TravelStream™ news feed for member moppet77 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/moppet77 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 16 Aug 2008 09:50:17 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218886500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218886500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218886500/tpod.html Sat, 16 Aug 2008 09:50:17 -0400 Shannon's Tri-Continental Great Adventure, Leg Three: Shannon and Paul Visit the Land Down Under! (And Get Married, Too!)

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Chicago, Illinois, United States

And, just like that, our journey was over.  The trip home was a disaster and a nightmare involving, among other things: a crying child named Oliver who gave the infamous Giovanni a run for his money; United Airlines canceling our flight again (seriously, how does this airline stay in business??), resulting in an 8-hour lay-over instead of a 3-hour lay-over; arriving in Chicago at 1:00 a.m. to be picked up by a taxi with low tires, resulting in a trip to two different gas stations to find a working air pump (which reminds me, how come people have to pay for air? there's something wrong with that), not to mention the fact that our taxi driver is the only one  in Chicago who (a) drives the speed limit and (b) does not have an I-Pass, thereby requiring us to stop for each toll.  Eventually, however, we made it home.  Incidentally, I am sure this entry would be a lot more bitter, but our internet has been down all week, and the irritation has subsided. Anyway, although happily ensconced in our home and enjoying catching up with friends and families, we find ourselves missing Oz and New Zealand very much.  Seriously, we reminisce a lot, because we still can't sleep.  That 17 hour time difference really messes up your body. It was a fabulous adventure, full of good fun, good food and wonderful people.  Probably the only thing we would have changed is the schedule--w e wish we had spent a little less time in Australia and more time in New Zealand.   As for our favorite parts of the trip: SHANNON'S TOP 5 EXPERIENCES:           PAUL'S TOP 5 EXPERIENCES  (in no particular order)     1. Great Barrier Reef                                             1. Great Barrier Reef2. Bungee jumping/Zorbing (tie)                           2. Daintree Rainforest Tour3. Wedding                                                            3. Wedding 4. Australia Zoo                                                    4. Walking through Sydney5. Hobbit Tour                                                      5.  Driving to Cape ReingaSHANNON & PAUL'S 10 FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT OZ AND NEW ZEALAND 1.  Tim-Tams2.  Meat Pies3.  Screw-top wine bottles4.  Drive-in liquor stores with express lanes5.  The beer (Boag's rocks!)6.  The wine7.  The accents8.  Kangaroos and koalas9.  The people10. The breath-taking sceneryAnd there, in a nutshell, is our trip.  We loved you Australia and New Zealand, and hope that we may visit your shores again.  As for those of you who have followed along on our adventures around Australia and New Zealand and our adventure into marriage, we hope that you were entertained and not too bored.  Best wishes to you and yours!  Shannon & Paul
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218367920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218367920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218367920/tpod.html Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:52:04 -0400 Shannon's Tri-Continental Great Adventure, Leg Three: Shannon and Paul Visit the Land Down Under! (And Get Married, Too!)

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Waiheke Island, North Island, New Zealand

On Friday afternoon we arrived in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city on Friday evening after spending our day in Hobbiton.  We are staying in a trendy neighborhood known as Parnell.  Unfortunately for us, it's far too trendy for the four of us, who are a little travel worn and left our club clothes at home (okay, the truth is I don't have any--I am 30).  But, with some effort, we managed to track down a decent Irish pub called "The Bog" for a few drinks.  Although the drinking age is 18 in New Zealand, Connie and I were thrilled when we got carded anyway (hooray!).  We were even pleasantly surprised by the live band, which was pretty good.  They even did an emo version of Outkast's "Hey Ya" that was, amazingly, pretty good.  After shakin', shakin' like a polaroid picture, we headed back to rest up for the next day's activity: wine tasting on Waiheke Island.  For you wine connoisseurs out there, New Zealand is a great place to try wine.  Wineries can be found throughout the country.  We decided to check out the vineyards located on Waiheke Island, which is a small island off of the coast of Auckland.  Unfortunately, we waited to Saturday morning to book the wine tour, and it turned out to be booked.  Luckily, we managed to track down another one at the last minute.  It all worked out well, because we ended up on a private tour with just the four of us, instead of being on the large tour we had originally planned on going on.   Our tour guide was April, who was in her 70s and ran the company with her husband.  They decided to retire to the island about 25 years ago.  She was very sweet, and set up a great tour for us.The first stop on our tour was the Mudbrick Vineyard, which was a spectacularly beautiful vineyard in the hills of the island overlooking Auckland and the water.  It was not surprising to learn that there are many weddings on the grounds--as well as a two-year waiting list for a wedding (not to mention the $15,000-30,000 cost of renting the place out).  Our wine guide was Bob, an extremely knowledgeable and well-traveled Englishman, who was great.   Not only did he explain the difference between a syrah and a shiraz  (the spelling), he also explained which driver has the right-of-way on a round-about.  Even more surprisingly, he: (1) got Paul to confess the real reason he does not like red wine (a fraternity hazing incident involving Mad Dog 20/20); and (2) got Paul to drink red wine and even admit that it wasn't bad.  Despite knowing Paul for 5 years (not to mention marrying him), I had never heard the Mad Dog story, nor had I ever been successful in my attempts to get him to drink red wine.  It was very enlightening.  Not to mention intoxicating, since we left having sampled 8 eight wines.The second stop on our tour was the Kennedy Point Vineyard which was a great boutique organic vineyard.  It was also a bit of a throwback vineyard--not only do they pick and prune the grapes by hand, they actually still stomp on the grapes, like in that episode of I Love Lucy. Our wine guide was an Irish woman named Maire ("Maura"), who was very sweet and knowledgeable.  She entertained us with stories about the after-picking party and the drunk cows (they feed the cows the parts of the grapes they do not use--apparently the cows start to sing when they are tipsy).  The vineyard also made olive oil and avocado oil, which were really good.  We were particularly fond of the avocado oil, which we had never seen before.  We finished up he tasting at Cable Bay Vineyard, which was beautiful, but not as friendly as the other two vineyards.  We then hopped on the ferry back to Auckland, where Jeremy and Connie immediately passed out after the day of drinking wine.  Connie was so soundly asleep that she even slept through the side of the ferry ramming into the side of the wharf as it was pulling into the Devonport wharf, which we all thought was hysterical.  After arriving back in Auckland, we set out for the All Blacks store so that Paul could collect the other sock to complete the pair started in Taupo.  Unfortunately, they were out of the black and white striped New Zealand socks, but they gave us a pair of navy blue and white rugby socks instead.  Oh, well.   C'est la vie, as they say.  We finished the evening--our last night in New Zealand--with a pleasant dinner with Jeremy and Connie.  It's so hard to believe our journey has come to an end! 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218198000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218198000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218198000/tpod.html Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:43:07 -0400 Shannon's Tri-Continental Great Adventure, Leg Three: Shannon and Paul Visit the Land Down Under! (And Get Married, Too!)

