Kaikoura, there she (doesn’t) blow

We take the train to Kaikoura today. We arrive at the station in Kaikoura and there is no uber and no regular taxis. There is only one guy with a passenger van who will give rides from the train station. He has a business card but doesn’t seem to be always available for rides. I arrange a ride in the morning to the dock for my whale watching boat (at the time I didn’t realize it is in walking distance from my hotel). Anyway, it is hard to get around here without a car unless you don’t mind walking a while.

The ride to Kaikoura is beautiful with an open air observation car at the back of the train (think cattle car).

The observation train while going through a tunnel

Hotel in Kaikoura – Lobster Inn Motor Lodge

My aunt has a sunset kayak tour scheduled for the evening. We originally thought I would be joining her but I have done some damage to my shoulders while traveling. I am pretty sure ocean kayaking is not in the cards for me at this time. Unfortunately due to rough seas her tour gets cancelled for the evening. She hopes to do a paddle tomorrow sometime during the day instead.

We arrive early enough for lunch. We visit the cafe across the street where I get to try green-lipped mussels. They are large and quite tasty.

Green-lip mussels at Chiwis Cafe and Takeaway

I go to bed early because I have an early morning boat ticket for whale watching tomorrow. Kaikoura is supposed to be a magnificent place to see whales and other sea animals.

There is a 6:45 arrival time for my tour, the first tour of the day. My driver drops me off on time at the office. Once I arrive I come to find out that both my cruise and the cruise scheduled immediately after is cancelled due to rough seas. There are people in line already to reschedule for a later time but most of the other times this morning are already booked. The only time I can reschedule is for the afternoon but doing so would make me miss our train ride that we have booked back to Christchurch. I am disappointed. I usually schedul multiple days in a location in case something like this happens but in this case I did not.

My aunt goes on her kayaking tour this morning as scheduled. I plan to meet up with her later in town. I decide to walk back to the motel from the whale office instead of trying to find the one taxi guy in town. It is a nice walk along the beach.

I spend a couple hours making some phone calls that are much needed to the USA. I have a short window to take care of business by phone since our days are their nights and vice-versa.

After I take care of things I walk down to town. It is a cute little town. I see signs for crayfish everywhere but I am too cheap to order it so instead I end up getting a huge fried flounder and chips at Strawberry Tree Kaikoura. While the fish below is quite tasty, I regret passing up the crayfish because later when I get serious about trying it before I leave New Zealand I end up paying even more for it and end up disappointed. It is probably much fresher in Kaikoura.

My aunt finally meets up with me and helps me finish the fish. She has a photo of the bones and asked if I wanted to post it but it isn’t pretty so I’ll forgo the photo.

We have a little more time to kill before we pick up our luggage so we visit the local museum Kaikōura Museum. It gives a little taste of the history of the area. There is a good exhibit that talks about the major earthquake that occurred in 2016. A great deal of damage had been done to the coast, roads and tunnels. It is said to have pushed the south island 5km closer to the north island.

We head back to get our luggage and then to the train. We are heading back to Christchurch to overnight before our day trip to Arthur’s Pass tomorrow.

Kaikoura is beautiful and I am very sad I didn’t get to see whales during my visit. If I ever make it back to New Zealand it is definitely on my list again – next time for more days.

Video of train ride to Kaikoura

New Year in Sydney

It is new year’s day in Sydney Australia. We get a late start today because we were up late. Luckily I am not hungover from last night’s celebrations.

After visiting both Melbourne and Sydney I decide Melbourne is more my style but I think I would like Sydney more if I didn’t visit in the middle of their darn summer! It is quite warm here – as is most of my travels lately. However it is nice to be with family though. It is also nice to travel with someone who is compatible with my travel style right now. Prior to my sabbatical I would take 2 week or shorter trips where I would book every moment moment possible with stuff to do. I cannot do that type of travel on this trip or I will burn out. It helps to travel with someone who has already been to Sydney and doesn’t have an urge to see everything that can be seen.

We didn’t just sit around during our visit though: We crossed off a bucket list item by booking tickets for show at the Sydney Opera house on New Years Day. We witnessed great performers singing opera hits.

