a hop to hobart

We arrived in Hobart on a lovely Sunday morning, picked up our campervan and headed into the city to meet Ash and Tijs. We then hopped the quirky MONA ferry up the river to the MONA (Museum of Old and New Art), sitting on sheep bolted to deck. The weather in Hobart was spotty (much like Vermont, if you don't like it, wait 5 minutes!)- we experienced sunshine and pouring rain at the same time, but the majority of our stay in Tasmania was sunny!

There were great views from the MONA ferry (everything from industrial plants to neat rock formations) all the way to the MONA itself, mostly buried under the ground. The MONA was interesting to be sure, with an outdoor turf tennis court, trampoline, and lacy metal truck as well as a live band with plush pink bean bags sprinkled around the yard for comfortable lounging. The MONA had a very unique collection of objects to say the least. Though we weren't particular fans of the collection, the spaces within the MONA were quite impressive, massive hallways and uniquely designed rooms and installations. After an afternoon exploring the whole collection and learning about the art pieces via an iPod on a lanyard.

Hobart Weather, view of Hobart Harbor from the MONA Ferry

The MONA view from the Ferry (most of it is embedded in the hillside)

After an afternoon underground, we headed back to Hobart and window shopped in the Salamanca area. We were impressed with the art we saw through the windows and even stumbled upon a really beautiful exhibit on the Tarkine region of Tasmania in an equally nice exhibition space.

Hobart Harbor

For more photos from Tasmania, visit the 2014 Tasmania Album.

melbourne culture

After many weeks in Melbourne, we had seen many of the sights and experienced many of the Melbourne Activities, however, two important things were missing, the Melbourne Museum and Footy! We wandered north of the city center through the gardens and parks near the Royal Exhibition Center to the Melbourne Museum to experience a wonderful collection of native animals, creepy crawlies, and sea creatures, walk through a forest exhibit with many birds chirping, and see a wide variety of other special exhibits on the body and mind, the history of Melbourne, and Australia's aboriginal culture.

Royal Exhibition Center

Inside the Melbourne Museum

After enjoying the day at the Melbourne Museum, we walked the South Bank along the Yarra River. It was a lovely evening and there were tons of events along the waterfront including more food and wine festival events and promotion for Australia's Grand Prix Formula 1 race happening over the weekend. We enjoyed ice cream and dinner (in that order) and then headed to Etihad Stadium to meet Jen and Torby for our first ever footy game with Torby's favorite team, Collingwood. It was nice to have our resident footy experts with us explaining the rules of the game (definitely one that should become popular in the US), though unfortunately (for some) and fortunately (for others) the score was not very close and the purple team (Freo) won by a wide margin.

Formula 1 Car

Footy Collingwood v. Fremantle in Etihad Stadium

Saturday brought the race warm-ups, and Mom and I headed down to Albert Park to hear the Formula 1 cars racing around the racetrack (which could be heard from far and wide) and even peek the lights for a fraction of a second as they zoomed by our section of the track. Before the final warm-up we got to see and certainly hear the jet flyover before the rain hit and we headed home to pack for Tasmania.

Gates to the Grand Prix Formula 1 race track

For more pictures, visit the Melbourne Part 2 Album.

1000 steps to gambledom

After a busy holiday weekend in the city, we headed to the calmer green forests of Mount Dandenong. We drove through lovely woodland, walked both the 1000 steps track and the Lyre track on the mountain before enjoying a small picnic lunch at the top of the mountain in a forest recovering from a forest fire (blackened trunks).

1000 Steps track in Mt. Dandenong Park

Park at the top of the 1000 steps in Mt. Dandenong

We explored Churchill National Park, another park outside of Melbourne with a much drier landscape and a few kangaroos hidden in the shade.

Churchill National Park

Churchill National Park

That night, I went to have dinner with Torby and Jen on the classic City Restaurant Tram, however, unfortunately due to Grand Prix traffic in the city,  Jen couldn't make it so Torby and I ordered and ate on her behalf. It was a lovely dinner and a unique experience for sure. After dinner, we went inside the Crown Casino (Australia's Largest casino). This was my first Casino experience, so Torby insisted I try a machine (we won a few dollars but lost 7, which satisfied my desire to gamble away any further coins by clicking a button). Inside the casino we also stumbled upon an elaborate performance with blue-lit dancers celebrating a wine tasting festival that was apparently happening.

Restaurant Tram

Crown Casino

Crown Casino, Wine Festival Performance

Photo album of all photos from Melbourne in March: ALBUM

moomba future music

We returned to Oz on a gorgeous sunny and warm day after a lovely month in New Zealand. We stopped by Torby's cafe to enjoy some lunch on his last day as a chef and explored new nooks and crannies around Melbourne. Friday, I spent the day working with Torby and Tom at an under 18 music festival, Good Life, organizing drinks and edibles for the musicians and artists. After the work was done, we got the chance to enjoy some music and the crowds at the Flemington Racetrack and Show grounds. 

