So today I leave Australia behind…. I’ve been ‘Down Under’ since the beginning of September with 2 months in New Zealand and it’s all starting to feel a bit like home in many ways. The familiar lingo “G’day how’s it goin?” and “Sweet/Sweet As” to indicate that something is good! I am also very attached to my morning ritual of toasted banana bread with a flat white coffee and perhaps a freshly squeezed orange juice. My favourite Sydney breccie spot being ‘Cafe Quattro’ in Hyde Park with an outdoors terrace overlooking a courtyard where chess is played by old men in deep thought using those giant sized pieces. I spent my time since New Year enjoying the beaches of Sydney at both Manly and Bondi, although due to poor weather along the entire East Coast (flooding and heavy rain) the swell was so big that all beaches were closed for a week. However meantime I found a spot on Manly Cove near to the ferry wharf which has sheltered waters and soft golden sand (with a shark netted area for swimming) and in Bondi ( a place reminiscent of Bude in a funny way) the sweeping curve of sandy beach provided a great place to read my Jackie Collins trash novel and watch the posers strutting along the shoreline – just why is it that men who really shouldn’t wear speedos always do? - and someone should make it illegal to jog on beaches unless you have a really firm body – it’s just too distressing to the poor public otherwise! So here I am – my last day on Ozzie soil and reflecting on 4 months of amazing experiences in Australia and New Zealand. To summarise I though I would make a list:
- Flights: 1 helicopter (Bungle Bungles AUS), 1 hot air balloon (Cairns AUS), 1 pink plane (Taupo NZL - I jumped out stupidly)
- Animals: 2 sharks (Reef and wobbogong), 1 Manta Ray, 1 Koala (Maddy), several Crocs (salties and freshies), a few Pythons,1 Kiwi, 1 possum, 1 tuatara, loads of Kangaroos and wallabies, several redback spiders, some scary looking jellyfish, a few humpback whales, 1 sperm whale (Big Nick), 1 Hectors dolphin (Akaroa), several Bottle Nosed Dolphins (Milford Sound) and loads of Dusky dolphins (Kaikora) a few horses, some camels, several Kea birds, Corrollas, blue penguins, yellow eyed penguins, Flying foxes and loads of other noisy birds everywhere….. especially bell birds singing at 4am and finally – billions and billions of glow worms (Waitomo caves)
- New Experiences: Scuba diving, Surfing, Abseiling (day and night), Night Kayaking phosphorescence, Sand boarding, Sydiving, Black Water rafting, White Water Rafting, Glacier Hiking, Bush Camping, Volcano hiking
- Wildest place: Crossing the Red Crater on the Tongariro Crossing (New Zealand)
- Remotest Place: The Kimberly Australia (also one of the hottest at 45 degrees)
- Wettest Place: Miford Sound NZL (those waterfalls were awesome) – tropical storm in Kakadu comes a close second!
- Bleakest Place: Coober Pedy, AUs ( it’s just rocks…they all live in the ground in caves……also wierdest place along with ’Hobbiton’ film set (Matamata NZL)
- Highest Place: top of the Skytower in Auckland and 12,000 ft in a small pink plane (did I mention the skydive?!)
- Most scenic: Mt Sunday (NZL, Better known as Edoras from Lord of the Rings) and so many other places I can’t list them all (but they are nearly all in New Zealand!)
One day I will publish a full list of categories just for fun – that will have to do for now! So goodbye from the Antipodes and set course for Thailand….
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