bay of islands

We arrived to Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands and had a lovely stay with Deb and Mike! We slept well with the pouring rain and awoke to a gorgeous day! We saw Rainbow Falls, Matauri Bay, walked to the Rainbow Warrior, enjoyed the lovely downtown and relaxed on the deck with a great view!

Rainbow Falls

Matauri Bay

Matauri Bay

The following day we got to take a day sailing the Bay of Islands on Mike's boat, Gungha II. The wind was blowing and the views were amazing! We sailed all morning, stopped mid-day on a gorgeous island, tried some snorkeling, and then returned to the boat, saw some beautiful Bay of Islands bottle-nosed dolphins jumping out of the water, and navigated our way back through the islands to Opito Bay before heading back to the house for a relaxing evening, delicious food, and great company!

The following day we explored further around the Bay and went a little further north to Matai Bay on the Karikari Peninsula. We saw more gorgeous sites, swam and relaxed in a perfect aqua bay (mom even got her calm waters for a swim) and found some funky sites along the road. 

kiwis growing on the vine

the oldest stone building in New Zealand

Matai Bay

Matai Bay

Karikari Beach, on the other side of the peninsula from Matai Bay

The Jandal Fence

For more pictures, visit the ALBUM

revisiting childhood

We arrived in New Zealand, flying over beautiful islands emerging from the mist. We found a rental car and headed north. We zipped through Auckland, viewing a nice panorama from the bridge spanning the harbor and headed north to Whangaparaoa (and for all those that are curious, "Wh" is pronounced "F").

We made it to Arkles Bay to find the building we lived in 24 years ago to be pretty much exactly the same, with a few slight landscaping modifications. We wandered around the area, revisiting areas I knew only from pictures and mom enjoyed seeing the spots that looked as if they had stood still as time passed and finding areas that were unrecognizable.

Arkles Bay

We spent the night on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula and woke up to Waitangi Day, their national holiday, which this year was filled with incredible winds that made all the surfers, wind surfers, and parasailors extremely happy and nearly knocked us spectators over while trying to watch.

Orewa Beach

It was a drizzly day, but a good one for us to head to the Northland, stopping at a really neat beach, the Wenderholm Park, with amazing trees lining the coastline. (This beach apparently was the spot that santa used to arrive on his boat when we were kids.)

Wenderholm Park

On our way to the Bay of Islands in the Northland, we stopped in Kawakawa to check out the town's main attraction - public toilets, designed by Hundertwasser.

It was a great day to drive north because it started pouring and rained hard most of the way (something many New Zealanders were happy about because there has been a ~2 year drought). While we couldn't see most of the spectacular views out the window, I could see enough to know that it was beautiful landscapes everywhere.

To see all the pictures from New Zealand, visit the album: NEW ZEALAND 2014

great ocean road

February is here, and with it, a road trip adventure along the great ocean road from Melbourne to Port Campbell and back. The sights were amazing every step of the way.

We made our first stop in Airey's Inlet and saw an impressive light house and beautiful beaches as far as the eye could see. We drove on, with the windows rolled all the way down and the salty ocean air keeping us cool on a perfect sunny day.

We stopped in Lorne to take the many steps to the Erskine Falls hidden in the gum tree forests and then Mom found her first potter in Australia (complete with a gorgeous Anagama Kiln) at Qdos Gallery.

We spotted our first koala and fed some gorgeous parrots, enjoyed a lovely dinner in Apollo Bay and watched the sun setting on the great ocean road from Sugarloaf. We stayed at an interesting old Monastery that has been repurposed for lodging, met some lovely ladies from Holland and enjoyed the fascinating rock sculptures on the beach.

The morning brought with it more heat, and much to our dismay, flies, which unfortunately constantly obscured the most picturesque landscapes (in swarms clustering around our faces at all times and requiring multiple photo takes to ensure they were not in our eyes or on our noses).

We strolled through some gorgeous, lush, green rainforest, kept cool from the layers of green growth canopied above us. The vegetation was amazing and we loved examining the tiny greens growing on the curves of branches and the massive trees towering 100m into the air!

We then braved the heat once more, found koalas dozing in the trees they had nearly ravished to death, viewed the [not quite] Twelve Apostles, massive rock formations lining the coast, and took a swim in the significantly calmer and extremely refreshing Loch Ard Gorge before heading back to the city, thankful for air conditioning.

