This is widely regarded and NZ’s best one-day trek, so, on my G-adventures description it says; “Traverse dramatic volcanic landscapes, pass shimmering emerald lakes, and marvel at alpine views” and this was 100% accurate.

It is a 19.4km challenging trek though Tongariro National Park’s active volcanic landscapes, featuring lava flows, steam vents, and the stunning emerald lakes, taking 6-8 hours and requiring good fitness, proper gear. It took me 7 hrs, I feel I could have pushed myself to do better, however, it has motivated me to push myself harder at the gym and outside when I get back. I feel even if I had done more loops of Redburn or worked out on a staircase in the gym this would have helped enormously. It was a demanding and rewarding experience which also has significant cultural, this place is sacred to the Maori’s and respect is asked for the mountains and waterways and natural importance. No litter not even an apple or banana skin can be left behind as there is no natural ability for it to decompose in this landscape. For Lord of the Rings fans Mount Ngauruhoe was featured as Mount Doom.

Highlights: Red Crater (highest point), Emerald lakes, Blue Lake, Volcanic craters and Diverse Landscapes.

Weather: The weather is unpredictable; check for alearts for hazardous conditions like high winds or snow.

People from our group fell into natural ability groups on this trek and the first crew in finished it in 5 hrs so had to wait for 2.5 hrs for the final ones to finish. Barbara (a lovely Polish girl, now working in Singapore and I buddied up). James had arranged to pick us up at 4pm and broadly arrived in when we arrived into the car park.

There are a huge number of steps to both climb up and walk down and although overall I was fine, the issue on my left foot just below the ankle really was tired and getting very painful by the time I finished mainly caused by the down stepping. The other major hazard on this trek was the shale of volcanic stones from the top which made it like a ski slope, thankfully a guide from another group gave me some tips and that helped enormously – front foot straight and back foot to the side and lean in, you could take a really nasty toss on this stuff!

Homeward bound to our accommodation, I hadn’t got much sleep from the last 2 nights max 3-4 hrs and I have a very strange feeling I might sleep tonight! So a well earned dinner and bed by 8.30 pm for me.

Blue Duck Station here we come tomorrow….

….has a deep connection to the indigenous roots of Aotearoa, one of the best places to experience authentic Māori traditions. It is packed with adventure activities such as white water rafting, zip lining, kayaking, zorbing etc. Rotorua is famous for being a geothermal area which as you drive in you get the whiff off. There is a strong sulphurous smell, boiling mud pools, hot pools and geezers.

I choose to go white water rafting in the morning then later in the afternoon we are booked to the NZ Arts & Crafts Institute for a Hangi meal, this is where the food is cooked underground, it was a carvery and whilst the food was very nice, too much of it, typical carvery, I don’t feel like I experienced anything overly special or traditional.

White Water Rafting at Tutea Falls:

This is the world’s highest commercially rafted waterfall, hosted by Rotorua Rafting – have I lost my mind? The Falls are located 20 mins from Rotorua on the Kaituna River (grade 5 river/rapids). We come down 3 big waterfalls starting of on a relatively small one and worked up to the big one, 6 of us in the raft, the guide, Fio, Jeff, myself and two Scottish girls. This is a high-adrenaline experience and I am utterly relieved we didn’t flip! I chose both the guide and Jeff on statistics as Jeff was flipped on his last experience and the guide had been flipped on his previous time out so statistically Jeff had a 50:50 chance the last time and the guides are a 10% chance, so my reckoning was Jeff was down to around 25% chance and the guide had a 90% chance of not flipping on this one and thankfully it worked lol ;-). I will let the pics speak for themselves. The guide gave us the choice to get out of the raft and swim/float/get ducked down a rapid, well in for a penny and all that – I came down the rapid without much bother bar the higher heart rate, however, the current must have changed direction or caught me differently as I came down last, out of all the rafts I took off right, down the next rapid, before I did I caught the safety rope but the current was so strong I couldn’t hold it with one hand and couldn’t get the other to it…….argh so off I sped down the next one, thankfully there is a safety kayak and after a considerable ducking he gets me to wrap my feet round the front of the Kayak and hold onto it still choking and spluttering! He deposits me on the bank and I wait there for my pals to pick me up, which gives me time to recover and get my heart rate down again. This highlights two things ie if you were on your own in a fast flowing river you can see how people get into trouble or indeed drown very quickly and how safety focused our guides were as the chap in the kayak was there in a blink for me. Overall, I loved this experience and would do it again.

The New Zealand Arts & Crafts Institute

We head off for our hangi meal and cultural tour, the Institute has facilities for students to come and study their crafts for up to 3 years eg making Taonga – sacred/personal possessions often out of Ponamu – New Zealand Green Stone (take your mind back to the green stone The All Blacks take with them), weaving many things eg bags, purses, lobster pots etc these students will leave the institute fully skilled in many of these area’s

In this area we see boiling (plumping) mud and geezers, nature really is a force! We make our way back to the accommodation where some of us head off to the local Spa, the hot pools ranged from 38-41 degrees, soooo nice and soooo relaxing and my skin felt fabulous afterwards. Fio and I do our laundry in the evening and have an early night as we have a 20 km hike tomorrow at the Tangariro Alpine Crossing.

Rotorua is often known as the cultural heart of NZ and this will be our destination today. We start with a cycle through the beautiful Karangahake Gorge approx 16-17 km. The saying “All the gear and no Idea” comes to mind when before I even start my day or get on my bike I catch the front of my leg on one of the peddles! It was like a geezer and broadly a big blood egg was forming on my leg, I thought my day was over, however, thankfully I got it elevated and my trusty Fio having sprained her ankle on her first day in Sydney a week or so ago had sticky strapping with her, so we were able to put hankies directly on the wound and strap the impacted points – all sorted and good to go. Yes, it was flipping sore, what a plonker!

