Happy New Year from Brisbane, Australia.

Sunday, Dec. 26.
Between Te Anau and Queenstown the topography changes dramatically. Like going from the Fraser Valley to Nelson in two hours. Yesterday, we drove through wonderful farmland with the thousands of sheep and now many small domestic herd of deer. The higher fences indicate that a farmer has switched to deer. Always, though, the Southern Alps loom on the north-western horizon. Kingston marks the southern arm of Lake Wakatipu. It reminds us of Kootenay lake. Eventually, far in the distance, Queenstown and Franklin, its neighbour, came into view. The population here more than doubles in holiday season, skiing in the winter and water/mountain sports and Milford Sound excursions in the summer, which starts today.
Yesterday, the Thai/Chinese/Indian restaurants were open, but anything serving turkey started at $60 a plate. We opted out and enjoyed ham and cheese with crackers. and hot peas. But we did have hot plum pudding with caramel sauce (no rum, unfortunately) for dessert. Of course, wine as well. We will see what today brings. Maybe somebody will offer hot turkey (left-over) sandwiches as a special.
No such luck, but we travel the twenty miles to Arrowtown, and there find wonderfully delicious homemade pies (lamb & mint for you-know-who and mince & cheese for the plain pallet), chunky, crisp chips, and good micro-brewery beer. The lunch was a good substitute.
Arrowtown was a gold mining town in the 19th C., was abandoned, and has been resurrected as a one-shopping street tourist trap. Actually, it is quite quaint, but the 30% off t-shirt at $60, and the sundress at $250, would challenge Robson Street for its designer names. There is a boutique movie theatre, museum, and Chinese Camp which are interesting.
The whole loop from Queenstown to Arrowtown is dotted with chalets and condominium developments to support the skiing industry. Also, we watch the helicopters take off for the flight over the mountains to Milford Sound, only 80 k as the crow flies.
This was a good choice for the Christmas holiday time, as many businesses are open to serve the hoards. After our extravagant lunch, we eat in again to microwaved chicken breast, small new potatoes, salad, and the rest of the peas. We discover on the news that we have missed a 4.something aftershock of the September 4th earthquake in Christchurch. There is a little more damage in the central area, but it will probably all be dealt with before we arrive in two days.


From left to right:

The little brook that runs through Queenstown.

A heritage building in Arrowtown.

The old English post box still in use in Arrowtown.

My friend, the Kiwi, in Queenstown.

The reconstructed Chinese general store in Arrowtown.

Reconstructed homes in Chinese Village; note, the one on the far right is built into a cavern in the rocks.

The New Zealand caravans travel with the curtains open so the driver can see behind. That's the truck you see in through the window.

Monday, Dec. 27. Happy 70th Birthday to Peter.
We are all pleased he made 70, as we had a party on Labour Day weekend. Hey kids, he is loving his Kindle and was lost the few days when it wasn’t working. But all is well.
We awaken to rain which continues develop into a downpour by noon. We eat our picnic lunch in the car in Twizzel. Both Lake Pukaki and Tekapo are a gorgeous light emerald green with the distance washed-out in the rain. These lakes are both fed by the glaciers of the Aoraki/Cook National Park.
I drive the last leg into Geraldine which appears windy on the map, and it is, but at least it is not a high pass but rather a valley, and the weather clears.
Our unit is huge with a full kitchen, so Peter has a home cooked fillet dinner for his birthday. We have only a two-hour drive tomorrow, but we plan to stop at the Tin Barn to look at rugs and yarn to send home to Canada along with the sweater I bought on the way south.

Tuesday, Dec. 28 49 years and still in love!
The weather is ugly when we leave Geraldine. We do stop by the “post store” which is not open until tomorrow, so the gal can’t tell us how expensive a parcel will be to mail to Canada, but she does sell us a postal bag which will weigh less than if we use a box. We stop at The Tin Roof and buy a sheepskin rug for Castlegar or San Jose. It is still ugly when we get to Christchurch, but we venture out to return the car and walk around the downtown to see some off the new damage from the aftershocks on Boxing Day. We make our way to the bus exchange and take the bus home as the rain is still falling. Although it clears-up a bit by dinner time, it is still cold so we decide another meal in would be okay. We will celebrate our anniversary tomorrow night when it is actually the 28th in Canada.

This hair dresser will return to the mess after the holiday.

Aftershock damage.

The cross has been removed to be repaired. Note the gap on the roof of the church.

Afternoon: Dec. 29
We decide to stay in this area for dinner and choose Nanton’s, the place with peri peri sauce. The manager brings up the locations in Canada. Other than Kamloops and Calgary, the restaurants are all in the Vancouver area. Anyone with money to invest would do well to get the franchise rights for the Kootenays. They serve only chicken (including my favourite - the livers) and vegetarian dishes. The fact that they are licensed makes it a good evening place. They have a few pre-packaged desserts.
Home to pack as tomorrow we fly to Brisbane. I hate the thought of leaving New Zealand, but look forward to “the big island.”



Hagley Park and the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch.

Wednesday, Dec. 29.
A beautifully sunny day in Christchurch.
We walk across the Botanical Gardens Park to the downtown. We want to go through the Arts Centre which was a college built in the British fashion. Unfortunately, most of it is cordoned-off because of earthquake damage in the aftershocks on the 26th. I find a shop for some knitting patterns, we do some browsing, the Wizard in on the same topic so we keep going, we stop at a street wagon for a German sausage, and carry-on back to the motel across the park. It is lively with families and couples picnicking or just enjoying the park.
We walk to the mall on Riccardin and I find a place to get my hair coloured and the Korean “senior” stylist cuts my hair. All for $50 (about $45 cnd).