What an experience!

Bondi to Coogee

Easily accessible by train and bus we took the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk. It is a beautiful and warm day and the views of the coast are great.

Along our walk we see Sydney ocean pools some of which were constructed in the late 1800’s. They are a very interesting concept. I enjoy looking at them and the different rock formations along the coast.

Still in Sydney for a couple more days. I’ll talk more about my visit in one more post!

The Heat is On, Australia style

I am leaving Coonawarra after my semi-successful wine and camping time there.

I am heading to the caves nearby at Naracoorte Caves National Park, a world heritage site with a very old fossil history.

Mother nature has other plans for me. Naracoorte Caves is closed due to wildfire risk.

It is starting to get scary in Australia. Thus far this is the closest I’ve been to the fire risk but soon I will be heading to Melbourne and Sydney where the fires are much worse nearby.

Here is the current map:

December 2019 fire map. I am currently in South Australia.

I do see a roadside kangaroo.

Since the caves are closed I decide to move forward to my next destination for the night, Victor Harbor.

I make a pit stop along the way and notice some nice art and mosaics.

Today is another day of watching the tempatures slowly rise as I travel on. At one point it gets to 48 C (118 F). I believe this is the hottest I have ever felt. Thank goodness the air conditioning in my rental car works.

Victor Harbor

After I arrive to Victor Harbor the temperature starts to lower quickly by almost 30 F and the wind starts to pick up.

I am staying at the Hotel Victor, a hotel right by the water.

I chose Victor Harbor as a stop on my way to my final destination of Adelaide. It is advertised as a charming old-style town. There is supposed to be Horse Drawn Tram but it seems I again am visiting off season since it is not in operation during my visit. The wind is too strong so I avoid trying to view wildlife, which seems to be the biggest attraction in the area. (see video below)

I do walk down by the water and appreciate the views and birds.

The wind gets stronger. I try to capture it in the video below.

I head to dinner at Nino’s of Victor Harbor. I am happy I can order a side of vegetables. It sometimes is so hard to eat healthier on the road so I do the little bit I can.

I only stay the night so don’t have much time to visit some of the other town’s attractions like the nearby Granite Island. Perhaps I’ll be able to visit again someday.

Great Ocean Road Australia

I have my rental car ready and I am heading out along the coast for a road trip. In my research I found that a drive down Great Ocean road is a must. A road trip along great ocean road is the plan. I am starting from Melbourne (or Lancefield – guesthouse location) and will ultimately end up in Adelaide where I will return my rental car.

I drove near Hanging Rock yesterday so I am not a total novice to driving on “the wrong side of the road” but I admit I am a little nervous on driving on curvy cliff-side roads in traffic. I will drive slowly and cautiously. Hopefully locals won’t want to kill me for backing up traffic.

My little car seems to do well. Things do get a little curvy at some points but I make it through ok.

As soon as I reach the coast I am rewarded with beautiful views. My first stop is in Torquay for some lunch. I originally planned for lunch at another restaurant in another town but I discovered the restaurant I originally wanted to dine at is closed for the day. I instead stop at Fishos for some fish and chips.

Torquay

It takes me longer than usual to order because I have never had any of the types of fish on the menu. I ask the cashier lots of questions to get an idea of the different fish types and how to compare them to fish I know. I settle on one finally and of course order it fried – because fried. I like the nice little outdoor area. The weather is perfect.

Weirdo birds that just lay in the grass like this. Must be nesting.

I am parked across the street at a park that overlooks the water. I walk along the trail, taking in the views. I notice many birds along the way.

I drive on but stop on my way to Lorne to get some spectacular views of the coast.

Lorne

I stop at Lorne to take some pictures. I enjoy the shale-like flat rocks and watching surfers at the beach. It looks like a nice area. I would have liked to spend a night here and explore a little more.

Again I am on my way and stop at another lookout.

I slowly move away from the coast as I head to my final destination for the day north of the Great Otway National Park. Oh how I wish I scheduled more days on this drive. There are so many areas I would have loved to explore more….