View of Melbourne and the Yarra River

As always, Melbourne had a lot to offer and this weekend was no different with Moomba. The 60th (Diamond Jubilee) Moomba Festival had music, carnivals, parades, and waterskiing and wake boarding competitions on the Yarra. I really enjoyed watching the Yarra River events, having never seen (or even known about) the different water sports as competition sports. The tricks were the most exciting, but the jumping and slalom were also fun to watch and the river bank was a lovely place to relax with the masses. Amidst the Festival celebrations I also got to catch up with a friend from Adelaide that I had met while living in Austria and who just happened to be in Melbourne for the day.

Waterskiing competition on the Yarra

Slalom Skiing on the Yarra

New Street Art on Hosier Lane

After a nice relaxing Saturday by the river, mom and I stopped at a tram car cafe for a drink and ended up with free tickets to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for a night of jazz, courtesy of our waitress. It was an unexpected surprise and resulted in a wonderful evening at Hamer Hall with world class music.

Inside Hamer Hall before hearing MSO

Sunday was a full day at the 18 and over music festival, Future Music Festival, working the artist drinks and snacks and getting dressing room, sidestage, and backstage access to amazing performances, including Pharrell Williams and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Future Music Festival

Monday, was a state holiday - Labour Day (I was told it absolutely needed a U). And with it, came more Moomba festivities, parades, and Waltraud's Hat Walk for Mental Health First Aid. After a late late night at the music festival, it was an early morning, racing out of the house with hats of all shapes and sizes. It was a short walk from Federation Square to the gardens where we enjoyed the company of friends in the shade. Mom and I then headed back to the river for the finals of the water events. Afterwards, we explored the National Gallery of Victoria, which had some lovely exhibits and features, including a fun water fountain in the entrance and pingpong tables for all to use. It was a lovely Labour Day to end a jam packed weekend.

Hat Walk Crew

For photos from our second time in Melbourne, visit the 2014 Melbourne (Part 2) Album.

kaikoura and back to the center

Having arrived in Kaikoura in the dark, we were pleasantly surprised when we awoke with a beautiful view of snow topped mountains out our window. The clouds soon rolled in shrouding the snow caps from view. We headed out to walk on the windy peninsula, doing our best not to get knocked over by the breeze while enjoying the views of the mountains, the ocean, and the coastline going both north and south.

First view of the morning - Snow capped mountains 

View looking back from the Kaikoura Peninsula 

View of the Peninsula Coastline, looking toward Christchurch

Seals Sunbathing on the Peninsula

After walking around the Peninsula, we decide it was time to continue northward (given that we were relatively short on time). We stopped at a few places along the way, going for a nice walk to another beautiful waterfall (no shortage of those on the island). The waterfall is known for being the play place for young seal pups while their moms are out at sea (unfortunately, it was the wrong season for that).

Little Waterfall on the East Coast

Stormy weather on the east coast road, heading north

We reached the Marlborough wine region, drove by vineyard after vineyard, and made a couple stops in the organic vineyard area to see the Seresin and Huia Vineyards and taste some wine (and some olive oil) before heading onward. It was a lovely drive back to Nelson and we were able to see part of the drive that we had missed the first night on the south island (on our initial drive from Picton which was half in the dark).

Marlborough Vineyards 

Seresin Estate Vineyard

We had one last morning in New Zealand, and we took it upon ourselves to hike to the "Center of New Zealand," which just happens to be on the top of a hill in Nelson with a gorgeous view of the Tasman Bay and the mountains in all other directions. It was a great way to end our stay on the south island. We then headed to Nelson Airport, and all one gate. We sat there waiting for our plane and were surprised by the totally non-existent official security. We walked into the airport, dropped our rental car key in a little box, and then when our plane arrived we walked straight from the main area of the airport, all 10 meters, out the other side of it through a glass door and onto the runway to our plane - no checking for liquids, explosives, knives, or funky creatures, just our boarding passes. The flight was a 25 minute flight from Nelson to Wellington, and though there were clouds a good portion of the way, there were some beautiful views of the Marlborough Sounds and the Cook Strait (with both the South and the North Island).

Needle pointing to the Center of New Zealand

View of Cook Strait with the South Island and North Island of New Zealand 

The Wellington airport was an odd site, with the terminal dubbed the "Middle of Middle Earth" and sporting giant Lord of the Rings sculptures. We had managed to miss nearly all things Lord of the Rings while in New Zealand (with the exception of some postage stamps). Imagine being greeted by the lovely face of a giant Gollum. After then passing through international security (which was slightly more rigorous), we headed back to Australia.