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Matamata, North Island, New Zealand

After zorbing, the second reason I wanted to come to New Zealand was because of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Until yesterday, however, we had not seen any of the places where the movie had been filmed.  The four of us set out from Rotorua and headed towards Auckland.  On the way, we decided to pass through Matamata, which was where the scenes from the Shire had been filmed.  Upon our arrival in Matamata (which had a sign saying "Welcome to Hobbiton"), Connie and I stopped by the tourism office.  There we learned that there was a tour to the privately-owned farm that had been the setting for Hobbiton.  Connie and I badly wanted to go on the tour, but Jeremy and Paul were not particularly interested.  After begging and pleading, however, Jeremy and Paul eventually relented and signed us up (although Paul asked the cashier if he could use a fake name so that no one would know he had gone on the tour).  Half an hour later our bus arrived, and we headed to Hobbiton.  Along the way, we learned about how it came to be the set for Hobbiton.  It is a large farm (1250 acres) owned by 4 brothers.  Apparently, Peter Jackson discovered it while flying over looking for sites.  One day the brothers were watching rugby on tv when a man knocked on the door and said he was from New Line cinema and wanted to discuss something with them.  They asked if he could come back later, because they were watching the rugby game.  Nonplussed, the exec said they wanted to use the property for a movie, and the brother who answered the door told him to go ahead, but to make sure he closed all of the fences so the sheep didn't get out.  The exec left but showed up a few weeks later to discuss the terms of the contract.   The farm itself is spectacular.  It was green and hilly, and spread out as far as the eyes could see.  Plus, it had beautiful trees, including the one that would become the party tree in the scenes of Bilbo Baggins' 111th birthday--a tree now referred to as the "money tree" because it was that tree that made Peter Jackson want to use their farm.  The tour was a lot of fun, and even Paul and Jeremy agreed it was well worth the money.  Plus, we learned that it was the only area in the country that still had part of the set--apparently New Line Cinema tore down all of the rest of the sets.  I got teased quite a bit on the tour because, having watched the movies fairly recently, I knew quite a bit.  For example, when our guide Benjy (who looked a bit like a hobbit himself) asked us what Gandalf said to Frodo at the beginning of the movie when Frodo said "you're late!", I was the only one who knew, to Paul and Connie's embarrassment.   I can't help it if I have a good memory.   The tour was also fascinating because it made you appreciate the imagination and creative genius Peter Jackson and his crew had to create the farm into the Hobbiton of the movie.  After the tour, we got to watch a short presentation on sheep shearing.  The sheep shearer was one of the Alexander brothers who owns the farm, and he was pleasantly down to earth.  The farm is still an active sheep farm, and we saw several of the brothers on the farm working with the sheep.  I am willing to bet that the money they made from leasing the property to the movie execs for 18 months and from the tours is probably enough to keep quite comfortable for the rest of their lives.  Yet, they are still running a sheep farm.  It's just another way that New Zealanders are different from most Americans.  The sheep shearing presentation was interesting, and I was relieved to see that the process did not hurt the sheep.  We also liked having the opportunity to feed a couple of baby lambs, who were adorable.  It almost made me want to have a farm.  Except for the smell.  After leaving Hobbiton, we headed to Auckland for our last two nights in New Zealand.  It's hard to believe it's over already; it feels like we just got here.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218196740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218196740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218196740/tpod.html Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:12:02 -0400 Shannon's Tri-Continental Great Adventure, Leg Three: Shannon and Paul Visit the Land Down Under! (And Get Married, Too!)

