Week 14 Febrary 22nd to 27th.

Enjoying Kaikoura


Fred and Myrtle's Shell House



Begonia's in Christchurch

Christchurch Cathedral

Banks Peninsular

On Monday morning we had a good flight to Christchurch in New Zealand. We had to change the clock two hours forward. Our friends, Joanna and Pete, were at the airport to meet us and drove us back to their house which is in New Brighton, a few miles form the city centre. They took us on a drive through the city centre, which appeared so much smaller than the Australian cities we have got used to.There are no high rise buildings. Christchurch is called the Garden City as there are many beautiful parks and gardens. The sun was shining and it was very warm. It seems that the warm weather only began this week. Up to now they had had their worse summer for twenty years.

On Tuesday Pete and Jo took us on a most spectacular drive down around the BanksPeninsular to the French settlement of Akaroa. We had so many stops for photo shots. Pete is so knowledgable as he used to take tourists on coach tours for many years. We couldnt have a better guide.
On Wednesday we spent the day exploring the city, visiting the Hagley gardens with their fantastic Begonia House, the Christchurch Museum and Arts Centre and the Cathedral where there was a beautful carpet of flowers in readiness for a flower festival. In the museum, Pete showed us the famous Fred and Myrtle's Paua Shell house. This old couple had collected Paua shells over many years and decorated their home in Bluff with them. It became a big tourist attraction, although they charged nothing. After they died, their son donated the collection to the museum and a reconstruction of their bungalow was built to house them just as they were originally.

On Thursday we took the Tranz Alpine railway from Christchurch to Greymouth, which is on the West Coast. This spectacular journey is classed as one of the top ten train journeys in the world. The line was begun in the late 1800's but not completed until1923 and includes many tunnels through the mountains, bridges and precarious via ducts over rivers and glaciers. The scenery was truely awesome. The rail originally served the gold mining industry and later switched to coal mining and there are a number of disused coal mines along the way. Giant trucks full of coal are still transported each day. The journey to Greymouth took four hours, we had an hour stop and then returned to Christchurch.
On Friday we took delivery of our hire car and then visited the New Zealand Air Force Museum, where there are many old aircraft and a huge workshop where many more are being restored. Brian was in his element.

On Saturday Pete and Joanna took us on a scenic drive to Kaikoura, a picturesque seaside town famous for its crayfish and whale watching which is about 200 km from Christchurch. It also has a number of arts and craft shops run by local artists. We didnt see dolphins, but we did see some seals on the rocks. On the way the scenery just kept getting better - from rolling hillsides to mountains. There were sheep, sheep and more sheep. There were also great herds of beef and dairy cattle as well as a number of vineyards. We made a number of scenic detours on the way back ending with another tour around the city to view more beautful gardens.

After a week in New Zealand, we have certainly fallen in love with the country. There are so many aspects which are so different from England and Australia. In many respects it is as though we are back in 1950's England - a much more gentle pace of life. There are no motorways or high rise buildings as there are only 4 million people. The highways are just single lane in both directions with overtaking places every few km. In every town and village we have remarked on the huge memorials erected in memory of the men who fell in World War I. New Zealand lost far more men per population than any other country. And of course a similar ratio in the Second World War.

We are really looking forward to exploring the rest of the country in the coming weeks.

Week 13 February 15th to 21st.

Puffing Billy

For our Christmas present, Zoë and Mike bought us vouchers for a meal on Puffing Billy.
We booked to have lunch in the First Class Dining carriage on Monday. Puffing Billy is a one hundred year old steam train which runs along a narrow guage track through some magnificent scenery in the Dandenong Ranges. It was a very pleasant afternoon.

The rest of the week has been quite uneventful. Brian and Zoë played golf on Thursday afternoon as she wasn't teaching and on Friday they were invited to play "Nine and Dine" at a friend's golf club. We have been getting ready for our trip to NewZealand on Monday.

On Saturday morning we went to watch Ashleigh play soft ball. Once agin she played very well.