It was an absolutely beautiful drive, with pristine beaches all along the way. And though it was never needed (thanks to mom's fabulous left-side driving skills), we enjoyed the signs that were sprinkled the entire length of the coast, reminding us that in Australia, they drive on the left.

For more photos, visit the ALBUM

enjoying the city streets

After some relaxation down in Flinders, we took a couple days to enjoy the streets of Melbourne, walking around the Fitzroy and South Yarra areas and taking a driving tour around some of the other neighborhoods. We loved all the street art, gorgeous storefront displays, little cafes, and yummy gelato.

Thursday evening, I went to the St. Kilda Night Market with the crowds of people enjoying the food, music, fire twirling, and crafts.

We finished off the week with a lovely Friday Family Dinner and celebrated the Chinese New Year with friends and family.

And as always, the complete album with photo captions can be found here: ALBUM

flinders fun

After Australia day came and went, we decided to branch out beyond Melbourne slightly by taking a trip south to Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula. We hoped a couple trains and arrived to a hot sunny day in Flinders. We had some drinks at Merricks General Wine Store before relaxing inside for the hottest part of the day. When the sun began cooling off, just ever so slightly, we went for a walk/hike at Bushrangers Bay, swatting flies the whole way. 

We saw our first kangaroo, followed my many more both on our way to and from the bay. They bay was absolutely gorgeous, with the slight exception of the many biting bugs, that kept us from strolling the length of the beach. The water was crystal clear and just what we needed to wash away the day's stick. We had the whole bay to ourselves with the exception of one guy reading below a massive bug net.

With the sun setting, we headed back for a lovely dinner, great conversation, and a peaceful night of rest with the ocean waves crashing on the shore. 

The next day, we enjoyed a lovely day exploring the Mornington Peninsula and the vast regions of hay fields and vineyards. We stopped at a couple of the 102 vineyards in the region and had a lovely lunch at Tuck's Ridge. We also got to see the local library, a traveling library housed on a truck that drives around the Peninsula. 

It was a lovely couple days, filled with wonderful people, gorgeous views, and a taste of the quiet oceanside life.

For all the pictures, because you know you want to see them all - view the ALBUM

australia day

Sunday, January 26, 2014 - Australia Day

We woke to the most perfect day we could have asked for to celebrate Australia Day, so after a lovely relaxing morning, we headed into the city for festivities in the city. There were crowds of people, many in costume and the gardens were filled with booths. We listened to an array of music, from jazz and opera to African and Brazilian. There were also rows and rows of beautiful and fun old cars and there was a spectacular flyover. We then wandered the packed streets, enjoying more street music and performances.

The evening was celebrated with the tennis finals and an Aussie backyard party, complete with some backyard cricket. 

The following day, was a national holiday to recover from the "Straya" day celebrations, and we enjoyed a lovely sunset on the beach at Half-Moon Bay.

For the complete collection of photos, visit the ALBUM!

cycling perspectives

With our days now wide open with possibilities, we took it upon ourselves to explore as many gems scattered around the city.

We brought bikes to the city and cycled along the south bank, around the docklands, out to Melbourne port where the huge boats are, around the edge of the Yarra River to Westgate park and along the beaches lining Port Phillip bay.

Westgate Park

Biking along the Beach Path

We stumbled upon a multicultural festival on Princes Pier and stopped to have a Roo burger and listen to some fun Indian music and watch Albanian dances before continuing off down the beach to see parasails decorating the windy shore, wander the length of St. Kilda's Pier, explore Acland street, which was packed full of people enjoying drinks and light dining, and biked back through the parks, even riding a short distance of the Formula 1 race track, and biking up to the Shrine of Remembrance which sits atop a hill and looks over Melbourne city and all its glowing lights. It was fun to see the city from so many different angles!

Princes Pier

Parasails near St. Kilda

Melbourne Perspectives 

the cityscape from many different locations

From the South Bank

From the Docklands

From the Melbourne Port

From St. Kilda

From the Shrine of Remembrance

From the Yarra River, looking at Federation Square

For more photos, view our album:

 Australia and New Zealand 2014