This area was once a thriving gold mining area, workers wages were low and conditions poor. There were many gold mining accidents and disease. Production and discontent soared in equal measure and the 1894 Industrial Arbitration Act prevented them from getting their proper dues. Workers joined unions to protect their rights and in 1912 this conflict erupted into violence. At Waikino ie where I am, a mob attacked a group of striking battery miners in the middle of the night. In the morning a man was killed on a struggle with the Police and strike breakers in Waikiki. Fred Evan’s was the first man/victim to lose his life in the industrial conflict and a martyr to the Labour cause. He is buried in Auckland where commemorations continue to this day.

Rotorua was in site so we travelled onwards and arrived in the late afternoon to the pungent smell of sulphur coming from the hot springs.

Dinner, a quiet evening and laundry to do. An exciting day ahead, white water rafting whoop whoop!

I arrive back to the Oaks Hotel to find the travelling companion that I will be rooming with for the next 21 nights has already checked in, I have to admit to being a bit nervous, however, the moment I met Fio I knew things would be just fine. Fio will be a regular feature in my blogs so more about her/us later.

We go down together and meeting our CEO, James and the rest of our travelling companions. There are 17 of us including James, a mix of ages and countries and my instant feel is a good one which proved to be right thank goodness.

We are booked for the All Blacks Experience so it’s straight into the bus and off we go!

Whaia Te Iti Kahurangi; Ki Te Tuohu Koe, Me He Maunga Teite!

Strive for Excellence; You should only bow to the most lofty Mountain!

We got the opportunity to watch both the male and female teams perform the Haka and trust me the women were way more fearsome! It is no wonder they are such powerful teams and as warriors in the past, it is no wonder they were fearsome people’s. The Haka is an expression of intention and installation of power within the players and fear for their opponents!

The name of every player, male and female is recorded on the walls of the grounds building. Plus their is a wall/board of all tournament results all recorded by year and colour of winning teams – there is a lot of Black!

This was a great experience and they have a super shop at the end with a good choice of things to buy. All I can think of is weight as I have an internal flight to Christchurch in 7 days and I am already at 30 kg, so restraint was shown, but not too much.

Included in the tour is an educational team chat where everyone sits in a purpose build “changing room” for visitors which then leads into and inter active area where you can practice your throwing, kicking and agility abilities which was great fun and was a good ice breaker for our wee team too.

We head out for a bite to eat and a relatively early night as we are starting as we mean to go on with an early morning cycle at Karangahake Gorge. Fio and I get better acquainted and despite our 25 year age difference we are a good fit which is great and amazing news she is a sound and good sleeper so hopefully I won’t disturb her too much, yay!

I arrive into Auckland (North Island) around 2.30/3pm to sunny skies and a lovely warmth.

I am booked for dinner at the Sky Tower at 5pm, so a bit of a quick turnaround. It is the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere which hosts a revolving restaurant with panoramic views. As I get into the taxi to go the short journey to the restaurant the skies open and the rain drops are huge and heavy. The taxi driver parks under a street umbrella and I make a dash for it!

A little about Auckland first, it was the capital from 1842 to 1865 when Wellington (in the South Island) took over, it has a population of around 1.55 million people which is approx a quarter of NZ’s population. It is built on approx 50 dormant volcanoes, it is between the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea, you can walk across the isthmus from one sea to the other in one hike, which is very unique.

City of Sails:- Due to its abundant harbours and high boat ownership, Auckland has earned this nickname-name and hosts the Worlds largest single day regatta.

Māori Name: Tamaki-Makau-rau, means “Tamaki of a hundred lovers,” O’er matron! Actually referencing its desirability as a settlement!

Māori Words: Kia ora – hello or thanks, haere ra – farewell, aroha – love/compassion/sympathy, Iwi – tribe, Marae – sacred communal meeting grounds, mana – prestige/power, whanau – family, Taonga – treasured possessions, Haka – ceremonial dance/challenge. These are the fundamental words for daily understanding of Māori culture and way of life.

Sky Tower Restaurant – I would recommend you go here for a meal if only for the views they are spectacular, mine was a bit grey, however, I am sure if the weather had of been clear and fine they would have been so much better, food was of a good quality and my service was excellent, by a lovely chap called Run.

I meet my travel companions at 3pm the next day and so I am up early, I am staying at The Oaks, a very central hotel, it was a short walk to Stop 1, Central Auckland, hop on hop off bus tour and I decide to get off at 2 stops due to my limited time – 2 quite different choices.

Stop 5, The Auckland War Memorial Museum; The Ground Floor is: Te Tapuae Nuku ie Our People & Place which covers stories of Auckland & Sharks; Level One is: Te Ao Turoa ie Our World; Volcanoes, Māori Natural History, Ancient Worlds & applied arts, Arts of Asia & decorative arts, Origins, Weird & Wonderful, Imaginarium & Learning Labs. Level Two is: War & Rememberence; which covers New Zealand at War, WWI and earlier, WW1 Hall of Memories, War Memorial Discovery Centre, Spitfire, Zero, WWII Hall of Memories & Mana: Protest in Print – I thoroughly enjoyed this museum as there was something for everyone depending on your interests, and so a highly recommend for me and it’s situation and views were stunning over Auckland.

Stop 13, Auckland Zoo; The Zoo is broken into 5 sections (i) Te Wao Nui – Aotearoa New Zealand broadly birds and reptiles native to NZ (ii) African Safari Track (iii) South East Asia Jungle Track (iv) Autstralia Bush Track (v) South America Rain Forest Track. I enjoyed the Zoo, however, it couldn’t and didn’t compare to the Torongo Zoo that I went to in Sydney with Andrea, missed your company Andrea!

Back on the bus and when I eventually got back to the hotel I had about 30 mins to spare, my room buddy had already arrived, I so hope whoever it is, is a good sleeper and that I not disturb them too much with my night time antics! I look forward to meeting my new travel companions – there will be 16 in total and 1 CEO so it should be interesting getting to know all the personalities.

Whoop whoop I feel well again, so equipped with Coach Walsh’s aka Heather’s Covid work out and timers set on my phone I hit the gym for an hour early doors! I took it easier than normal but hey I did it!

I have a really good breakfast and have already decided to eat nothing more until I am on board the flight tonight as am still feeling the tummy fear. Gutted that I have not felt up to eating any of the local cuisine.

