Australia

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Down Under 

Australia is the world’s smallest, flattest continent and largest island, with almost 70% of its land mass below the Tropic of Capricorn. The island continent separates two great oceans: the Pacific and the Indian. 70% of Australia’s population lives in 10 cities so wide open spaces are still plentiful. Australia is about the size of the US but with only 24 million people. We went there with the objective of seeing as much endemic wildlife in their native habitat as possible, and to seek out what was unique to Australia that we may not see elsewhere. We tried to capture as much as we could in photographs, but not at the expense of getting an experience to remember.

One joyful experience was the nightly march of the Little Blue penguins from the sea to their burrows.  These penguins are the smallest species of penguins, only 13” tall. They wait until it’s dark enough to avoid predators, then come out of the ocean in groups (safety in numbers) and start their waddling journey back to their burrows.  Some walk quite a long way for their little legs (up to one mile!)

We snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef and marveled at the fish and more types of colorful coral than we have ever seen elsewhere. We went wombat-searching one night even though we’d never even heard of the nocturnal wombat prior to this trip. They are native to Australia, a muscular marsupial, although their pouch is backward-facing so when they dig, their baby doesn’t get buried in dirt. We saw 4 that night and were gifted with one Wombat walking by us only 3 feet away so we could see she had a joey in her pouch. This was a real treat and a rare spotting.

We were treated to so many sightings of species which exceeded our already high expectations. We saw (1) mobs of marsupials, including macropods ( kangaroos and wallabies), hundreds of huggable koalas sitting in eucalyptus (gum) trees, and wombats; (2) the egg-laying-mammal echidna or spiny ant eater; (3) tons of bird species; (4) Fruit bats or “Flying Foxes”; (5) four species of penguins; (6) Fur seals and sea lions; (7) Emus and cassowaries; and (8) the fierce crocodile, the most ferocious aggressive predator we have ever seen.

We saw towering termite mounds, another unfamiliar thing we’ve never seen.  The tallest termite mound is 22 feet tall! The termites cannot handle sunlight so they build mounds and tunnels to avoid sunshine. These are not the wood-eating types of termites however. They just eat grasses.

We hiked Australia’s lush rainforests, through the bush, and around the desert conditions of the Outback. We saw aboriginal land areas where rivers flood the entire plain region each year, causing the roads to be buried under 6 feet of water. The towns are cut off for these “Wet” months except for boats. The crocodiles then move into these flooded areas and take over.

While we spent most of our time outside of the populated areas, we also enjoyed the cities - the arcades of Melbourne, the harbors and waterfronts of Sydney, Darwin & Cairns, the wine area of Adelaide, and the many beaches and shores along the way.

This trip delivered many new, exciting experiences for us, and many new first time accomplishments: being south of the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, seeing the Southern Cross constellation, experiencing the reverse seasons (November is Springtime), being by the Tasman Sea and the Great Southern and Indian Oceans, among many others. This was the trip of our lifetimes!

We found the Australian people most delightful and pleasant and have made several new long term relationships. 

New Zealand

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Our Kiwi Experience

We spent the month of October on the two main islands of New Zealand. This was the most south we have ever been and is the springboard for Antarctic cruises and rescues. It was Springtime there as evidenced by people outside soaking up the rays, the trees in bud, the flower gardens, breeding/nesting season for birds, and baby lambs everywhere. Everything was upside down to us. The sun rose over the Pacific. North was closer to the equator and the South had cooler temperatures. Days are getting longer now unlike USA. Our compass didn’t work here (as the needle is weighted on the southern end to counteract the magnetic pull of the North Pole.) We drove on the left, steering wheel on the right, but had to remember to walk on the left too!

The North Island is less mountainous than the South Island but is more marked by volcanism. There are too many fault lines in NZ to count! It was quiet and peaceful and has a bazillion coves and inlets. 14 miles across the Cook Strait, the South Island contains the Southern Alps, Fjordlands and Southern Lakes, background for Lord of the Rings. This is one of the most scenic places in the world. We drove through gorgeous miles of peaks and rainforests, looking like Jurassic Park. Waterfalls and rivers and views were plentiful.

NZ is 900 miles east of Australia. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. Polynesians settled in the islands around 1300 and became the Maori aboriginals. The Europeans didn’t start showing up in any quantity until the 1850s and are the largest percentage of population today. We found the local “Kiwis” very friendly, courteous, polite, helpful, and gregarious.

During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. Sheep and cattle were everywhere, however there are no wild mammals other than marine mammals. (The only mammals native to NZ are 3 types of bats.) We did see plenty of dolphins and the New Zealand fur sea lions - no whales spotted at this time of year. Birds are so prolific and unique that we were in danger of becoming serious birders! The inexhaustible and unusual bird songs we heard made us laugh out loud. Many seabirds breed in New Zealand with 1/3 of them unique to the country. More penguin species are found in New Zealand than in any other country. We saw the Yellow-eyed penguin, the rarest of all penguins and found only in Southern New Zealand. Another treat was the Northern Royal Albatross at Taiaroa Head of Otago Peninsula, which is the only place in the world where they breed on land (where humans are.) You can see from one of our photos the size of their wingspan (up to 10 feet.) The country’s mascot, the Kiwi, is extremely difficult to see as they are nocturnal and shy. They are critically endangered since they are flightless and are easy to pick off by introduced predators, including dogs.

The food was delicious, and tips and taxes are already included which we think would be great if we adopted that.  No tipping anywhere! In addition to the wildlife, the Fjordlands NP was the highlight of the trip. The Fjordlands have steep mountains and deep fjords and is breathtakingly beautiful. The West Coast region has a very high rainfall due to the prevailing northwesterly wind pattern and the location of the Southern Alps, which give rise to heavy precipitation. The Fiordlands gets the most rain; Milford Sound averages 268"/year, being the wettest inhabited place in New Zealand and one of the wettest places in the world. It can rain 10" in 24 hours. There are 14 fiords along the 134 miles of Fiordland coastline. We had an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound, only accessible by boat, which may be the most beautiful place we’ve ever been to. It was foggy with heavy rain (not uncommon) our first day and the storms were really wonderful to experience. The next day was sunny and clear so we got to experience it both ways. The rain made waterfalls triple in size and number.

NZ is long and narrow, 990 miles N to S and at its widest 250 miles. In square miles it is the size of Colorado. The population is 4.5 million, with ¾ living on the smaller North Island. The country is largely rural and over 50% of the population lives in the 4 largest cities.

We were there during the Rugby World Cup that New Zealand’s “All Blacks” team won. They begin each game with the Maori warrior haka challenge which is more than a little intimidating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqfHv9FOpXw The passion of the fans may exceed NFL standards! We learned a little about rugby and found ourselves getting caught up in the outcome. It is a fun sport to watch.

We traveled via boat, train, airplane, foot, and mostly by driving rental cars. We loved driving through small towns and past the gorgeous remote or agricultural terrain, and past the snow-crested peaks of their many mountains. Keep left! Sometimes the journey can be better than the destination. New Zealand was utterly gorgeous and a fantastic trip.

On to Australia where we spent November, post to follow soon.