The Coles Notes

We arrived home safely last night after a long journey from Sydney. Somehow, our 25 hour trip back to Canada (3 different planes) happened with a noon departure and an 8 pm landing on the same day......crossing the International Date Line had something to do with that......and getting our body clocks totally out of sync. It was another great trip but after 4 months on the road it felt very good to be back in our comfortable home.

For those of you who missed some (or all) of the previous blog posts here is a quick summary that will allow you to be knowledgeable enough to converse with some of our other groupies (just like you used to do in high school by reading the Coles Notes before an exam).

Our favourite places in New Zealand (in touring order), were the Waitangi National Reserve (Maori culture), Waitomo (Glow Worms), Wanaka and the Rob Roy Glacier hike, along with the cruises of Milford and Doubtful Sound. We found the Kiwi's to be nice and friendly......perhaps the 40 million sheep have had an influence on the 5 million people that live there. There is an abundance of natural wonders on both islands and their excellent recycling programs will hopefully keep it that way.

In Australia the highlights included Phillip Island (Fairy Penguins), the McLaren Vale & Barossa Valley wine regions, the Great Barrier Reef (the colours, shapes, sizes and the diversity of the coral in the amazing world below the water), Carnarvon National Park (hiking and rock hopping across the river multiple times), Fraser Island (playing on the largest sand island in the world) and touring around Sydney (as beautiful as everyone says). The country kept us amused, and bewildered, with their political misadventures, State Parks calling themselves National Parks, their Toll Road payment requirements, Nimben & its own world,  and their Sky War on army ants. For some strange reason they treat the internet like it was just discovered yesterday and charge exorbitant WiFi rates (higher than 3rd world countries we have visited) but on the other hand their cities are very well designed with lots of parks that make good use of the ocean, rivers and lakefronts. They also provide free gas BBQ's everywhere you go which encourages more people to spend time outdoors either with friends or family. The warmer climate aids in this regard as well.

We would like to thank our friends and extended family members living Down Under who hosted us along the way and provided good advice on diversions they knew we would enjoy..........much appreciated. G'day mates.

Till we meet again