I have arranged at late check out at 3pm pick up is 5.30pm and my 10hr 50 min flight to Auckland is at 9.30pm so I have some time today.

I decided just to wing it and go for a good walk along the seafront and randomly came to a hop on hop off bus terminal so on I hop on! The Red route takes an hour and 20 mins if I just stay on board ……perfect.

Lots of cultural things to hear and see, I am not going to go into all of that this time as really just a normal city bus tour up date, however, here are a couple of things that caught my eye:

I made my way back to the Hotel put my feet up/had a nap for an hour then just to put in some time before I left………………..

Next Stop Auckland.

First of all I would like to thank Karen Badger who so very kindly sent me a detailed email of what was good to do, best times, info on the public transport for which I am so grateful as it was so useful to me.

Secondly, because I did not feel 100% I don’t feel I got the best out of Hong Kong or it out of me so eg I didn’t get to eat any local food and my energy levels were poor until my final day there, however, on the upside I am travelling to NZ well and back to normal.

Some fun facts:

Hong Kong means “Fragrant Harbour”, the name came from the incense factories that once lined the harbour, giving it an aromatic scent.

The name “Kowloon” (Gua Lung) means “Nine Dragons”, named after the eight hills plus a servant-dragon.

Green Oasis: Despite its concrete jungle image, nearly 75% of Hong Kong is green space – some of the gardens are beautiful, I had expected it to look very dry and was surprised how lush some of Hong Kong was.

Population is just short of 7.4 million people in a 428 sq mile (1,108 km sq) area, HK is a compilation of 263 different islands.

There is a large Indian community due to the Military being British/Indian and the first Mosque was built within the grounds of the Military base within the capital.

The official language is English & Chinese, main religions Buddhism & Christianity and the currency is the Hong Kong Dollar.

The Opium War turned Hong Kong from a fishing village into a financial juggernaut.

I stayed at the Grand Kowloon Harbour Bay, I arrived on New Year Eve just as the sun was setting which really is beautiful, I had upgraded my room and this hotel was chosen for two key reasons: it’s beautiful outdoor pool area from which you can watch the fireworks at NY and my room had a full view of the bay, so if I didn’t want to go out I could watch it all from my room. Well none of that worked out for 3 reasons: 1. The pool area was shut for 4 months for annual renovation works! 2. Due to a fire at Tai Po where 161 people lost their lives in November, the Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism cancelled them as it was felt to be inappropriate. There were no light displays either & 3. I was shattered and needed to be in bed and near a bathroom!

With only 2 nights and 2 days, the second of which I was leaving at 5.30pm to the airport I was determined to try to get out and about, and so I thought I wouldn’t venture too far initially from the hotel! As anyone who knows me well especially my work colleagues I have a long and tricky history with trains, however, the MTR in Hong Kong was just like the tube to me, I just found it so easy to use, it is tap in tap out and so so cheap.

I decided to go to the Chi Lin gardens/nunnery (allow 1-2 hrs), it is free, such a serene sanctuary in the middle of the city, I really enjoyed it, and also gave an opportunity to appreciate Buddhism, the faith and the culture, great shout Karen!

I went back to the Hotel felt wiped so had a 2-3 hr nap, I got up and it a horrible feeling to be somewhere so amazing and being missing out on it so, I had a chat with myself and heading back into town on the hunt for the No:15 bus to take me to The Peak, no sign of it then tried to find the right tram and go speaking with two lovely English Teachers from Korea, one originally from Boston the other Toronto. We ended up on a Tram lol first one went the wrong way the had to change direction lol, for complete fear of boring you we took a taxi up and being New Year it was completely crazy and the queues were crazy.

Once at the top I split from the girls and decided to walk up to the top and then ended up walking the whole way down, it was quite dark on the pathway, however, there were plenty people all walking down too so it felt very safe. The Views were spectacular.

Final HK blog to follow…….

A slight delay in my update on part one of this journey due to a nasty bout of food poisoning contracted in the Maldron Hotel Dublin Airport’s restaurant on the night before I travelled to Hong Kong, so much for me eating lightly and being careful, why oh why didn’t I just walk across the road to the big yellow arches and get a dirty burger, it could not have done anywhere near the same damage! To be fair to the Maldron they couldn’t have done more for me the following morning as at that point I wasn’t sure if it was a gastric bug or food poisoning. I now know.

Back to my Christmas week……

Cornwall is such a special place to us all and we appreciate Sarah (my daughter in law) so much for introducing it into our lives. It is so beautiful and being so close to the sea, beaches, walks and amazing restaurants and food produce, what is not to like.

The Airbnb we stayed in was perfect for us, Sarah organised everything from the accommodation to the groceries including a beautiful Turkey/Ham from the local butcher for the week & Christmas, what a girl! John arrived (under instruction lol) with a huge Christmas Tree, decorations lights etc, there really is nothing like a real tree and we all appreciated you both so much for all of it. Oh and lovely weather too!

My Grandson who just turned 3 in December means Christmas is taking on a new view again ie through the eyes of a child which is so lovely. Christina and Tim just at that busy time of life with 2 small children, Sarah & John’s journey into parenthood imminent, it is so lovely being an Nana.

Mousehole, pronounced “Mauzall”, is a lovely village in Penzance which we had stayed in for a few days before Sarah & John’s wedding is famed for it’s Christmas lights, and so, Christina had booked us into a nice restaurant for an early dinner, the food was gorgeous, before the “daily” evening big switch on of lights, which were really good, the pics don’t do them justice. Cornwall have an array of male voice choirs and there were some there singing on the harbour, what a beautiful sound.

Christmas Eve; storms forecast, they weren’t kidding! I went out for my morning walk with Seamus, it was blowing a gale and the sea was bashing against the rocks and harbour, bracing to as the least. The sea is beautiful and yet so treacherous, St Ives is so old, I think of the people that must have lived there once and how hard their lives must have been.

We had a nice chilled day, we went to a Carol Service and Nativity in the Church of England, so old and beautiful, it was 2 mins from our accommodation and was packed, nothing like a few carols to get us all in the mood.

