Adelaide

Little Internet access here. Toured the city today. Wine tour yesterday. Going to the beach tomorrow. Hot weather has arrived. Feels like the endless summer for us! Be in touch again soon.

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Today we went to se the "Devil's Kitchen" which was really interesting on how its formed by water basically eroding a big hole in the mountain making a cave, but what made this special is that the top caved in besides top of the front making a bridge. I also asked my dad "I wonder if the Devil is making any eggs?" If you think about it, it will make sense and if you're too lazy then its because he's making DEVILED EGGS. After that we went to see Port Arthur, a prison for english convicts. Also at the beggining of the tour we were given cards that correspond to a prisoner, my card had a relevantsy to a 13 year old prisoner named Peter Brannon, he was sentenced to 7 years for stealing a handkerchief of all things. Some of the consequences seem not very bad but when they are described they seem terrible, imagine being locked in a completely dark room not being able to make a noise AT ALL and being there for about 2 weeks. Well I cant think of anything else to blog about so merry christmas!

-ZACH

12/26/11

Happy Boxing Day. Mix of weather again today. Wind, rain, cool, and then sunny and warm. Enjoyed a day at Port Arthur for a tour of the old prison site and Isle of the Dead. Very interesting history of the penal colony and the efforts of several countries to relocate convicts to Australia and, in this case, Tasmania or Van Deaman's Land as it was called then. Walked the harbor and had dinner in an ever-growing festive atmosphere. Boxing Day and the excitement of the yacht races and food festival all contribute to the party-like feeling. Heading to Adelaide tomorrow.

12/25/11

Excellent Christmas. Have enjoyed a nice walk at the Hobart harbor and listening to the beautiful church bells in town. Afternoon rain has rolled in, but it makes for a nice change of pace. Got to watch Christmas Vacation, too. Merry Christmas to all.

12/24/11 - Christmas Eve

Traveled to Hobart on Christmas Eve. Very pretty countryside during the 2 1/2 hour drive from Louncestan to Hobart. Arrived in Hobart to sunny, warm weather. Arrived at a nice hotel, dropped the bags and hit the local market along the harbor. The harbor is preparing for two events: 1) the Melbourne to Hobart yacht race ending in Hobart on December 28; and 2) the Hobart food festival starting on December 28. The market was fun with lots of local goods. We ate at a local pub and restaurant, including several local beers. Lots of bakeshops in Australia. Everyone of them has something good to eat. Tough to avoid buying something sweet in each of them. Relaxing Christmas Eve after the shopping and touring.

12/23/11

Enjoyed the day touring Cradle Mountain Park and Dove Lake. Saw another wallaby up close. Hiked around Dove Lake. Stopped at a farm that made fresh cheese and ice cream. The cheese, including wasabi cheddar, will be a Christmas treat. Was told that I should try Blue Eye - a Tasmanian fish. I tried it and it was terrific. It was pared with pumpkin risotto. Louncestan was a fun, sleepy town. The best bus driver to date - Leigh. He was a great tour guide and involved us individually and as a family. 40 years of tour guide work and he genuinely aimed to please. He made the tour special and provided us with excellent recommendations in town and for Hobart.

Christmas in Hobart

Few facts:
Gas - $5.21/gallon
Bottle of Diet Coke - $3.00-$4.00
Daily internet at the hotel- $20.00
Bottle of Beer - $6.00-7.00
Glass of Tasmanian wine - $6.00 (it was a merlot and it was DELICIOUS)
blueberry muffin - $3.00
postcards - $1.00/each
Cab ride to airport (short trip) - $18.00

We've adujsted well to the time change and are now in our third stop of the trip, Hobart, Tasmania. This is the location where Paul Watson and his Sea Shepard crew often leave port from when they start their whale protection campaign each year. Animal Planet lovers will recognize this as the Whale Wars show. Our hotel overlooks the port and we heard church bells last night and for much of this morning. The windows are open and the ocean breeze keeps our room cool. It is only about 70degrees but it stays very warm. Part of it is the humidity but it also feels like the sun is so close it is hot on your skin. We are enjoying a quiet day together and looking forward to starting the next leg of our trip. Yes, it is half way around the world, but Christmas in Hobart is still a simple but perfect Christmas.