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Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand

After a short drive from Taupo, Paul and I arrived in Rotorua on Tuesday evening.  Tired from a morning of hiking in Taupo, we decided to just hang out for the evening.  That evening, we received a text message from our friend Connie and Jeremy's cell phones.  It was not, however, Connie and Jeremy texting us.  Turns out that someone found their cell phone on a beach in Hawkes Bay.  After texting back and forth, the person who found the phone kindly indicated that they would drop it off at the local information site.  I was amazed at how nice the person was to go to all of that trouble.  I emailed Connie to let her know, and she emailed me that Jeremy had lost the phone while doing a handstand on the beach (huh?).   Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, as the person dropped off the phone just after Connie and Jeremy left the information site where they had been told that the phone had not been turned in.  Checking my messages later that day, I had two messages from the information site asking me to call them back.  When I did, I explained that Connie and Jeremy were no longer in the area but, in fact, were headed to meet up with us in Rotorua.  To my complete and utter amazement, the woman insisted on overnighting the phone to us at our hotel at their cost, and even went to the trouble of looking up the address, since I didn't know it.  I was flabbergasted.  I just can't imagine that happening in the States.  It's like being in an alternate universe that is somewhat similar, but not quite. Anyway, back to Rotorua.  I love Rotorua.  Except for the smell of sulfur in the air.  Mostly you don't notice it, but when you do, you think geez!  How can people live with the smell?  Then I remember that I grew up in Hammond, Indiana, which reeks of something foul and horrible.  Whenever I visit Hammond I wonder how I never noticed the awful smell growing up.  Of course, at least the sulfur smell in Rotorua is caused by natural causes, and not a myriad of factories and refineries like Hammond. We spent our first day in Rotorua exploring Maori culture.  First up, we headed to the Maori cultural center known as Te Puia, where we learned about Maori culture, observed Maori carving and weaving techniques, and saw a performance of Maori traditional songs and dances.  Our guide was great too, and explained the Maori understanding of how the earth and life came to be ("the scientists have their explanation, and we have ours.  Ours has been around longer.") and even made a joke about Bill Clinton's infidelity that everyone laughed at and understood (sometimes it's really embarrassing to be an American).  All-in-all, it was a fascinating experience, although part of me feels like performing in front of tourists (not all of whom are very respectful) somehow cheapens the culture.  But, on the other hand, it's a way of preserving and sharing their culture, which is a positive thing.   Because I was a bit conflicted, I did not take many photos, but take my word that you should definitely check it out if you are ever in the area.  That evening (after we met up with Connie and Jeremy briefly), Paul and I headed off for a hangi at a local Maori village.  A hangi is a Maori dinner party of sorts.  Apparently, it's like a luau in many ways, because they cook the food in the earth.  The hangi was hosted by a Maori family known as the Mitai.  We learned a bit about the family, which had lived in Rotorua for thousands of years, were shown more Maori dances and songs, ate a fabulous meal, and went on a bush walk.  Our honorary chief for the evening was a kid from South Carolina, who actually did a great job, although I was a bit concerned he would embarrass me as an American. He was respectful and handled the responsibility with grace and dignity; indeed, the only thing I can hold against him is that when asked what South Carolina was known for, he said golf instead of Stephen Colbert.  It was another great experience.  However, the best part of our trip was still to come.I won't lie.  One of the main reasons I wanted to come to New Zealand was to go zorbing.  Zorbing, you ask?  What the heck is that?  A zorb (noun) is a giant plastic ball.  To zorb (verb), you climb into the giant plastic ball and then roll down a hill.  Now, you may ask yourself, why on earth would anyone want to do this?  As the 17 year-old son from the British family we met while in the Daintree rain forest put it: "Why not?"  I had read about it years ago and always wanted to try it.  So had Connie, which is one of the reasons we had planned on meeting up in Rotorua.  Neither Paul nor Jeremy had even the slightest desire to do it, so we wanted to be able to go together.  Bright and early Thursday morning, we headed out to the zorbing site.  Determined not to waste the experience, Connie and I each signed up for three zorb rides.  For the first one, we were strapped in and rolled, ass-over-teakettle (pardon my bad language) straight down the hill.  The second time, we were not strapped in, but they filled the ball partially with water and then rolled us down a course that zig-zagged.  Finally, both Connie and I climbed into the same ball that was partially filled with water and were rolled straight down a hill.  It was, in a word, hilarious.  It actually wasn't scary at all--it was pretty ridiculous.  Surprisingly, the scariest ride down was the one when you were strapped in, because then you really did flip over; in the wet rides, you just kept sliding to the bottom of the ball and never flipped over.  The only bad part was that we had not brought an extra set of clothing and immediately froze after they dumped us unceremoniously out of the ball.  That, and the fact that I fell down while they were taking pictures.  After you climb out of the ball, the photographer tells you to do a crazy jump which I did, but I ended up on the ground afterward.  I blamed my toes, which were so cold that I couldn't feel them.  It was one of the funnest things I have ever done and highly recommend it to everyone.  Although you really have to wonder who on earth comes up with such things.After drying off and having some lunch, we went off for the next activity of the day:  the luge.  Paul wanted to do this, and the rest of us were thinking it looked lame, but it turned out to be a lot of fun.  First, we rode a gondola up a hill.  Then, you put on helmets and climb on these sled-like things with handlebars.  Finally, you go tearing down a 2 kilometer course that winds itself around a mountain.  It was awesome.  We did it about 3 times, with Paul and Connie developing a highly competitive rivalry as the two best drivers.  You actually get going pretty fast and, but for dodging the slow teen-age girls and the parents with small children, it probably would have been even more fun.Rotorua has been a great stop on our trip (other than an incident involving me singing the back of my ponytail on a candle).  From Rotorua, we begin our trek back towards Auckland so that we can fly back on Sunday.  To our great relief, we were able to ditch our car and are now traveling with Connie and Jeremy.  Incidentally, apparently they are having lots of fights involving driving on the left, so it appears to be a common problem.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218025140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218025140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1218025140/tpod.html Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:11:29 -0400 Shannon's Tri-Continental Great Adventure, Leg Three: Shannon and Paul Visit the Land Down Under! (And Get Married, Too!)