Gollum, inside the Wellington Airport

For all of the photos from New Zealand, visit the ALBUM!

arthurs pass

After having our fill of Punakaiki for the second time, we headed east for Arthurs Pass for a fun packed day to celebrate Mom's birthday. We stopped in Greymouth for provisions and enjoyed seeing the old buildings representing a more profitable era. We then took the scenic route (though every road in New Zealand is scenic) by an old coal mine to Lake Brunner in the hope of seeing a beautiful glacier lake with mountains around it. However, the mist and clouds and fog were so dense that there was really nothing to be seen with the exception of a white void. We continued through the pass, enjoying the views as the clouds lifted in some valleys. There were beautiful lakes, pastures, and and of course mountains in every direction.

The beginnings of the views on the road to Arthurs Pass

We wound through the mountains along a wide river bed, with only the smallest trickle of a river in it, taking in the sites, and finally peaked a bit of sun and clear skies in the distance. The views were breathtaking and we were excited to see the weather improving (though in the dense fog it was still really cool!)

First views of sun in Arthurs Pass

We chased the sun along the windy road and were rewarded by bright skies and mountains as far as the eye could see. We stopped in the middle at Arthurs Pass to take a few walks, one in particular to the Devil's Punchbowl waterfalls, which was a beautiful hike up the side of the mountain to see the double falls and feel the misty spray washing over us. We also enjoyed a walk through a mossy covered forest, with the sunlight peaking through the trees making it look magical.

Sunny view in Arthurs Pass

Mossy Wooded Walk in Arthurs Pass

Devil's Punchbowl Waterfall

Our walks in Arthurs Pass, let the rain catch up with us, so we headed back on the road eastward through the valleys. We made a stop at Lake Pearson, to see some fly fishermen and more gorgeous views before continuing onward to Castle Hill. At Castle Hill, we climbed around massive boulders sprinkled on the hillside and enjoyed the bizarre shapes from every angle.

Views in Arthurs Pass (outrunning the rain)

Fly fishing in Lake Pearson

Castle Hill Rocks

After Castle Hill, we headed to the east coast with the setting sun. We took the scenic route 72 and headed north east along the east coast through vineyards and pastures (once again) to Kaikoura. We weren't sure where we would stop for the night, but the gorgeous views in the evening light kept us inspired to see more of the landscape. We drove until dark and made it to the Kaikoura peninsula, outlined by lights dotting the edges.

Views along Scenic Route 72 on the eastern side of Arthurs Pass

Sunset views from the east coast

For more photos from the trip, view the New Zealand 2014 Album.

rocky west coast

After a lovely couple days in the Abel Tasman, we left the gorgeous sandy beaches for a slightly rougher coast. We drove south west along the Buller River through gorgeous valleys and even came across an international kayaking and other watercraft competition. We pulled over to enjoy the unexpected entertainment and watched several kayakers battling the rapids in an attempt to paddle upstream to make it through one of the hanging gates in the river. We enjoyed the drastic landscape changes from vineyards to high mountains and river valleys as we headed to the west coast for some more site seeing.

The Buller River

We stopped for some walking near Cape Fowlwind at Tauronga Bay, where we watched the waves crashing loudly on the rocky shore (and surfers attempting to get a wave...) while seals enjoyed the sun. We then headed further south to Punakaiki, taking the curvy and windy road along the coast enjoying the views around each bend. We stopped near Fox River after spotting some really neat rock formations from the side of the road. We walked across the strong current in the river to reach a massive rock cave right on the beach and climbed over huge piles of drift wood (all of which mom wanted to collect) to get to fun rocky archways and beach pools.

The West Coast of the South Island

With the sun getting lower, we headed to our final destination for the day, Punakaiki - known for its pancake rocks and booming blow holes. It was a lovely walk through a small park to the pancake rocks, which are worn in a variety of neat formations by the power of the sea. Since it was near low tide when we arrived, we didn't experience the force of the blowholes but we were able to see numerous underwater caverns and carved rocks only visible with the tide out.

Punakaiki

 After enjoying the rocks at Punakaiki and listening to the waves echoing within the caverns, we took a walk on the Truman track to another nearby beach with beautiful rock formations and that, instead of sand, was made up of tons of tiny little rounded pebbles. We stood under mammoth rock formations, were sprayed by a waterfall, and enjoyed the feel of the pebbles on our feet. We could have stayed for hours but decided to go find our accommodations while there was still light on the road and people to help if we got lost.

The Truman Track

The beach at the end of the Truman Track

Cool rocks stretching out into the ocean that have been worn away by the waves

Gorgeous sunset on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island

After a lovely evening in Punakaiki, we awoke to Mom's birthday and headed back to the pancake rocks to get one more look at the spectacle before heading east. Timing it so the tide would be higher, we enjoyed the boom of the blow holes which were just starting there explosive pattern (this was still about 3 hours before high tide!).

Punakaiki Blow Holes (half way to high tide)

For more New Zealand photos, visit the ALBUM.