On the way home we watched a house auction. This is a common method of selling houses in Australia. The house was open for viewing at 12.30pm and there were many people looking round. Serious buyers would have viewed it before and had surveys done etc. There were obviously a number of nosey people like us there, for when the auctioneer started the auction, no one made any bids. After consulting with the vendor he opened the bids at a reserve price, but still no interest, so he closed the auction. All this business was carried out in the street in front of the house - quite bizarre. Zoë reckoned it was over priced and that was why it didnt sell that day.

Week 12 February 8th to 14th.

Fig Tree in Janet's road


Gillian's home


Sydney at night

Watsons Bay at dusk

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House

Chinese Garden

Darling Harbour

After the heavy rain of last week the sun began to shine again for the whole of this week.

Because we had visited some of the main tourist sights before Janet suggested some more unusual places to visit. On Monday we caught the cat to take us up the Parramatta River. This was a lovely cruise, but because of low tide we could not land in the town, so we returned on the next boat. After eating traditional meat pies on Circular Quay, we walked to the Australia National Museum where there was a fantastic exhibition of international prizewinning wild life photography. Each was so stunning we could not choose a favourite.

On Tuesday we took the train to Woologong and then another to Kiama to view the famous blowhole. Unfortunately it was not very active and Brian waited ages to catch a shot of the waves whooshing up through the gap in the rocks. Just as it happened his concentration lapsed and he missed it. We returned to Sydney and then caught the bus to Watsons Bay to sample the famous Doyles fish and Chips. and they were very good.

Wednesday was very hot and sunny. We headed for the Chinese Garden which is a beautiful tranquil oasis in the busy city. Brian took lots of beautful photos. We then walked to Darling Harbour and admired the stunning modern skyline. we then took the ferry toWatsons Bay via Double Bay and Rosebay, admiring all the amazing waterside properties. We bussed back to the city.

Our last day in Sydney was spent in the Powerhouse Museum where there is a fascinating collection of artifacts and costume, engines and machines and technology- something for everyone. The building itself is a restored power station. We had a quiet supper back with Janet aand drank coffee on the verandah overlooking the night skyline.

On Friday we had a good flight back to Melbourne where it was good to be with the family again.

The weekend was spent in Warragul, with Gillian, Valerie's oldest friend. She lives in a very nice mobile home in a little retirement village. She is happily settled there although she still travels a great deal. Warragul is quite a flourishing town South West of Melbourne set in beautiful rural rolling countryside. Gillian had arranged for her three daughters to join us for lunch at the local Golf Club, and they came with their respective children, ages from 4 to 21. It was so good to meet them all. Her cousin Maureen also came. She and Gillian had originally sailed from England as £10 poms in 1962. We stayed inthe local motel and left after lunch on Sunday. I spent some time getting Gillian started on researching her family tree before we left.

Week 11 February 1st to February 7th

Kangaroo in Bunker


Leaping Kangaroos



Kangaroos in Bunker

Valerie started the week with a very expensive visit to the dentist and then we spent the week visiting old friends, going on a guided tour of the port of Brisbane and exploring the hinterland of the Gold coast with Lorraine. Lorraine wanted to show us the farm her grandfather used to own. It was a picturesque drive and we called into to see her Auntie Sheila, an amazing 88 year old lady who still plays golf regularly with her 86 year old sister. Brian also had an enjoyable game of golf with Bryan, Ralph and Richard. Brian was fascinated by the numerous kangaroos to be found in the bunkers and under the trees.

On Friday we flew to Sydney and Janet met us. Janet Thomas is an old friend from Bognor College days and after a successful career in the Australian Navy and Defence Department has moved to a retirement "village" in Sydney. We were able to stay in the comfortable guest unit. The village is in the treelined suburb of Woollahra. At night the trees echo to the cries of hundreds of bats. Some of the trees are very old and interesting

Janet had organised a very busy schedule for us. We had a short trip into the city on Friday afternoon, but on the Saturday it rained heavily all day, so we went to the cinema to watch a superb production of Carmen by the New York Metropolitan Opera. We reached the cinema by crossing the harbour in one of the many ferry boats.

On Sunday we caught up with a second cousin of Brian who he hadn't seen since they were children. There was much reminiscing and sharing of family history.