Christmas morning – good news! Santa got the memo. Auntie Sarah nailed it with the fireman Sam outfit/gear! The camera was a big hit also, like a mini Kodak instant fab!

Christina & John were in charge of cooking. My only job was the gravy and I think the new phrase is “Stay in your own lane mother” lol in other words but out!

We had an unexpected guest on Christmas Day, Steve, whom Sarah & John had met on the beach when out walking Seamus, Steve had come down to St Ives to join his wife Linda for Christmas and she had passed away very unexpectedly 10 days previous and so it was Steve joined us, a lovely man from Hull, born in Glossop, really interesting and a most welcome addition to us, we got him socks lol not very original but something to open and hopefully useful. John met up with him again before we left and he said Christmas Day had been a positive turning point for him and he had been so grateful. I am very proud to have such open welcoming and kind offspring (that includes my in-laws), is it really that hard to be kind and generous? Small acts/deeds mean so much.

The rest of our time was spent on lovely walks, for Caleb – going on the train to Carbis Bay and Back and the Lifeboat being launched on a live shout, everyone back in safely thank goodness.

Precious memories – Thank you – Lym Mum xxx

It has been two years since I last went on my long haul travels to Australia and what a trip that was.

It is 66 days 17 hours and 59 mins before I head off according to my Trailfinders app!!! I don’t feel the anxiety I did the last time before I travelled, maybe that is to follow! Hopefully not.

My plan is to fly out to Hong Kong first, via Doha, I should land in the afternoon of New Year’s Eve and have according to my trustee organiser be in a hotel that overlooks the bay and the spectacular NY’s fireworks display, if I am feeling up to it/brave there is rooftop bar/pool area which you can go up and enjoy from the outdoors. I will see how I feel. I have 3 nights so two additional days to take in the sights of area and have had some good pointers on what I should do/go to see.

The next leg will be to Auckland where I will join a G Adventures tour for 22 days in which I cover a lot of both the North & South Island, filled with activities, let’s see how this ol’girl holds up! Hiking, Trekking, Kayaking, Cycling, white water rafting, you get the picture, or you will as I go along.

Homeward bound includes 4 nights in Singapore which I am really looking forward to as I just didn’t have the nerve to do it last time, the gardens are calling out to me as I just think they look incredible.

I will update you as I go, I just wanted to give you all a heads up and forewarn you of my blogs again 😉

Ex

I left the hotel at just before 6pm and was home around 5.30 pm then did a detour to see my fav (and only grandson) I felt very nauseous since landing and now quite lightheaded, I’m instructed to lie down elevated my feet and drink lots of water.

Christina has kindly made some lovely soup and crusty bread, my appetite is not great so after an hour or so she leaves me home, shower and bed for me.

I was 100% on my outbound journey to Perth, however, when I work it out I was 25 hrs travelling there and 35 hrs home, no wonder I’m a bit squiffy!

The key thing is I am home safely, looking forward seeing my nearest and dearest friends and family. I am so grateful for this experience, the places I have been, the people and family I have met and been with and my goodness the seafood, most of my close friends and family know how much I’ve missed being able to eat fish, hopefully this is a corner turned, I will still be cautious of Mediterranean caught fish 🐟. Some final pics and until my next adventure Au Revoir, thanks for sharing my experience, as you know this was really more of a diary for myself so apologies for any grammatical errors or rushed posts often my time and signal were very limited.

The final countdown, I have 2 nights 3 days left, I leave Friday night and Andrea leaves early Saturday morning – Perfect!

The weather forecast was for rain, however, has changed to 10% chance so we decide to postpone our visit to the Taronga Zoo (Be careful it turns out their are two Zoo’s in Sydney, if you are booking make sure it is for the one you want to go to) until Thursday. We have heard good things about Manly beach and decide to have a lie in, no alarms and head there late morning and spend the afternoon on the beach.

The public Transport in Sydney is outstanding, the location of our hotel, The Ridges is perfect and it is good. 3 stops from Central to Circular Quay, where the water buses are waiting, everything is tap on tap off, the service is amazing and the water taxi’s are really fast despite the volume of people getting on and off, it is just so well organised. Also, get this, the seats in the train can be easily changed for forward or back facing, I had a double take when a guy popped his over, so cool and clever.

The huge cruise ships in Sydney harbour depart early evening and new ones arrive by the morning, most of them are enormous and obviously bring huge revenue to the cities they go in to.

We arrive at Manly and just walk around 5-10 mins over to the beach which is really busy, we hire 2 of the low reclining deck chairs and an umbrella and watch the world go by, again the sardines are between the flags and the life guards are not only warning about the rip’s but the Box Jellyfish! Explaining that if stung it is really painful for around an hour and then uncomfortable for around 24 hours after this, you would think this would be off-putting! It is the children’s summer holidays in Australia and approx 100 children arrive with their inflatables, about 20- 30 guards get in the water next to the flagged area and then it’s ready steady go! What a joyful sight, my heart is in my mouth worrying about what if one drowns or gets stung, what I have forgotten is that this is where these children grow up they are literally water babies, respectful of the water, they are also very well protected both in the water and on the shore by their group leaders and guards.

It was impossible to swim due to the numbers in the water, jumping the waves and diving through them was the height of the pleasure and it was fun. We travel back in good time as I have tickets to see La Traviata tonight at the Opera house, a Christmas treat from my lovely children & spouses, unfortunately, Andrea was unable to source a ticket and my concern is getting back after, it turns out one of the girls on the trip Aine, somehow sourced a ticket this morning and so I am delighted to have company later.

La Traviata is a tragic tale of a young Parisian courtesan, Violetta, who attempts to leave behind the life she knows and finally find true love. When she meets the romantic Alfredo, the hypocrisy of upper class society threatens their love and someone must pay the ultimate price! And yes, I did 😢

Every walk of life is heading to Sydney Opera House, from the very casual/unusual to the beautiful people! I am so excited and it was a memory that will go to my grave with me.

The opera house translate the words the non operatic types (including me) to fully understand what is going on. I had done my homework beforehand, however, this enhanced my experience further. A HIGHLY recommend to book something here if you come this far.

