beautiful waterfront lagoon.

From Queensland, A…

The kids especially loved playing in the children’s waterpark and even made friends with a little guy who reminded me of Arnold from Different Strokes.

From Queensland, A…

I kept waiting for him to yell, “Whatchoo talkin’ bout?” Read the rest of this entry »

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Farewell to New Zealand

January 19th, 2007

Nov 9-15

It was finally time to leave the South Island and head back to Auckland to catch our flight to Australia. After a rocky ferry crossing with high winds and rough seas we were a little green around the gills and settled in for the night in a bitty little cottage in Paikakariki (I love the names here!) overlooking Marlborough Sound just north of Wellington.

From New Zealand (…

The next morning, as we made our way north, we again drove through Wanganui – remember, home of the “world’s best park.” As we drove by the park, the kids howled, “Look, Mom, there’s another one!” You’d think it was Disneyland! Of course, we had to stop and spend another half hour there while they played, but they were so excited to see their favourite park again, it was worth it. Read the rest of this entry »

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Our Antarctic Experience in Christchurch

January 19th, 2007

Nov 7-8

It was rainy and cold in Christchurch (surprise!) so we decided to spend the day inside. The Lego and puzzles at the hostel were starting to wear thin, so we headed to the International Antarctic Centre. What a cool place (pardon the pun)! We even got to experience a simulated Antarctic storm, complete with parkas and a -40 degree wind-chill – we felt right at home.

From New Zealand (…
From New Zealand (…

Alexa and Simon loved the interactive exhibits, especially the snowmobiles, and the life-sized mock-ups of the Antarctic Research Centre. Read the rest of this entry »

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Milford Sound to Christchurch

January 8th, 2007

Nov 3-6

The next stop on our tour of New Zealand was Milford Sound which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country – with good reason. We avoided the crowded midday cruises and arrived late in the day in time to catch the last cruise of the day on The Encounter.

From New Zealand (…

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Living it Up in Queenstown

January 7th, 2007

Nov 1-3

We finally arrived in Queenstown and checked into the Hippo Lodge, a lovely hostel with a fabulous view of The Remarkables and a resident stuffed hippo who had a bulletin board full of photos of him doing all kinds of cool activities like bungee jumping and skydiving. He and Pengy (our stowaway penguin) got along great and shared tales of their adventures over a beer at the local pub.

From New Zealand (…

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The Puzzling World of Wanaka

January 7th, 2007

Nov 1-2

After leaving the west coast, we drove cross-country through the Southern Alps toward Queenstown, the adrenaline capital of New Zealand. As we drove, Claude had to stop to take a picture of the sheep grazing in the fields with the mountains in the background – the quintessential New Zealand photo.

From New Zealand (…

This area also reminded us very much of the Canadian Rockies we had just visited this summer. Read the rest of this entry »

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A Hallowe’en to Remember

January 7th, 2007

New Zealand (South Island) Oct 31- Nov 1

From New Zealand (…

The next leg of our trip took us down the South Island’s rugged windswept west coast with its tongue-twister names like Hokitika and Punakaiki where we stopped to see the famous Pancake Rocks and blowholes which, unfortunately, weren’t blowing when we were there.

From New Zealand (…
From New Zealand (…

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Of Split Apples and Cracked Lenses

January 7th, 2007

New Zealand (South Island) Oct 27-30
After a 3 ½ hour ferry ride we landed in Picton on the South Island and ended up spending the night in a miniscule cabin at a local holiday park. After checking out of our shipping container the next morning, we decided that hostels offered much better value for money and swore off holiday parks for a while. Before heading west to Abel Tasman National Park, we wanted to enjoy the beauty of Queen Charlotte Sound and hiked out to the end of the Snout (much prettier than it sounds).

From New Zealand (…

Next, it was off to Motueka which would be our jumping off point for Abel Tasman. If possible, the South Island’s coastal roads are even windier than the North Island’s but the astounding views more than made up for a little car sickness (although I’m not sure if Simon would concur). Read the rest of this entry »

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Our Stowaway

January 7th, 2007
From Pengy – Our L…

I’ve got a secret! Shortly after departing on our trip, we discovered that we had a stowaway – a little stuffed penguin whom the kids have affectionately nicknamed “Pengy”. We think that Pengy may have run away from one of our guests at our going away party and decided to tag along on our trip. Since Pengy is kind of cute and doesn’t eat much, whine or squabble with the Snuffies, we thought we would bring him along for the ride. So far, we’ve managed to take a photo of him at most of our stops along the way and we’re hoping he’ll make a scrapbook of his trip when he gets back. Click here to see some of the places he’s been so far.

Watch for him to appear in our pictures as we circle the globe – he’ll be the most well-travelled penguin on the planet!

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Sulphur City and beyond

December 31st, 2006

Here’s an interesting fact about New Zealand. In place names, they pronounce the letters “wh” with an “f” sound. This gets a little dicey when places have names like Whakapapa or Whakaari and I couldn’t help blushing when I tried to pronounce them like a local. None of the Kiwis thought it was weird though, so we just had to get used to it. Read the rest of this entry »

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