Australia Part III: Melbourne

We enjoyed Sydney, but we loved Melbourne. A couple people said the only things to do in Melbourne are

You can't fool me fake Target!

eat, drink and shop - and thankfully, they were right! Even though it's not that much smaller than Sydney (4 million people instead of 4.5), Melbourne has a very different feel than Sydney. It felt much more diverse, and the downtown is a network of alleyways that are jam packed with little cafes, boutiques and graffiti. 

Part of me started to wish we'd ended up in Melbourne instead of Auckland, but I quickly realised that moving to Melbourne wouldn't have been the change we were looking for. It has too many of the comforts of  the States (including GAP, Costco, Fossil and Nine West).  It even has a fake Target! 

We had a grand time roaming the "laneways" of Melbourne and stuffed ourselves senseless more than once. Although I'm glad we don't live there, I can't wait to go back!

For lunch our first day, we rode the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant, which was recommended by a friend. The tramcar was operational, and took us to the beach and back while serving us a 4-course, all-you-can drink meal. Welcome to Melbourne indeed!

Nerds doing nerd things - the top row provides a glimpse of my ideal house (to include a row of Vespas), and below is inspiration for our future library (to include a wall of comic books). The Vespa rocking horse is just a bonus item I would like to own immediately. Time for some woodworking classes!

Food picture! Starbucks makes the cut because unlike New Zealand, Starbucks in Australia has iced tea. I cannot express how much I miss black iced tea here - no one here drinks it, sells it or understands it. The place in the bottom right was our last meal in Melbourne, and serves only soups, tacos and tea - perfect!

On our last day in Melbourne, we did a tour of the Yarra Valley that included visits to 4 vineyards, a brewery, a dairy farm and a chocolate factory. Please take a minute to admire the scarf I made Rob for our anniversary (top right) and the beer keg-turned-stools I'd like to own one day (bottom left).

Until next time, Melbourne!

Australia Part II: Blue Mountains

Our second day in Sydney we ventured outside the city to Featherdale Wildlife Park and the Blue Mountains. We didn't want to worry about renting a car, and the train didn't go to the wildlife park, so we signed up for a tour with Dingo Travel. We got pretty lucky and turned out to be the only people on our tour, - bonus private tour! I cannot say enough good things about the tour we were on - Menashe was even better than the reviews promised.

Our first stop was Featherdale Wildlife Park, which is basically a petting zoo, only with crazy Australian animals instead of farm animals (which they also had, but which we didn't spend any time with).  Wallabys, Kangaroos and birds were roaming the property while koalas were hanging out in the trees. Our tour was perfectly timed - we were the first people into the Park, so got first dibs on the koala cuddling!

After the Park we headed to Scenic World to ride the gondola and walk around in the rare Blue Mountains rainforest. The Blue Mountains are named after the blue-tinted eucalyptus leaves that grow in this area. We were meant to go on a bush walk after a delicious Thai lunch, but it was raining so heavily that we opted to head home instead.  By then we'd seen and done so much that we were ready for a nap!

First!  So many animals.

With Rubin the Koala and his eucalyptus branch.

Koala selfies!

Feeding the kangaroos and wallabys.

I tried to feed the emu and it beaked me right in the palm!  Bottom row shows some of the other birds at the Park, including the Tawny Frogmouth on the left and the Little Penguins waving hello in the middle. I'm not sure exactly what one-eyed jack is, but he looks like he's recently retired from Azkaban.

Wombats and dingos and tasmanian devils, oh my!  Oh yeah, and a python...

At Scenic World.

After Scenic World, we went to an Aboriginal Hut, where we saw a traditional show. Somehow we both ended up on stage impersonating the animals we'd met earlier that day. I am attempting an emu while Robert is supposed to be a kangaroo (or a wallaby? I still don't know the difference).

Australia Part I: Sydney

June 2nd, was the Queen's Birthday, which is a national holiday in New Zealand, and we used the opportunity of having an extra day off to take a trip over to Australia. We spent roughly four days in Sydney and four days in Melbourne, with some day trips in between.

As people don't like slideshows, we'll be doing this in a couple of posts so as to not overwhelm with photos. So be sure to check back later this week for pictures of koalas, wallabies and more!