Two days one night to go 😢, lots to do before I go. Taronga Zoo is on the Agenda today, late start, we are booked for Sails restaurant for this evening, another Christina, my daughter, organised event with a lovely voucher from them all, my Christmas presents 🎁 will be hard to beat in the future that’s for sure!

We decide to pack our clothes for later just in case we run behind and end up being very glad we did.

First things first, brunch….on the Quay.

On to the water bus to the zoo. NB There are two zoo’s in Sydney, so be careful to book the one you want! Yes, I know I am repeating myself from a previous blog! My core aim is to see the giraffe’s, I love that the back ground behind them is the bridge and opera house plus I just love them.

Oh my goodness today is so humid and there is a lot of walking, we are literally melting!🫠

We need to transfer back to circular quay then get back on another water bus to Lavender Bay where Sails restaurant is, I am sure we will find somewhere to change!

Oopsie! There is literally no-where and the restaurant is not open yet, there is a tiny beach so we go paddling and much to Andrea’s bemusement I decide to change there following my paddle! As I explained ahead clearly hasn’t done summer’s in Donegal, she gets into the swing of things and demands evidence pics that we did this 😂 …..I told you I was classy!

We go into Sails, which is rather fancy, with our rucksacks and explain we need to get our faces in before sitting down, I don’t think they are quite used to this, however, the service from start to finish was impeccable, the food, the best of my whole trip….INCREDIBLE!

What a way to finish and such a joy to share it with Andrea, the icing on the cake.

I’m a bit tired and emotional tonight, Andrea was showing me a video of Budapest, which sets me off, it is near her original home town, she feels it is more beautiful than Vienna and I’m inclined to agree, through her clear pride n passion for it. I so hope we can meet up there in the future. Andrea has lived and worked in Canada (not far from Toronto) for over 30 yrs. Maybe another holiday destination on my bucket list too?!

Some pics of the journey back – Sydney by night!

It’s time to pack up, I’m so lucky that Andrea is here tonight which means I can leave my things in the room, go out for brunch/lunch etc and then be able to have a shower and go to the airport, my flight leaves Sydney at 21.45 pm.

We potter about and eventually hop on the train to Central Quay, we walk towards the Rocks and choose a very old Cafe for lunch.

After lunch we do a bit of shopping and the say our goodbyes as Andrea is doing a tour of the Opera House, I head back to the hotel, shower, sit on my case to get it closed and now have 2 pieces of hand luggage! I am well within my weight restrictions so not worried! Off to the airport……homeward bound, it’s hard to believe that 6 weeks have passed and I have absolutely no regrets about doing this trip. It was everything I had hoped Australia to be and more. ✅ off the bucket list!

🦘🪃✈️🇦🇺

The forecast is good so the beach is calling and the hop on hop off bus gives us the opportunity to see the city and areas around it, hear the history and go to Bondi, what is not to like! My hopes were not high as I had heard it was not all it’s cracked up to be and a bit tacky. I think this was a good thing and I really liked it but then who says I am classy! lol 😉

We travel past the Anzac Bridge (ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corp), we pass Central Park and go along George St which is the longest street in Sydney, 3 km long. Hyde Park (A lot of familiar names) originally was a horse track and when first established was such a success the first races lasted for 3 days, it is no longer a race course, however remains oval in shape and has an Anzac memorial within the grounds.

We arrive at Bondi which is an aboriginal name meaning water breaking over the rocks and had breakfast enjoying the view. My first omelette of the trip and it didn’t disappoint, Andrea had the sourdough with avocado. Light and tasty.

The people are like sardines between the flags as the riptides are lethal here, the lifeguards have buggy’s and go up and down the beach warning people of the danger they may be putting themselves in and to either move over or get out!

We stayed here for a few hours and then decide to walk to Rose Bay, the map didn’t look far and long story short we were over ambitions and ended up getting the bus to Rose Bay. We had lost our ticket lol! We had the confirmation but no ticket and the driver let us on this morning, the question is will the next one? It turned out it was him and he remembered us, I can’t think why? 😂, all good and off to Rose Bay we went.

We found a really lovely little restaurant and thought we would take a picnic to the beach, however, we ended up just eating it outside and watching the world go by. We shared half a spatchcock chicken, with some tabouli (which I hadn’t had before, loved it!) and a tahini cauliflower salad, it was really delicious. See above.

We are going out for dinner with the group tonight, think it will be a light supper for us! We catch the last bus back and get organised for our night out. Nick’s is booked and whilst the food looked great, some was not as good as it looked. I took pics of everyone’s food (lol I did not eat all of this!) the night was soured by the maitre de, so inflexible and what a nonsense trying to pay the bill, anyway the men were getting nowhere and I asked Derek did he want the big guns to step in, and so it was sorted after I said I wanted it noted that we had and were offering to pay, he was declining and so I assumed we were free to go! This seemed to focus his mind and we settled the bill. He wanted one person to settle a $1250 dollar bill and then us to sort it out amongst ourselves…..eh! No! It was the first time I/we experienced such inflexibility and we were a group booking, I don’t get it! Especially with so much choice and so many amazing restaurant’s.

And, so we say our goodbyes as everyone is going their separate ways, some remain in Sydney for a day or two more, thankfully including my wee chum Andrea!

Initially, I was I don’t know I was a bit under whelmed, I am not sure why, I think I have been hugely spoilt on this trip with beauty over-load, however, and before there is a huge outcry lol, I found Sydney to be a grower and it sneaked into my pores and converted me. (To be fair it was pretty grey and was raining which didn’t help)

What a way to end my trip, the experience in Sydney just grew and grew for me and was enormously enhanced by my new friend Andrea. Being able to share this together rather than be on my own in this big city was a huge bonus.

We just clicked on this east coast trip with g-adventures and I hope that we will remain friends, albeit from a distance with some occasional hook ups for many years to come. Andrea has lived just outside Toronto from her mid-twenties, she was born and educated in Hungary, warm, funny and kind just my sort of human.