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Taupo, North Island, New Zealand

After a week in New Zealand, Paul and I have come to the same conclusion--we like New Zealand a lot better than Australia.  This may come as a surprise to many Americans who, like ourselves, thought of Australia and New Zealand as the same country.  As much as we liked Australia, we have come to realize that it is very different from New Zealand.  It's hard to put your finger on what the difference is.  I think for me, it's partly the landscape (Australia is the driest continent, while New Zealand is very lush and green) and partly the people (who are even nicer than in Australia).  As a person of the brown persuasion, I also find New Zealand a lot more diverse than Australia and feel a bit more comfortable here.  We also respect that the Maori have a very strong presence in New Zealand in a way the Aborigines of Australia did not.  While the Maori also suffered as a result of colonization, they fought back a lot harder and earned a grudging respect that the Aborigines and Native Americans did not.   That respect manifests itself in a way that is very different from the apologies to the Aborigines that ran rampant around Australia.  But, anyway, back to our trip.  After we left the caves, we headed to Taupo.  Taupo sits on a lake, and is a hotbed of geothermal activity.  As such, it is well-known for its thermal and mineral pools.  We arrived late our first night, so we pretty much just crashed.  Our motel room was freezing, but I learned the joys of an electric blanket and now want one (hint, hint).  The next day,  we headed out to do a bit of shopping.  My first stop was the Champions Store for some All Blacks team gear.  The All Blacks are New Zealand's national rugby team--the name is apparently in reference to the fact that their uniforms back in the day were all black.  As we were checking out, the store owner asked us where we were from and then produced a black and white photo of a rugby team and said we would get a free prize if we could identify the person who was circled.  Assuming it was someone from Australia, I said I didn't know.  But Paul guessed George Bush, and it turned out to be him.  You could have knocked me over with a feather!  Never in a million years would I have guessed that he would actually get dirty and physical himself--normally he just sends someone else's kids to do his dirty work.  But I will try harder to eave my political view out of my travel blog.  Paul's prize?  One black and white striped New Zealand sock.  "What good is one sock going to do us?"  I asked.  The owner told us that we would need to visit one of the other Champions stores in New Zealand to get the other one.  I had to respect the marketing savvy--it was an ingenious way to get us to another store, thereby increasing the likelihood that we would buy some more over-priced athletic gear.My second stop that day was the liquor store for some wine.  There, I discovered this great brand of wine called "punchline."  I was confused because I picked up a bottle, and the front of it said "...shi tzu" and had a picture of a little dog in a cage.  When I turned it over, it said "a man went to the zoo and all it had was a dog in a cage.  It was a..."  And then I got it--the zoo with only a dog in a cage was a shi tzu.  You have to say it out loud to really get it.  There were a few more, including one that went something along the lines of a man walks into a psychiatrist's office wearing nothing but saran wrap, and the psychiatrist says "I can see you're nuts."  Hee-hee.  After running our errands, we went to visit the hot mineral pools.  Well, Paul visited the pools while I went to get a massage.  It was a great massage, and my masseuse was fascinating.  She was Maori and still practices the Maori traditions.  She was telling me about her tribe and where there canoe landed (the history is that 7 canoes full of people arrived in New Zealand many years ago and separated into different tribes).  She would refer to the volcano and the moon as "He."  We discussed a number of things ranging from the difference between Australia and New Zealand, the reason New Zealanders are so sporty ("there's nothing else to do"), and recipes for pumpkin soup (her secret ingredient is coconut milk).  She was fascinating.  And a great masseuse, too.  The next day, Paul and I visited the Huka Falls and Crater of the Moon.  Huka Falls are where the Waikato River (which is normally more than 100 meters wide) forces itself through a chute of rock that is only 15 feet wide.  It was pretty cool, although Paul made us do the 2-hour hike instead of drive and, as usually happens when Paul makes us take long hikes, it started to rain on us.  We then stopped by the Craters of the Moon, which is where there are a bunch of craters dispensing huge puffs of steam into the air as a result of the geothermic activity.  It was interesting to see (and the steam was great for my skin), although it does make you very cognizant of everything going on underground and a bit nervous about being in an area of active volcanoes.  All right, that's it for now--our next stop is Rotorua, where we will meet up with Connie and Jeremy again.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217854080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217854080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217854080/tpod.html Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:29:52 -0400 Shannon's Tri-Continental Great Adventure, Leg Three: Shannon and Paul Visit the Land Down Under! (And Get Married, Too!)