We couldn't go to Sydney without visiting the Opera House! While we didn't take a tour, we did some independent exploration and stuck around for a drink in the sun. The bottom left is the view from our hostel and the bottom middle is what the outside of the Opera House looks like up close.

We were there during the Vivid Festival which mean that among other things, a light show was projected on the Opera House. Our first night we took a ferry to Manly for dinner, and got these shots on the way out and back. We also spent one glorious evening sitting on our hostel's rooftop deck with a bottle of wine and watching the show!

True to form, we did a lot of eating and drinking. In the top left are two items I haven't had since moving to New Zealand - delice de bourgogne cheese and Mariage Freres French Breakfast tea! We found a store in Sydney that carries both, and I might have brought $100 worth of Mariage Freres back to Auckland. Also, one of those meat tastings is kangaroo.  Can't say I recommend it. Kind of tastes like a zoo smells.

We also did some nerd things - including admiring a chocolate Iron Throne, visiting a bunch of comic book stores and seeing Godzilla (what else?) at the world's biggest IMAX theatre. Not pictured - the yarn store we found.

Our final day in Syndey we took the bus out to Coogee Beach and took the 6km walk along the cliffs and beaches to Bondi Beach. Despite it being a Tuesday in winter, and the signs bragging about the ocean's deadly creatures, there were dozens of surfers out - and with good reason! We also passed one of the most beautiful cemeteries I've ever seen and one of the most unique swimming pools!

The Coogee-Bondi walk was my favorite part of Sydney - especially considering what was waiting for us at the Canadian bar  in Bondi! If you don't know what put that curd-eating grin on my face, you haven't been paying attention. Despite the warnings from the bar tender, we each got our own poutine, plus an order of fried pickles and some hot wings. And then we didn't eat anything for 24 hours.

Updates and Changes

We have been experiencing some technical difficulties lately - namely that our only computer crashed, making blogging pretty impossible.  But we are back online and ready to blog again!

During this hiatus I did a bit of thinking about the format of the blog, and I've decided to shake things up a bit. Visually, it should all look the same, but I'd like to get more organized and expand the content. Along with blogging about our adventures, I'd like to introduce some more regular features/columns, such as a DIY column, a favourite things column, and even a monthly feature from Rob.  I think I'll be doing this through the use of labels/tags, so we'll see how that works!

Up first will be posts about our recent trip to Australia - so be on the look out for those soon!

Scooter camping!

April 25th was ANZAC Day, which is the Kiwi equivalent of Memorial Day, so we had a three day weekend. This was also our friend Katie S's last weekend in New Zealand before moving back to the States, so we wanted to do something special. What we came up with was better than I imagined - easily one of the best weekends we've had so far.

On Friday morning, five of us took the ferry over to Waiheke Island and picked up some 50cc scooters for the day. Our first stop was our lodging for the night - a campsite in the regional park - so we could set up our tents and drop off our camping gear. We spent the rest of the day riding around the island, with a stop at Casita Miro for a tapas lunch, the grocery store for some supplies, and a couple of vineyards to pick up some bottles for our evening.

We could get used to separate scooters!

Back at the campsite, we ordered a pizza for delivery, popped open some bottles, and watched the sun set from our picnic table on the beach. The sun sets really early here now (before 6pm). At one point we were planning to go to bed, but then discovered it was only 7.15, so we held out for a few more hours.

Saturday we dropped off the scooters, met up with a couple more friends, and caught the shuttle to some of Katie S's favorite vineyards on the island. We caught the 6pm ferry home, and had all day Sunday to hang out and recover.

The ladies - from top left: outside Casita Miro, testing the limits of our scooter, at Batch Winery, at the campsite

The boys - keeping things safe

From top left: our scooter gang, at Obsidian winery, Pukeko!, scooter camping, Casita Miro

Enjoying our pizza on the beach.

Good food, good friends, good wine, and a bee trapped in a glass

Introducing Massimiliano!!

By now you have all probably heard about the newest addition to our household, but I cannot let this occasion pass without an official blog announcement.

So without further ado....We bought a Vespa!!!

Name: Massimiliano ("Massi") Powers
Make: 2006 LX150

I have wanted a Vespa longer than I have known Rob, and we have been working toward that goal for years. When we were trying to decide where we wanted to live after Chicago, one consideration was how scooter-friendly each location was. Once we arrived in Auckland, it became our main criteria for finding a neighborhood to live in.