We get on the road early and head out to see if we can find some Kangaroo’s on the University grounds in the east of the city, however, instead of the usual numbers there were only 3, so off to the city we go.

I am booked at the Ridges which is very close to Central Station, Really good location and if only I liked beer, right beside the Surry Hill’s Brewery.

We get checked in, most of the group are doing the Big bus tour ie hop on hop off. Andrea & I have decided to split from the group today and do our own thing, we end up deciding on going for the 2 day option.

We get off at the 2nd Stop from Central to go into the Fish market, my expectations of a fish market were exceedingly low, I could not have been more wrong it was an eye feast and fabulous, just such a buzz around the place, we had lunch in the Boat Shed, we choose 2 mornay Oysters and half a lobster from Peter’s and then ordered crab claws from The Boatshed and ate the lot in there …..YUMMY! The choice was incredible and some fairly scary options!

This was what we chose:

This is what was available and I am sure there was much much more that I have missed:

Back to the bus, we get off at China Town which was fairly uninspiring, however the little jewel was the Chinese gardens they were gorgeous, only 12 dollars to enter. The rain eases and finally ceases enabling us to truly enjoy this lovely space.

Andrea and I didn’t do the detail and dilly dallied through the gardens and walked down under the Harbour Bridge to the Rocks, had a nice coffee/tea and headed off to the next bus stop, actually ran to catch what we thought was the next bus….duh! lots of people getting off, it was only 4.30 pm no more bus today, well all we could do was laugh! Sunday Service Oopsie!

It turned out that we were very close to Circular Quay where we glimpse of the Opera House for the first time together, very soon we have a proper view of the bridge , the opera house and the iconic skyline.

Day 2 – Bondi Beach, Rose Bay & G-Adventures Final Supper to follow.

500km later we arrive in the mountains, skirting Sydney on the way past. These mountains are best known for their soaring sandstone ridges.

We travel through a lot of small towns, ancient Aborginal rock art, lush green valleys and a lot of craggy cliffs, we are so lucky the weather is perfect as often these mountains are shrouded in cloud, not today and the forecast for tomorrow is fab.

It is Derek’s (our tour guide) birthday, he doesn’t think we know, he had taken pics and videos on my phone when we were surfing and accidentally left the video recording when he was speaking to one of the instructors and told him, so I head off and get a card, cake, candles and party poppers 😉

He has booked a Thai restaurant and very uncharacteristically orders some fizz lol, still everyone acts stupid and after dinner out comes the cake, honestly his wee face he was made up 🙂

The food was great even though the place looked like nothing on earth and no I wasn’t brave enough to order or eat the below.

We travel deeper into the majestic Blue Mountains and oh my word they are magnificent (this was one of my favourite days). The natural beauty of this area is astounding, we explore Laura & Katoomba, view the Three Sisters and walk through the Jamison Valley.

Derek had us up early doors to avoid the queues and we were able to avoid crazy queues get on the cable car where we got a Birds Eye view of this incredible area and then took the Katoomba Scenic Railway, a very short train journey down an incredibly steep incline 52 degrees to be exact, it felt more like a roller coaster, an old coal track that the miners used to haul the coal to the top.

Some of us did the 900 step giant staircase to the valley floor at the foot of the iconic 3 sisters, this was a dodgy one, so worth it.

I will stop typing and let the pictures do the talking, I was blown away by the beauty of this place and so grateful it was such a clear day.

We then took a 3-4k trail walk over to meet Derek which was just gorgeous.

We had lunch at a a renowned Bakery which our guide knows very well. Kangaroo Pie! (which was absolutely delicious, so tender. I found out afterwards that most Kangaroo that is consumed is not farmed, they are deemed pests so often are just shot and left, in this case eaten!

We got back later afternoon, everywhere closes at 4pm on a Sunday so not much to do, we are booked at a Korean bbq place right beside our accommodation, ummmm my jury is out on this one, nice to get some veg………..and off to Sydney in the morning for my last 5 days of the trip.

Prepare yourselves for cuteness overload!

We left the beautiful Baron Bay at around 10am and it was a long journey up to Port Macquarie and I so wish we had got more time in this beautiful coastal township. I am meeting Deborah this evening whom I met on the Tasmanian trip so I messaged her the minute I arrived at 4.30 pm and she was already in town and waiting. She reckoned I might like a drive up the coastal road and then a home cooked dinner at here’s and she was right. She had roasted a chicken and made a lovely salad, perfect!

It was a really lovely evening just chilling in her home surrounded by lots of books, paintings and super friendly cat! Deborah is an artist and I wish I had taken some pictures of them too. The scenery here is beautiful and the beaches gorgeous, lots of craggy cliffs beauty at every turn in the road. It’s a very chilled relaxed vibe and I liked it and was very grateful to Deborah for giving me the luxury of seeing it properly compared to the rest of the group.

Up early and off to the Koala sanctuary before we travel onwards on another long journey to the Blue Mountains. We skirt Sydney to go up to them. More about them in my next blog!

The Koala’s…………The Sanctuary/Koala hospital is a charity funded place where Koala’s are rescued and sometimes get returned back to the wild, however, more often than not they are not fit or able enough to return, many are from the huge bush fires a few years ago, some from dog attacks, disease or after being hit by a car.

They are so cute, slow, kind creatures, it is now against the law to cuddle them and honestly I was quite happy not to as many of them have Chlamydia (mostly in their eyes).

The inpatient list….

I am posting the best of my pics, I have so many I just loved this place. One quite scary one, see if you can find her!

They get there names from the places they are found. The signs outside their enclosures explain where they were found and what had happened to them. They are free to climb the trees, well those fit to do so and are very well looked after here. As you can see you can choose to sponsor them too.

Onwards to the blue mountains. We stopped in a roadside cafe for lunch and to all of our shock it was simply fabulous and a highly recommend should anyone be travelling this route from the Port to the Mountains.

Everyone up and in much better form! Lots of choices today:

1. Surfing lesson on the beach in the morning (included) – yes please

2. Kayaking in the Afternoon (extra) – yes please

3. Skydiving (extra)- been there got the t-shirt – no thank you

4. Lighthouse walk 1.5-2 hrs up and back – I didn’t do this as I felt I saw enough of it from the water when we were kayaking, however, I am sure the views were lovely from up there, some of the guys fancied doing sunrise at 5.30 am ie go up in an Uber then walk back not sure if they actually did this.