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Waitomo Caves, North Island, New Zealand

After waking up to the cold, gray and depressing morning outside of Cape Reigna, Paul and I headed south back towards Auckland on Saturday.  Given the dismal weather, we decided it would just be a day of driving to get us back towards Auckland.  It was a harrowing drive, as neither Paul nor I are very comfortable being the passenger in the car.  We had our first domestic squabble of our marriage when he kept yelping and jumping while I drove and, at one particularly low moment, actually tried to grab the wheel.  We can't figure out why, but we decided that there is some sort of optical illusion on the passenger side that makes it look like the person driving is about to crash into the left side of the road, because if you are looking outside of the windshield on the left, the car appears to be much further left than it actually is.  At any rate, we will be glad to get rid of the car soon, because it's not doing our marriage many favors.Our marathon drive day continued with the highlight of the trip being a brief stop at McDonald's, where Paul tried the McDonald's Kiwiburger, which had (get this) egg and beet root.  It sounds disgusting, but it was actually pretty good.  I have to say that I think the hamburgers taste better at the New Zealand McDonald's than the Aussie McDonald's.  We finished up our drive in the town of Hamilton, where we hid from the rain and watched the Australian national rugby team play the New Zealand rugby team, which all of the radio stations had been talking about all day long.  Actually, it would be more accurate to say that we watched the New Zealand rugby team wipe the floor with the Australian team.  We still don't understand the rules of rugby, and found Aussie rules football a bit easier to pick up, but rugby is a pretty brutal sport and the guys were enormous.  I was particularly fond of their shorts.  The next morning we headed to Waitomo Caves to see the bioluminescent glow worms.  I also wanted to go blackwater rafting through the caves, but it turned out that the caves were flooded from all of the rain, so the only ones we could go into where the Ruakuri Caves.  While waiting for the tour to start, we sat on a bench while I ate some gummy worms.  I had dropped one on the ground, and set it on the bench next to me until I could find a garbage can.  There were a lot of curious looking little birds around us, but I just ignored them.  At one point, I pulled out a map and turned to Paul to discuss the route.  The next minute, we realized that one of the tiny little birds--who had waited for me to turn away--had run off with the gummy worm.  It was pretty funny watching this tiny little bird flying around with this gummy worm as all of the other birds followed it.  I actually felt bad and hoped it didn't get sick, but it really wasn't my fault.  It also brought back memories of when I went to the Grand Canyon when I was a kid and a squirrel ran off with my baggie full of trail mix.  I guess even small animals can tell that I am a sucker.On the trip to the caves, I learned that yet another thing Paul is afraid of is the dark.  Seriously, even though it was almost pitch black, I could tell Paul was terrified.  He was hanging onto the railing and hugging the wall for dear life.  But, once again, he impressed me with persevering on despite everything.  The caves, which were about 210 feet below ground, were beautiful, and the glow worms were pretty cool.  Unfortunately, we could not take pictures of the glow worms, so you will just have to take our word for it.  It was also fascinating to learn that, in order to set up the handrails and walkways, the construction workers had to put on wetsuits, strap their tools on their backs, and swim through the underground river to get to the construction sites.  I wonder how much they got paid for that job?  After making our way back to daylight  we stopped by the Kiwi House to get our first look at a kiwi bird.  Kiwis are flightless birds that are about the size of a large cat and are heavily endangered.  They are only native to New Zealand, but have been wiped out by introduced species such as cats, dogs and ferrets.  They are very long-lived.  The ones we saw at the Kiwi House were about 20 years old, and were still relatively young for the species.  Kiwis are also nocturnal, so they are hard to spot in nature.  They are very odd looking creatures, with fur-like feathers and whiskers, but were cute.  We happened to be there around feeding time, and one of the birds was so happy that she kept running around in circles excitedly like a dog or a cat.  We were not allowed to take pictures of them either, unfortunately.While at the Kiwi House, we also took a look at the tuataras, which are lizard-like reptiles.  Apparently, they are considered a "living fossil" because they are the last of a line of reptiles that has been around for more than 200 million years.  They just look like lizards to me, however, and how they were able to determine that the were not lizards is beyond me.  After leaving the Kiwi House (with my new kiwi stuffed animal named Konnie in tow), we headed north.  Next stop: Taupo, a volcanic area known for its geysers and hot springs. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217659560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217659560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217659560/tpod.html Sat, 02 Aug 2008 03:11:46 -0400 Shannon's Tri-Continental Great Adventure, Leg Three: Shannon and Paul Visit the Land Down Under! (And Get Married, Too!)

