After Sydney we flew to Brisbane. Brisbane also seemed quite lively with similar deals with the ferries buses and trains. We took a bus out to Lonely Pine, the koala sanctuary. We had no sooner paid when we heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance. We had been wandering around looking at various marsupials, some we had never heard of, when the thunder seemed to be getting nearer and we felt the spots of rain. Taking shelter in a gazebo we were soon joined by...

Well Sydney was a bit wet and overcast so we did our best between showers. John is not all that keen on heights so I climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge while he went off exploring by ferry around the harbour for a few hours. Sydney seemed much more vibrant after the sedate pace of New Zealand. We were pretty much in China Town but also situated in Darling Harbour. It wasn't until the afternoon of our last day that the sun decided to shine. We were surprised to find ...

Once we had left Queenstown our journey continued over to Doubtful Sound where we boarded the Nautilus for an overnight cruise. We saw a whale , heard a blue penguin ( no it was not telling rude jokes! they just hide in the bushes). We also heard a kiwi which is a nocturnal bird and therefore seldom seen. The sandflies were extremely annoying as it was a very calm day. We sailed out into the roaring 40's of the Tasman sea before returning to the shelter of the so...

Here we are overlooking the "Remarkables" so called because they turn a remarkable colour in the setting sun. Queenstown is the home of the first Bungy Jump and where our son Daniel made his leap into the unknown. Neither of us are going to copy this adventure. Yesterday we enjoyed a jet boat ride for an hour up river from Haast. In the evening we enjoyed the stunning views over Queenstown and surrounding mountains from the Skyline restaurant. Today we...

We have now reached Greymouth where rainfall is measured in metres not millimetres. We enjoyed our trip down from Auckland with an overnight stay in Rotorua where we met an "old geyser". The golf course has hazards of hot bubbling mud pools and the town has a sulphurous odour. We took a float plane to get a better view of the geology and it was stunning. After Rotorua we moved on to Napier, where we were taken on a tour of the Art Deco features of the...