First up, Surfing, our main instructed is Jimmy who rocks up in a bus that looks an feels like it arrived there in the 70’s along with Jimmy all we were missing were a few spliffs! Assisted by a lovely young Kiwi called Sam. We called our boards and head to the beach, 2×2 ie 2 people carrying 2 boards, we start our lesson by limbering up and then Jimmy explains how we should approach getting up on the boards. Oh dear Lord this is not going to be a pretty sight if I ever get to my feet! Yoga definitely would support this activity and I feel repetition of the movement and muscle memory would play a huge part in being successful doing this.

There is a delay in us getting in the water – the life guards are getting everyone out of the water as A GREAT WHITE, yes as in SHARK has been spotted in the waters by the drone! Jimmy reassures us that the sharks are not interested in eating people and normally they just bite you and when they realise they have made an error ie you are not on their menu they just let go of you! Okie dokie well that is reassuring isn’t it! Also, we will be in waters that are too shallow and close to the beach for the sharks liking, however, where the more experienced surfers are is a little more of a risk and some of them just stay out and make their own decisions. The guards went into the water to get people out, there is a siren and I would say if that goes off the waters clear of everyone immediately as that means things are really serious. Jimmy goes by his gut feeling which he says all surfers have. OK!

Anyway, approximately a 30 min delay and we are in the water, it is a tough walk out with the board each time, and I start by just getting used to catching the waves and broadly body boarding in, thinking though what I need to do to get up. Jimmy supports me through the first time I get up on the board and honestly once I was up I felt relatively secure. I managed to get up on my own a second time which really really pleased me, honestly I was shocked that I managed it, like most things confidence plays a huge part and being clear on what you need to do.

A quick lunch and on to the second event of the day: Kayaking! Andrea and I decide to be Kayaking buddies, helmets and life jackets on off we go carrying/trailing our kayaks out to the water, I am exhausted already! A quick instruction which was broadly, paddle like hell until you are over the crashing waves, if you don’t want to get dumped out! We paddled out past the most easterly point of the Australian mainland where you can see the Julian Rocks Marine Reserve. The surfer’s here are catching incredible waves, however, way way to close to the rocks for my liking, I am sure they know what they are doing, it just looked really dangerous. Looking up is the Cape Byron Lighthouse, and we can see the people trekking up to it and it turns out they can see us as Kit & Jay were able to say they saw us.

We saw some dolphins while we were out and thankfully no whales today or sharks! Apparently, it is only female dolphins that live in these waters, young male pups are put out at around 3 months old, the playful males only pop into to mate and then they are off again. The local indigenous women came here to have their babies in the waters along with the dolphins and so this is a very sacred place for them.

In a moments lapse of concentration, and after deciding we wouldn’t go in for a swim as we were both concerned how we would ever get back in, we capsized, I take full responsibility for it, neither of us have a clue how we managed it, well oh my goodness, number 1 neither of us could get the kayak to turn over again, and number 2 neither of us could get ourselves back in the kayak, after some able support of the guides we made it back in, thank goodness no-one witnessed such a sight bar the guides.

We are shown Zak Effron and Matt Damon’s (currently under construction) holiday homes here and you can see why they have chosen it.

Time to negotiate ourselves back on land which we did pretty well bar being unceremoniously dumped out by one of the female guides just as we came into land! A Tim tam was offered and suddenly all was well with the world again. The dragging of the kayak back up was tough.

We were thinking of staying at the beach, however, there were limited options for shade and Andrea was feeling a bit off, we worked out she hadn’t drank enough and was probably a bit dehydrated, this was resolved by a large bottle of Peligrino water and an ice cream, we just walked back slowly to the hotel and got in the pool to cool down, I have caught the sun today just with being out on the water so much, I dread to think how bad it would be if I hadn’t factor 50 on.

Curve Ball:

Robert, one of the guys on our tour has not been well overnight and has got a positive Covid test, adding a bit of chaos to Derek the tour guides life and some issues within the group as there is some varying views on Covid, how it is dealt with and behaviours. Thankfully, as Andrea pointed out G-Adventures are Canadian owned (which I didn’t know) and so they deal with Covid under Canadian rules not the Australian ones ie 5 days isolation and so Rob must remain at Byron, he is feeling pretty ill by all accounts, so is not fit to travel anywhere. I would be in such a state if I was being left behind. How to get medical help if really sick, how to get supplies whilst isolating and I would be so worried about how on earth I was going to get myself to Sydney and home. Plus the disappointment of what I would be missing out on. Poor Robert. I am so thankful that I got my booster approx a month before I travelled (thanks to Eve) and am hopeful I dodge this nasty bullet.

Dinner at the Balcony, whilst the prawn starter was lovely (shared), oysters on the go, I took a pass, my main course was so full of garlic I couldn’t eat it, the cold red Malbec went down very nicely 🙂

Aine, one of the girls has decided to share my room as luckily I have a spare bed in my room (with her mask on all night bless her) rather than to share with her room buddy who has been at the highest exposure from Robert. There is no other vacant rooms. Most of the accommodation is fully booked around here.

We are leaving tomorrow to go to Port McQuarie. I am hoping to meet up with Deborah, one of the ladies I me on my Tasmanian trip, I had emailed her to confirm, however, as a duty of care I have made her aware of this latest Covid carry on and plan to do a test when I get to the Port for two reasons, my own re-assurance and before I meet Deborah as I feel its just not fair to do otherwise.

Derek had hoped to get us away at 8am, however, he has had to get alternative accommodation for Robert and we now leave at 10am. I wonder what tomorrow will bring, fingers crossed no-one else goes down with this.

Today we are off to the Whitsunday Islands on a boating excursion, a day out on the water amidst 74 tropical islands that make up the Whitsunday archipelago, we are visiting Whitehaven Beach, known for its stunning white sand and oh my goodness this was a massive a massive understatement as you will see. Warm Tropical waters, what is not to like?