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Cape Reigna, North Island, New Zealand

The weather held out for us on our second day of New Zealand, and we headed north towards Cape Reinga--the most northern part of New Zealand.  On the way, we stopped by the Waitangi National Trust.  In 1840, the Maori (the people living in New Zealand when it was "discovered" by European explorers) and Great Britain signed a treaty placing New Zealand under the protection of the Queen and Great Britain.  It is the most important document in New Zealand, and is still the source of Maori rights.  The Trust site is where hundreds of Maori landed to meet with the British governor and one another to debate the future of the Maori and New Zealand.  Apparently, signing the treaty was sort of the least-worst scenario for the Maori--thousands of foreigners were landing and they knew that things were changing for them, and it seemed the only decision that would preserve their rights to the land.  Unfortunately, that's not the way it turned out; then again, it never is.  At any rate, our visit to the site was a fascinating lesson on the history of the country.  After our stop, we headed to Cape Reinga.  On the way, I decided that New Zealand is the most beautiful country I have ever laid eyes on.  At the risk of sounding silly, I have to say that the land reminds me of the Nintendo game Super Mario Bros.  Seriously--the blue, blue of the sky, the fluffy white clouds, and the green, green of the hills look unnatural.  Every step of the drive made us feel like we are in a postcard (at least, those moments when we weren't cringing at one another's left-side-of-the-street driving abilities).  On the way to Cape Reinga, we noticed we were running a bit low on gas, but we passed a sign indicating that there was a gas station in Waitiki Landing, which was right next to Cape Reinga, so we didn't worry about it.  An hour later when we arrived at Waitiki Landing--which claimed to have the last gas station in the Northland--we learned that the gas station was, in fact, out of gas.  The liars.  Worse, we learned that, although we were only 20 kilometers (13 miles) from Cape Reinga, the next gas station was 60 kilometers the opposite direction.  Very irritated (talk about false advertising!!!), we turned around and headed back the other direction.  We were glad we did so, because our fuel light went on, and we realized that we would never have made it if we had continued on to Cape Reinga. After stopping for gas (where we learned to our chagrin that the Waitiki Landing gas station regularly ran out of fuel), we debated the merits of driving back to Cape Reinga that day.  Because the weather was holding out despite all of the forecasts telling us to expect rain--apparently, New Zealand has had the most rain in its history since 1914--we decided to go ahead and head to Cape Reinga again.  Once we arrived, we were glad that we had persevered.  Cape Reinga is where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea, and was spectacular.  Not only was it fascinating to watch the relatively placid but strong Pacific Ocean meet the volatile Tasman Sea, but the views were stunning.  Standing on the cliff overlooking the cape, we understood why the Cape is one of the most sacred places for the Maori, who believe that it is a place where the spirits of the deceased pass through on their way to the underworld. We were even happier that we made the journey to Cape Reinga when we did because we woke up on Saturday to gray, overcast skies on Saturday.   Now, we head south towards the Waitomo Caves, where we are told that we will see glowworms.  Who knew glowworms existed other than as a cartoon?  Incidentally, Paul does not remember the Glo Worms cartoon because, as I like to remind him, he is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy older than me.    
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217593500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217593500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217593500/tpod.html Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:59:24 -0400 Shannon's Tri-Continental Great Adventure, Leg Three: Shannon and Paul Visit the Land Down Under! (And Get Married, Too!)

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Paihia, North Island, New Zealand

It was with great sadness that we left Cairns' lovely weather and Jeremy and Connie behind on Tuesday and headed back to Melbourne.  Cold, cold Melbourne.  Actually, Melbourne wasn't too cold, but it was definitely not the idyllic weather we had had in Cairns.  The weather was still cold for the country, though, and we watched on the news as Sydneysiders of all ages gleefully played in the snow; apparently, it was Sydney's first snowfall since 1836.  No wonder the Aussies are so concerned about climate change.  As for Connie and Jeremy, our plan is to connect with them again at the end of our New Zealand trip, so look for them to make another appearance soon.Anyway, after spending a night in Melbourne, Paul and I headed to the Melbourne airport to catch our flight to Auckland.  The whole trip I had been begging Paul to buy me a stuffed koala, and he finally relented in the Melbourne airport.  He is very soft and cuddly, and I have named him "Parley" after Paul.  To irritate Paul, I occasionally call him "Polly," but once I accidentally called him Parley instead, so it's been a running joke.  Anyway, Paul was a bit embarrassed as I clutched and cuddled him all through the plane ride (Parley makes a good pillow) and through customs.  The funniest part was when he was put through the biosecurity x-ray machine--when he came out, the x-ray guy cracked up.  He laughed even harder when he realized that Parley belonged to 30 year-old me and not a six year-old.  In any event, we arrived in cold and rainy Auckland, and were depressed to find out that the forecast was endless days of rain and overcast days.  However, we were thrilled when we set out the next day and it was sunny on our drive to Paihia in the northern part of the North Island.  We were even more thrilled at our luck when we stopped for breakfast and met a woman from South Africa who said it was the first sunny day they had in weeks.  The drive itself was beautiful.  New Zealand (which we learned is the most remote country in the world at 2000 kilometers from Australia, its nearest neighbor) is very green and hilly, and everywhere you look there is coastline,  sheep and cows.  Eventually, we made it to Paihia, where the clouds and the rain caught up with us.  Paihia is a small but scenic beach front town.  In the summer, it is a great place to go to the beach and swim with dolphins, but we decided to pass on that because the water is likely freezing.  In Paihia, I met my new friend Montekeith beer--a New Zealand ale that I am very fond of.  We stayed at a lovely beachfront motel and went to sleep and woke up to the sound of the waves.  Luckily for us, despite the bad forecast, we again woke up to a beautiful sunny day in Paihia.  We hope the weather will hold out as we continue to make our way north to Cape Reinga at the tip of the northern island. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217250180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217250180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217250180/tpod.html Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:29:04 -0400 Shannon's Tri-Continental Great Adventure, Leg Three: Shannon and Paul Visit the Land Down Under! (And Get Married, Too!)

