Tuesday 21 April 2009: Melbourne

A warm and sunny day in Melbourne! We started with the usual city tour in the morning which included a stop at Cook’s cottage. This cottage used to stand in Great Ayton in England and it was the home of the great explorer Captain James Cook who “officially” discovered Australia. The Cottage was shipped over to Australia in 1934 to commemorate the centenary celebrations in Melbourne. It was a small one up one down dwelling with a beautiful cottage garden (see photo).
This afternoon we visited the beach at St Kilda and Saboohi had her first swim in Australian waters. The sharks gave her a wide berth! This evening we managed to get some late tickets to see Billy Elliot at Her Majesty’s theatre. Neither of us has seen this show in London so it was a real treat. The performance was outstanding and the music and dancing were really first class. The young Billy Elliot was truly talented and an obvious star of the future. We will definitely be seeing it again when we get back to London.

Monday 20 April 2009

We awoke to a heavy down pour of rain this morning. The worst weather we have experienced so far. After breakfast the whole group congregated outside the hotel to watch Sean, a member of our group, do the base jump from the Sky tower. It looked very scary and we were all very proud of him. The rest of the day was taken up by waiting at the airport and flying to Melbourne later that day. Whilst at the airport I purchased a beautiful limited edition screen print by a local New Zealand artist. I am having it shipped back to the UK by courier so I don’t have to carry it around Oz. Can’t wait to see it framed and up on the wall at home.

Sunday 19 April 2009: Auckland

We started the day with a visit to Auckland museum where there was a special exhibition of Sir Edmond Hillary and the axe he used to climb up Mount Everest. His wife has donated the axe to the museum in memory of him as he died recently. There was a film showing an interview with Sir Edmund Hillary and he was talking about his climb to the top of Everest - interestingly he said that “I didn’t conquer Everest... I believe Everest just relented.”
After the museum we made our way to the suburbs of Auckland to visit Kelly Tarlson’s Penguin and Antarctic experience. This is a privately owned aquarium which relies on public donation. The most interesting thing about it is that it is the home of two breads of Penguins that can only live in Antarctic conditions, which have been recreated for them within the aquarium. We then had lunch at Mission Bay and met a handsome little Bichon called Adoodoo (his owners are Japanese)- he was a puppy and full of energy. This evening we ascended the sky tower which boasts the highest viewing platform in the southern hemisphere with 360 degree views of Auckland and its coastline – the views were stunning. The sky tower actually is part of the hotel where we have been staying ( Sky City Hotel).

Saturday 18 April 2009

An early start today and a drive up to Auckland this morning. We arrived in Auckland at midday and had a short tour around the city before booking into our Hotel at Sky City. Our hotel sits at the base of the famous Sky Tower, the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, from which you can do a controlled bungy jump or walk around the rim of the tower's platform. Alternatively you can just eat in the rotating restaurant at the top. Saboohi and I went down to the harbour to catch a ferry across to Devonport Dockyard (yes they have a naval base here too called Devenport!). In Devonport we climbed to the top Mount Victoria and had a fantastic 360 degree view of the city and the coast line – it must the best view there is in Auckland. We then had fish and chips sitting by the sea and were surrounded by gulls. This is where Saboohi took a fabulous photograph of the gulls catching chips that we had thrown up for them -tourists eh? (see photo attached).

Friday 17 April 2009

Today started with a trip to Te Puia, a Maori culture attraction that is home to the arts and crafts of the Maori people and which encompasses a number of natural geysers, the 2 largest being Pohutu and the Prince of Wales both of which erupted whilst we were there. I purchased a beautiful piece of Maori art at Te Puia called Te Manaia (The Guardian Sprit). Maoris believe that every Maori has aguardian spirit whilst on earth which protects them from evil and the Te Manaia I purchased is a contemporary depiction of this spirit. It is to be my souvenir of my trip to New Zealand. This afternoon Saboohi and I met up with my dear friend Frances who recently emigrated to NZ and made the 5 hour drive over to Rotorua to see us. It was lovely to see how happy and settled she was in her new homeland and to catch up on all the news. As we will not be able to visit her hometown during this trip (New Plymouth) she brought us a beautiful illustrated book produced by a famous NZ photographer that portrays life in her home county. We spent a leisurely afternoon in the Bath House Museum in Rotorua and then this evening we attended a Maori Hangi at the hotel. This is a traditional Maori meal with dancing and singing. The funniest part of the evening was when the men of our group were invited onto the stage to perform a traditional Maori Haka –I haven’t laughed so much for a long while but they did a great job! It was a wonderful evening.

Thursday 16 April 2009: Rotorua

We had a long drive up to Rotorua today. Roturua sits within the crater of a volcano and therefore sits on top of a geothermal bed which provides natural hot spas and bubbling mud pools. We smelt the place before we could see it because of the strong sulphur vapours. En route to Rotorua we also stopped at Huka Falls which is a narrow canyon in the middle of a fast flowing river – the result of which is a magnificent torrent of water which creates a natural water fall. You wouldn’t survive if you fell into the river at this point, that’s for sure. When we reached our hotel (Sudima Lakeside Hotel) we booked a private spa (naturally heated of course) and I had a one hour stone massage –the best massage I have ever had. Saboohi opted for a foot pamper and stress release massage. We slept well that night.

Wednesday 15 April 2009: Wellington

Today was spent in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Rather than do the half day coach trip around the city we decided to take a coastal walk just outside the city, along the Red Rocks to Sinclair point where we found a seal colony. It was a lovely sunny day and it gave us a chance to do some much needed exercise. We caught the bus to Island Bay which was as far as public transport would take us and then walked about 2K to the Marine Reserve entrance. It took us a further 4k walk along the coast before we caught sight of the seals and we may not have seen them at all if we hadn’t spoken to other walkers en route that had seen them. They are well camouflaged on the rocks. Two of those walkers were called Alistair and Bronagh Crook and their Boxer Dog “Wendy”. I got talking to them and discovered that their Son Timothy works for Transport for London and is part of the Internal Audit Team there. I said I would contact him when I got back to work and Saboohi took some photos of us all together. They offered us a lift back into Wellington which we were very grateful for and they took us the scenic route along the coast. We finished the day with a cable car ride up to the top of the botanical gardens to admire the city view and then we walked back down through the beautiful gardens. Another special day.