Great Barrier Reef

Disclaimer: All pictures on this post are taken by me except the underwater photos which are taken by the boat photographer. Photo credit: Down Under Dive @ Great Barrier Reef

I lost a day in Cairns when my flight to Australia is cancelled. Luckily I am able to reschedule my great barrier reef cruise to my last day. Visiting the great barrier reef is a bucket list item. The way we destroy our planet there probably isn’t much time to still see the reef in all its glory. During my sabbatical planning I almost passed up this opportunity because it is supposed to be stinger season and a bad time to go (jelly fish are supposed to be abundant). On top of the stinger the weather is questionable in December. Luckily the cruise, Down Under Cruise and Dive, has stinger suits to borrow to prevent stings by jellyfish and it happens to be a lovely day at the reef. I really couldn’t have picked a better day to go. Lucky me!

Growing up near water I never had a urge to scuba dive (like surfing) but for some reason during my travels it is something I really wanted to tackle. Due to health issues it is a questionable activity for me at this time and since I don’t really have time to clear it with my doctor I decide to play it safe and snorkel instead. Note: When I return the USA my doctor tells me that scuba diving would be ok for me – DARN. MAYBE NEXT TIME.

Don’t get me wrong, snorkling at the Great Barrier Reef is amazing, but there is so much more to see at the deeper lengths (Clownfish for one).

As the cruise starts we go in the dining area inside to get instructions and a safety spiel. We will stop at two reefs and have a lunch buffet in between.

We get fitted for the equipment and I take the optional stinger suit just in case. We are assigned a cubbie hole to hold our borrowed equipment.

It is a little more complicated for the scuba divers. I unfortunately did not scuba dive this time.

We have a little time to enjoy the cruise before we get to our first stop.

Stop 1 Saxon Reef

We are almost at our first reef to explore. I put on my stinger suit and get my equipment ready. I am not sure what to expect down below.

The water looks amazingly clear. I jump in.

There is a roped area that we are supposed to stay inside. Also there is a flotation device in the middle if you need to rest. Once I stick my head in the water I find I don’t need the flotation device. I spend my time floating face down marveling at all I see. Saxon Reef is full of vivid and beautiful corals. I don’t spring for the underwater camera nor could I find the photographer to get a photo of me this time around. Below is a selection of some of the shots from the photographer that are included in the pictures I purchase on board.

Gallery of sea life. Two fish on bottom are what I can see from my snorkeling.

Below is more examples of corals I see. I do notice some bleaching of the corals but I am amazed of how good the corals do look. I see very beautiful colors. I mostly keep my head face down in the water only bobbing up when the lifeguards give the whistle to do a safety check on us. I am notoriously bad at hearing the safety guards but only once I am whistled at for getting too close to the outer barrier.

We return to the boat to eat lunch and travel to our next location.

I get a little of everything on the buffet

I relax a bit on the top deck.

Stop 2 Hastings reef

Even though there don’t seem to be any jellyfish out I wear the stinger suit once more just to be safe.

I really notice the reef decline at Hastings reef. Parts of it are vivid in color and beautiful but a large part of it looks dead. I can see lots of coral bleaching. I also notice bright purple and bright yellow coral. I see white coral with blue eye tentacles, many striped fish, and polka dot fish. Bright blue and purple fish. The fish come right up to me.

Example below of bleached and dull reef.

These are neat. Also look at that rainbow fish!

I finally find the underwater photographer to get some photos taken.

When I return to the boat I order a celebratory beer for the trip back.

We arrive back at the pier.

The pier is not too far from my hostel so I decide to walk back. In my walk I see mud flats and do some birdwatching.

I stop at an outdoor restaurant on the waterfront. It is here that I realize there could be a communication issue in this country even though I technically speak the language. I order fries (chips) and ask for ketchup with my fries. The server has no idea what I am asking for. I finally realize that ketchup is tomato sauce in Australia. Something to put in my memory banks for the next few weeks.

Today has been a great day. I love my great barrier experience and would love to come back again and scuba dive so I can see the fish at deeper lengths.

My visit to Cairns is short and tomorrow I head to Melbourne to start my adventures down south. I am excited to see things in other parts of the country.