I could work from home very nicely here.

The Whitsunday’s are in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. The plan is to go snorkelling today where we will see a variety of brightly coloured marine plants, coral and beautiful tropical fish, a walking tour and some time on the beach.

We are still in stinger territory and so we need to wear the delightful stinger suits, there will be an opportunity to do some paddle boarding. Will I at last manage to get up and stay up today?

Our Skipper is Shannon with a lovely lad Reece and the very beautiful Katie looking after us and providing us with information of where we are and quite importantly treats and lunch.

Katie takes us on a small outboard raft to the reef from the boat, no fins/flippers allowed here to ensure the coral is preserved due to its proximity to the surface. I really have taken to snorkelling and the reef here was more alive and beautiful, however, there were a lot less fish. There were some Green turtles out in sea as we travelled out and then one on the reef which some people saw and photographed they are very lovely creatures.

Top Top: Buy a Go Pro. Luckily a couple of people on our tour had one and they were able to take and share pics of our under water adventures, which I for one was very grateful of.

Next we headed to Whitsunday Island which was lovely on first arrival, however, nothing but nothing could have prepared me for the views at the look out, I have never seen a more beautiful view in my life, simply stunning. When you look down on these beautiful ever changing (due to the swirling sands and 6 hourly tides) you can see the stingrays in the waters of the beaches below.

The movies, Fools Gold with Matthew McConaghy & Kate Hudson was made here, and some of the Pirates of the Caribbean (they spent an obscene amount of money for about 10 mins of movie time mainly due to the Islands not bending to their demands so for eg they chartered every boat in the area to keep it clear for filming! Planted Palm trees on the beach which were then re-planted at Airlie at an outrageous cost. Hollywood clearly used to getting its own way paid very dearly for it hear with the unbending (quite rightly) Aussie’s.

We walked back down to the boat which had lunch ready for us and we sailed round the one of the beaches we could see from the lookout. What is amazing regardless of how hot the day is this lovely fine white sand is warm never hot, so no hopping or running required! It is made from silica making it very unique indeed.

There are a few choices re: exiting the main boat, go with Katie or Reece in the dingy, dive/jump off and swim or dive/jump off and paddle board, I chose the latter.

When I booked this trip i was determined that I would try everything and even if I didn’t manage or do something well I would have no regrets as at least I had tried! Whilst there is no photographic evidence of it, I managed to get up and paddle twice! Was it pretty & graceful…….No! Another new skill acquired I was feeling pretty good about myself lol.

Time to head back and the Skipper was blasting out some great tunes everyone singing us home. All the usuals, Sweet Caroline, Queen with Don’t touch me now, Dancing Queen and many more. We had a 10 year old boy at the wheel enjoying the vibes singing and dancing, he was so pleased with himself, a round of applause given as he relinquished his duties to the Skipper as we came into the Port.

Kit & Jay our American friends have organised a restaurant tonight for the group and it was so nice to be in a restaurant that actually served you. I had the Barramundi a beautiful white fish with Broccoli and mash it was delicious, you will have to take my word for it I forgot to take a pic!

Airlie Beach has a beautiful lagoon which I didn’t get a chance to go into just nice to know it is here I guess.

Tomorrow we have the morning to enjoy in Airlie, we leave at 12.30, flying to Brisbane at 3.30pm and then have a 4-5 hour commute to Byron Bay, the flight was delayed by about 40 min, we lost an hour going from Brisbane to Byron Bay when we crossed the State line and ended up getting to BB at around 11.15 pm local time, this was a wasted day with very limited options for food, truck stop for dinner where the choice was KFC who were running out of things or McDonalds, a lot of tired cranky travellers tonight, hopefully everyone will be in better form with a nights sleep. An earlier flight would have made all the difference.

Part 2 – It is New Year’s Eve!

Luckily when we got back from our Reef adventure some of the restaurants in Port Douglas had re-opened and our guide, Derek had us booked into a local pub for dinner, I must say I am not a big fan of this queueing to order my food then queueing to order a drink, I sound very spoilt don’t I? It’s just table service is so much better, however, with lots of groups coming in its easier to have it paid up front and there isn’t a requirement to split the bills which could get very messy. No runners here!

We are packed up and on the road again. Today we are stopping at a local market and then have an Indigenous Tour before we head back to Cairns.

It was so interesting and definitely no swimming here and no walking on the shore, the Croc’s grow to up to 7 metres in length, they live for around 100-150 years which blew my mind and literally can grab you and eat you whole! Eh! No thank you. You can see the debris on this beach from the floods and Typhoon.

We head off back to Cairns to enjoy New Year’s Eve with a few stops along the way.

Our guide has kindly booked us into Hemmingway’s Brewery for dinner, there are fireworks at 8.30 pm for the kids and then again at 12 for the adults. I skipped the midnight one and was sound asleep by 10/10.30 so rock n roll! Tomorrow we have a 10 hr drive to Airlie Beach.

Happy New Year Everyone!

The journey down was 738 km down, I am so glad I took an early night, we have an additional driver today called Danny, who actually drove the whole journey down, giving Derek a well earned break today. Airlie was a welcome sight. I passed on dinner and just went to the pool. I am so tired today and just need time on my own, heading to the Whitsunday Islands tomorrow, so looking forward to it. To bed sleepy head. One bonus is that since I have landed on the East Coast I am sleeping!

Part 1

So, as I said it was disappointing not to make it to Cape Tribulation and Daintree Rainforest, however, there is not much can be done about it. Today, we are off on a full day boat excursion to the reef, something I never imagined I would ever do or see and it did not disappoint.

This is where we get a chance to say g’day to Nero, the clown fish (gorgeous) and some of the 1,500 other species of tropical fish that thrive in these waters off the east coast of Australia. We can finally get in the water as the Crocs don’t come out this far.

It is stinger season , that is jellyfish to you and I, hence the requirement to wear stinger suits which cover you head to foot including gloves.

I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves. Unfortunately I cannot upload some of the videos which showed the dolphins and the movement of the coral and fish.