12/20/11

Today, we went on the Great Ocean Road tour. The Great Ocean Road extends west from Melbourne and was intended to be similar to the Pacific Coast Highway. We traveled through various cities, including Torquay. I enjoyed seeing Torquay and loved seeing the growth of the town based in large part because of the surf industry. We traveled through Geelong on our way to Bells Beach - home of one of the world famous surfing events. It was terrific to see a place I had read and heard so much about. After Bells Beach, we proceeded through several towns and eventually to Apollo Bay and the 12 Apostles. The 12 Apostles are an amazing set of limestone earth features in the ocean. We saw them from the road, up close from viewing platforms, and via helicopter. Amazing to see. Upon our return home, we were able to enjoy all of the Christmas sites in Melbourne, including abundant lights and signage.

12/21/2011

Lazy morning this morning in anticipation of late night tour to Phillip Island. On the way to Phillip Island, we saw much of the suburban areas around Melbourne and went through some beautiful countryside. Stopped at a working ranch and got to see kangaroos, wombats and several different birds up close. Got to pet a kangaroo and watched one of the kangaroos kick another traveler in the stomach twice and chase a small child. Got to hold a four month old ring tail possum. Then went to the Koala conservation Center and saw several koalas up close. After visiting the koalas, we saw the small town of Cowes and visited the Phillip Island Grand Prix track where they run motorcycle races. The town of Cowes was a small coastal city with many seagulls that seem to like Mik. They followed her everywhere. After eating in Cowes, we went to the penguin parade. We saw several wallaby on Phillip Island before seeing the actual penguin return from the ocean. Over 1700 penguins exited the ocean en route to their burrows. The process was remarkable. The penguins started arriving around dark and continued to exit the water for hours after having fished for the day. The "little penguins" were about 12 inches tall and are part of a small colony on Phillip Island. The conservation program is truly amazing.

12/22/11

Flew from Melbourne to Lounceston, Tasmania. Much more humid and warmer here than in Melbourne the last few days. Enjoyed walking around town and had a nice meal at the Jailhouse Grill. Ate venison and wallaby sausage. Full day touring scheduled for tomorrow.

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Well, well, well, sice this is my first post I'll cover what has happened...

On the first day we had dinner on a tram car :)
on the second day we did a city sites tour which was very fun, we were able to see all the attractions of the island.
On the second day we went on the GREAT OCEAN ROAD, it was fun to see the oceans and all the scenery
On the third day we went to see the penguin parade, on one of the stops we saw kangaroos, wombats, and a ringtail possum. When we saw the ringtail possum the person who was taking care of it let me hold it. It ended up crawling up my shoulder and on to my head

Out of Melbourne, into Launceston

The flight from LAX into Melbourne wasn't that bad, I slept almost the entire time. Our first night in Melbourne we had dinner on a tram that went through the city as they served us dinner. We had a choice of beef or chicken. Mom and I got chicken and Zach and Brad got beef. Both of the dinners were delicious. For dessert we all had a White Chocolate Rasberry Parfait, which was also delicious. It was amazing what the chef could do in such a small kitchen.

On our second day in Melbourne we did a city sites tour. We went around and saw the various attractions, like the different sports stadiums, the shopping centers, gardens, and Federation Square.

On our third day we drove along the Great Ocean Road. We saw Bell's Beach, the city of Torquay, the city of Apollo Bay, the Loch and Gorge, the London Bridge, and we even took a helicopter tour of the Twelve Apostles.