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Cairns, Australia

The day after the wedding, we all slept in and then chipped in to cook a huge breakfast (here in Australia, they call it a "big brekkie").  Then, after whiling away the afternoon, we headed to the big follow-up after the wedding: bungy jumping.  Yes, that's right--bungy jumping.  Connie had already done it before and Paul said no way, leaving me and Jeremy to face our fears.  We had talked about doing it before, so while I went out to pick up a few things for the apartment, I swung by the tour offer and signed us up.  I thought Jeremy would be excited when I told him when I got back, but he didn't seem to be all that excited.  I later learned from Connie that Jeremy is a talker rather than a doer, and but for my having signed him up, he would never have actually done it.  Oh, well.  Anyway, we arrived at the AJ Hackett bungy site in the afternoon, and faced the 164 foot tower that we would be leaping from above a pool of water.  There's a bar there, so people actually go sit and drink and watch people jump off.  It's a pretty stunning view of Cairns from the top.  By far, the worst part of the day was the wait.  I think we had to wait about 2 hours before we actually jumped.  It was like getting married--you're really nervous, but once you commit you just want to get it over with.  It was also like getting married in that it seems like a great idea when it's far away, but when you confronted with the reality of your decision you think "what the hell was I thinking?"  Eventually, though, the time came and we had to jump.  Jeremy went first, and I laughed while the two bungy workers debated with Jeremy about which was scarier--jumping or marriage.  The guys were like, "there's no question mate--it's getting married."  Jeremy begged to differ, however.When my turn came,  I was all ready to go, but when you tip-toe out to the edge of the platform it looks so far down!  The guy had to tell me twice to let go of the rail, because I was holding on for dear life.  Luckily, they actually go "5, 4, 3, 2, 1 jump!"  Because, honestly, if I had waited until I was good and ready, I would have had to wait a few hours to work up the courage.  But when he said jump, I felt like I had to jump so I did.  And, as I was going down, jumping off that platform seemed like the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life.  Ever.  And I have done plenty of stupid things.  I hated the free-falling part.  When the cord bounced, I was happy because it ended the free-fall part.  But then I got concerned that my t-shirt (I had worn my Wonder Woman Girl Power t-shirt for good luck) was going over my head, so that took my mind off the  bouncing.  And, at last, it was over.  And it was awesome.  Jeremy and I were psyched and pumped.  We were also totally sure that we would never, ever do it again--just another way bungy jumping is like marriage.The next day, we got up early and headed for what was destined to be the most awesome part of the trip (yes, that's right, it even beat getting married)--the trip to the Great Barrier Reef.  It was another beautiful, clear day--yeah!  Finally good weather!   On the way, we saw sharks in the water, including a mom with her babies.  They weren't dangerous sharks--they don't hurt people.  The tour we took actually docks on a pontoon at the reef, which was nice, so we could get off the boat, have lunch, go snorkeling, go scuba diving, and go to the underwater observatory to see the reef and the fish.  Jeremy and Connie are certified divers, so they hurried off right away to dive, and Paul and I went underneath to watch them go underwater.  It was fun seeing them underwater, and we got some cool pictures.  Paul and I had lunch before he was supposed to go to his introductory level dive, and I was set to go on my guided snorkeling tour.  Paul and I eventually separated and I tried snorkeling.  It took a little while for me to get used to the mask and breathing, but once I did, it was awesome.  Our guide was a marine biologist and talked about the coral and the fish and mussels--the reef was stunning--it was an entire metropolis down there.  Beautiful fish of all different colors, shapes and sizes, and the reef was so complicated.  There were parts of the reef that had been there for hundreds of years.  It was just indescribable.  I had a great time, and was so glad I bit the bullet, faced my fears of water, and did it.  Unfortunately, Paul had trouble getting comfortable with the scuba tanks, so he decided not to go diving, and ended up snorkeling on his own.  But, points for trying.  On the way back to Cairns, we were rewarded with seeing a few humpback whales from the boat.  They were spectacular.  I never get tired of watching them in the water.  We arrived back on land and strolled through town.  Although it was a Sunday evening, the downtown area was full of people barbecuing.  There were people out and about, and even a reggae band playing.  We picked up some fresh seafood for dinner and all of us pitched in a hand to prepare one of the best meals we have had in Australia.  Who can ask for more than a great day at the Great Barrier Reef, capped off with a great meal with good friends?   Since there is nothing that can top the last few days we have had, we have decided to spend the rest of our trip in Cairns (we leave tomorrow) basking in the sun and lounging around.  Next up?  Cold, rainy New Zealand.  Woohoo!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217247240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217247240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/moppet77/3/1217247240/tpod.html Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:46:43 -0400 Shannon's Tri-Continental Great Adventure, Leg Three: Shannon and Paul Visit the Land Down Under! (And Get Married, Too!)