Even before we left Chicago, we got motorcycle licenses in anticipation of purchasing a Vespa. Most places don't require a license for bikes with an engine smaller than 50ccs, but we knew we would want something big enough to carry both of us. It is also much easier to get a motorcycle license in Chicago than, well, just about anywhere - especially countries that have a publicly funded healthcare system. Our licenses won't be transferable until June 2015, but until then we can drive on our US licenses.

Massimiliano was the name of our Italian wedding planner. When I first emailed Massi, I told him I wanted to arrive at the wedding on a white Vespa, which he reserved months in advance - and he even requested photos from the dealer to ensure it was white. However, the week before our wedding was fashion week in Milan, and a model crashed my white Vespa! Instead of asking if another color would be okay (which it would have been because I am not crazy), Massi found a white Vespa a few towns away, and drove it 100km on the Italian motorway in the rain to get it to me before the wedding.

So far, being a Vespa owner has been everything I dreamed it would be. It's a little scary, but drivers here are very used to seeing them around, and respond accordingly. We always wear helmets and we never, ever drink and drive. We've driven in light sprinkles, but if the weather's too bad, we leave Massi at home.

Our current commute is Vespa-ing to the ferry and then taking the ferry to the city - not a bad way to start the day!  And I always take the long way home. Until this week I've been commuting alone (while Rob walks), but his helmet is finally here, so now we can start taking the long way home together.

Some pictures from our adventures thus far...

19 March 2014 - the day we bought Massi!  I saw the deal online and knew someone would snatch it up quickly, so Rob and I dashed over to the dealer during lunch. I didn't have my license with me, so Rob had to test drive Massi without me.

To the left: Our new commute - Vespa to ferry to city! To the right: our first tandem Vespa adventure.

The second best part about owning a Vespa (after riding it around all the time) is being able to buy all the Vespa merchandise I've wanted for years but couldn't buy without feeling like a poser.

Just around the riverbend!

Now that things have settled down at work, we wanted to jump right back into adventuring - so this past weekend Rob and I headed down to Raetihi with two friends, Katie S. and Kristen, for a 2-day, overnight canoe trip on the Whanganui River. We left straight from work Friday, stayed in a cabin Friday night, and got up before the sunrise Saturday morning to pack up our stuff and get on our way.

The company in charge supplied us with two canoes, six waterproof barrels, life vests and a map. They did a quick overview of some rowing strokes and told us how best to navigate rapids and then sent us on our way!

We began our journey at the Whakahoro campsite, and rowed down to spend the night in the John Coull hut.  It may not look very far on this map, but it was nearly 37.5km (23+ miles). It took us roughly 7 hours including our lunch break at Mangapapa.

On Sunday, we canoed a further 18.5km (11.5 miles) to Mangapurua, where we did a two-hour hike up to the Bridge of Nowhere and back.  From there, a jet boat picked us up and took us back to our car, and it was another five hours of driving to get back to Auckland and our beds. 

The hut warden told us that this was the slowest he'd seen the river in 40 years - lucky us! At points the wind was blowing so strong in the wrong direction that it felt like we were rowing against the current (I believe the nautical term for this is a headwind). This meant we had to row every last meter of those 56km - no lazily floating down the river as we expected.

It was one of the harder things I've ever done, but also one of the best. I think a small part of me is starting to understand why some people push themselves so hard physically - the sense of accomplishment can be a little heady. Plus, the complete and total immersion in nature is such a unique experience. Knowing the nearest call for help is a 7 hour canoe ride down river is a little terrifying, but it can also be both liberating and empowering.

View from the shuttle to Whakahoro

Starting out -  we're all smiles and Disney songs

From top left: spotting the first of many wild goats on the river bank; watching dozens of birds flitting around like falling leaves; a stunning reflection - at least that glassy water is good for something!

From top left: Lunch break, where Rob stabbed (and killed) a bee with his Swiss army knife; O Captain my Captain; finally making it to the hut around twilight

Our lovely hut - complete with "nice long-drop toilets"

Oh, misty eye of the mountain below...

Bridge to nowhere, hiking and jet boat!

What I love most about rivers is

You can't step in the same river twice

The water's always changing, always flowing

But people, I guess, can't live like that

We all must pay a price

To be safe, we lose our chance of ever knowing...