Our fourth day in Melbourne we went to see the Penguin Parade. We made a few stops along the way. The first stop was at a local farm. Their animals ranged from sheep,to cockatoos, to Wombats and Kangaroos. We were allowed to go up and pet the kangaroos. They weren't full grown adults, but they were still scary. A couple of the people at the farm with us got kicked by one kangaroo in particular. We avoided that one at all costs.

Today we flew to Launceston, Tasmania. We didn't have a tour scheduled today so we walked around the city and ate dinner. Tomorrow we're going on a tour of Cradle Mountain National Park.

Ahhhhh Melbourne

We've been touring from early in the morning until evening each day. Great trip but we are all pretty tired once we get back to the hotel.
Melbourne is a terrific city. It has all the things a city should have and few of the things you don't want in a city. There are several sports stadiums, museums, monuments, a theater with three stages that will hold various size audiences, a casino, cafes and restaurants, and the list goes on and on. We traveled outside the city twice. Once to tour the Great Ocean Road and then to go to Phillip Island to see the Penguin Parade. I plan these trips over a year in advance which means I've forgotten many of the things on our itinerary. The Penguin Parade was one of the things I didn't remember selecting. It is now something I will never forget. We've seen many amazing things on our travels but the Little Penguins are truly fascinating. They swim miles off the coast all day long fishing for food and like clockwork they return at sunset in groups to the beach. They travel across land for a mile or more to return to their home where their young are hungry and waiting for mom and dad to return. No description will do it justice. At this point in the trip the Penguins are the highlight, along with dipping my feet in the Southern Ocean, feeling the breeze direct from the Antarctica on my face, and flying in the helicopter to see the Twelve Apostles (which are really 7 and a bit because part of the 8th feel in the ocean a few years back and there never were 12 to begin with).
I loved Melbourne. It had a great atmosphere and was easy to get around. People were friendly and proud of their home. They welcome visitors and are happy to have new people move to the area. It is a city of 4.1 million but it felt like a small community. Can't wait to see what the rest of Australia has to offer.

12/19/11

Cities sites tour by bus and then walking on our own today. Saw some great places and heard some of the history of the city. Enjoyed being part of the remembrance ceremony at the ANZAC memorial. Walked around town and followed up on some of the sites at our leisure. Went to the graffiti art alley. The selection of foods is wide ranging. While the curry place smelled good, the name of "funky curry" made for some gastric worries. Like seeing some of the surf culture represented in the city. We are near bells beach and some other well known surf areas. Will be at bells tomorrow. Food adventure tonight possibly.

12/18/11

Arrived in Melbourne today. Long flight on the biggest commercial plane in the sky. Nice flight. Got to enjoy several movies. We walked around the river front near the Crown casino and enjoyed the sites. Beautiful walking area near the river. Ate dinner on the Colonial Tram Car restaurant. Food was terrific and we got to see some of the city on the fairly extensive tram system. Filet mignon was the choice and it was terrific. Nice walk back to the hotel and an early night.

Arrived Melbourne

15 1/2 hour flight from LA. Row 85 on the plane. I don't know how they get those huge planes off the ground. Storms most of the way so it was a bumpy flight. We are exhausted but will do a tram tour of the city with dinner tonight. Kate, it's just like the cab driver said in New Zealand, "you have to just push through!" One cool function on the plane we've never had before was a Skycam. It was a camera attached to the tail of the plane and you could watch the plane from the outside. I have a couple screenshots I will try to upload. Free wifi everywhere in the city so we should be able to stay in touch! Warm and cloudy here today.

Itinerary

We will fly to Australia from Los Angeles. While in the land Down Under we will visit 7 locations.

Days 1-4 Melbourne

Days 5&6 Launceston, Tasmania

Days 7&8 Hobart, Tasmania

Days 9-12 Adelaide

Days 13-15 Cairns

Days 16&17 Ayers Rock

Days 18-21 Sydney

We will be in a couple different time zones while there but for the most part we will be 19 hours ahead of CA, 18 hours ahead of AZ & NM, 17 hours ahead of NE & TN, and 16 ahead of PA.