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Cairns, Queensland, Australia

After rainy Port Douglas, we headed to Cairns hoping for better weather in time for the wedding and looking forward to meeting up with Connie and Jeremy.  Connie and I worked together at the ACLU a few years ago, and we became fast friends.  Unfortunately, she deserted me to move to Los Angeles, and I have not been able to see much of her the past few years.  She and Jeremy got married in Vegas last September and then had a ceremony in February.  They followed all of that up with a six-month honeymoon around the world.  Lucky for me, the Australia part of the trip overlapped with ours, so they joined us as wedding guests.  By the time we saw them, Paul and I were a bit sick of each other and ecstatic to have some other people to talk to.  Turns out, after five months of honeymooning, Connie and Jeremy were just as ecstatic to see us.  Paul and Jeremy soon became fast friends and Connie and I enjoyed our girl time.  We met up on Wednesday afternoon and headed out for drinks on The Esplanade in Cairns, which we followed up with a dinner of crocodile and kangaroo meat.  I refused to eat the kangaroo (that was Paul).  The crocodile was okay--it reminded me of country-fried steak, actually.  I just felt a little bad about eating it, for some reason.  The weather was still a bit dodgy on Wednesday, but we hoped it would clear on Thursday.  Thursday turned out to be a beautiful day--sunny and warm without any rain clouds.  We all checked into the resort we were staying in for the rest of our stay in Cairns and immediately headed to the pools for some sun.  The resort was amazing and we loved our 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment, which came with an open air dining room, a beautiful kitchen with a dishwasher and a washer and dryer.  Paul said it was nicer and bigger than his house.  While Paul and I spent the rest of the day on wedding errands (we had to meet with our coordinator and the officiant), Connie and Jeremy went out for some exercise.  We all cooked dinner that night and drank leisurely into the night as Paul and I enjoyed our last few days as single people.   The next morning was also gorgeous, and Connie and I were out of the door early to get primped at the salon on the resort grounds. Meanwhile, the boys lounged at the pool and ran the few errands we had tasked to them. Connie was a wonderful person to have on hand, as she helpfully plied me with plenty of mimosas, made me lunch, and helped with all of the other important aspects of the wedding. Eventually the time came, and with several minor hair mishaps (it was so hot and humid that the curls fell out of my hair) she and I made our way to Trinity Beach for the wedding.  The only sort of weird part was when we were waiting in the car for our driver.  While I was pretty relaxed, he was all apologetic about being late and having spilled coffee on his jacket--he started to make me nervous with all of his apologies.  And then he didn't leave and when I asked why, he said something about instructions from our coordinator.  Finally, I had to call Paul and get everything straightened out, so we headed out.Upon our arrival, we realized that it was extraordinarily windy, and we had to gerry-rig my hair to keep it out of my face.  Luckily our coordinator Alera came prepared with a fanny pack full of bobby pins and hairspray.  It was so windy that we actually couldn't really hear what the officiant was saying through most of the ceremony and had to keep having her repeat stuff.  The ceremony was quick but sweet.  Paul had been so nervous about writing his own vows because he feels he is not very articulate, but he did a beautiful job.  The only funny part was that he made a comment about the game show Jeopardy (we always compete to see who can answer more questions) and then turned to the officiant to explain the game to her.  Anyway, his vows were really touching and I actually lost my train of thought and forgot what I meant to say (I hadn't written them down, but had instead counted on my legal training to bs my way through them--as it has in on more than one occasion, my training failed me), so his vows were actually way more articulate than mine.  After the ceremony, we did the official stuff like sign the papers as we were serenaded by our guitarist Russell Harris, who was a lot of fun and had a great repertoire.  He also looked pretty rock-star in his red and orange shirt and his Oakley sunglasses.  It was nice to have a little music to sing and dance to as we were posing for our pictures (the singing and dancing were mostly me and Connie while Paul and Jeremy stood around looking embarrassed on our behalf--something we find them doing often).  All-in-all, it was the fun and light-hearted affair we had hoped for.  There were lots of laughs and only a few tears (of joy, of course).After we finished the pictures, we went over to Far Horizons in Palm Cove for drinks and dinner.  We watched the sunset over the beach and Connie acted as photographer and took some pictures of us on the beach with the sunset behind us.  While our reservations were at 6, we ended up waiting in the bar until the wind died down around 6:30 before we sat down at a private table that had been set up for us away from the rest of the restaurant and shared a lovely meal with Connie and Jeremy, our feet in the sand, the stars above us and the sound of the waves crashing behind us.   In fact, the only bad part of the meal was our wedding cake which, although probably pretty in the pictures, tasted AWFUL.  Connie said the frosting reminded her of play-doh, and it actually did.  Oh, well.  If that's the only thing that was bad about the day, we can live with that. 
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