Thursday, Dec. 30.
Once we are packed and leave our luggage in the storage area, we walk across to the park and sit on a bench in the sun and read for the hour and a half until the van picks us up.


Our last view of Christchurch in Hagley Park across the street from Argyl on the Park.
Saying goodbye to our friend at the motel.

As we are always early, we get a little lunch at the airport and read again until the boarding at 2:30. The Jetstar is full, as usual. No hitches and we are in Brisbane by 3:30 local time. Peter purchases his gin at the duty free. Seemingly it will be more expensive downtown. Not much to say about the ride downtown. It appears to be a city with tall buildings, but does not give the impression of being a “big” city.
Once settled, we walk to Queen Street Mall and find all the people - it is buzzing. We settle for dinner at the food court - Peter at the Carvery and me at the fish kiosk. It is fine and filling. We do not have cooking facilities in the room, but we do have a kettle and coffee and a small fridge - so we stop by the supermarket and pick up a few essentials - yogurt, cheese, crackers, and fruit. We are still working on the Cadbury chocolates from Dunedin!
We certainly notice that we are somewhat north as it is quite dark by 7 p.m. I had just gotten used to the nine o’clock sunsets.


The downtown side of the river in Brisbane is freeway, while thee other side is parkland.











This a casino? Yes it is.

Interesting architecture.

Friday, Dec. 31.
Brisbane is a walking/biking/public transit city. We begin by buying a day pass which will take us anywhere within two zones. We begin by walking to the South Shore park. We visit the science museum (free) for well over an hour then I ride the ferris wheel. It is enclosed cars with commentary as you take the 12 minute ride. A bargain for $15. We continue to the “beach” pool, a series of pools of varying depths that have sand beach edges and bottoms. The place is alive with families. There is a zero tolerance for liquor. As the fireworks will be held in this area tonight, you can bring no liquor, glass, or open bottles of anything to the area. There are security guard checks at all entrances. Some folks are setting-up for the midnight fireworks already - 11 a.m. We walk back to the CityCat stop, the catamaran that goes up and down the river as part of the transportation system. It is great fun and we get to see may interesting buildings along the way. (More later!) We get off near the end of the run and go to the Breakfast Creek Hotel for a late lunch/ early dinner - late birthday/anniversary dinner. It is an institution in Brisbane and it is about time Peter had a good steak. We share the big loin strip dinner. It is lots with some very garlicky garlic bread to begin. Returning to our hotel by bus, we have a snooze before venturing out around 9 p.m. for the festivities and fireworks of an Australian New Year celebration. There is salsa dancing in Queen Street Square - by good and not so good dancers, but everyone is having fun. I don’t even don my jacket! It is 11:30 when we venture across the Queen Street bridge and find a spot near the far side from which we can view the fireworks. At midnight, it is ten minutes of deafening colour. There are two barges from which the explosion of colour and noise rise in unison. What fun! Peter thinks San Jose is better, but maybe the beach and the fact they are exploding directly over head there has some influence in his enjoyment. I was thoroughly impressed.
Happy 2011 to everyone. We celebrate 50 this year. What an adventure!




The Big Wheel. A great ride.












A part of the beach swimming pool complex. Of course, it's free.

Downtown from the City Cat ferry.

Breakfast Creek restaurant.

Saturday. Jan. 1.
What a shock! We exit the hotel and stop dead in our tracks. It is raining!
Because it is warm, the addition of the umbrella the hotel lends us allows us to continue on our way to breakfast and then to the Kuala Sanctuary without having to change clothing.
The bus ride out takes over half an hour and, besides three local who get on and off, only we six tourists ride this hour.
Besides breeding Kuala, the sanctuary has many examples of native birds, mammals, reptiles, and lizards. The highlight is when I get to “cuddle” (hold) a Kuala and Peter and I get our picture taken. It is a drizzly day, so the crowds are minimal, and we spend four hours exploring the area and watching the demonstrations.
As it is our last day in Brisbane, we splurge with a dinner out at a neat place called JoJo’s on Queen Street. It has four separate kitchens so you can have meat, Chinese, pasta, or seafood. You order and pay at the counter and the waiter brings your food. You order separately at the bar, where you can also order dessert. There is an escalator to the restaurant and it is constantly depositing patrons and whisking them away. It is a happening place. I hope the guy who owns it is making money!

Sunday, Jan. 2.
With half of Brisbane (a slight exaggeration), we crawl south towards the Gold Coast. We continue past into New South Wales and get ourselves checked-in in Murwillumbah - Lach’s probably the only reader who has a clue how to pronounce this name or who knows where it is! The rest of you can use Google Earth and expend your education.
I make a lunch which somebody (I won’t point fingers) forgets, and return the 20 odd miles to Tweed Heads. BEACH!
We buy a take-out at a little spot recommended by some guys on their way to the beach. A real - not that processed garbage - chicken sandwich. I am famished as the yogurt and apple of nine o’clock are long digested. But the water beckons. It is so warm I can just walk right in - no shivering - no splashing myself - it is wonderful.
Once I have had a dip, we walk north along the talcum-powder sand beach and back into Queensland. There are no markers, just the fact the lifeguards now are under the Queensland state authorities. As it is low-tide, we walk through the volcanic rocks and up Collangatta Beach. Peter has his shoes and socks off and is even walking in the water! We walk for over a half-hour then return. I go for another swim - there seem to be more people now. I can’t get out to the sandbar as the tide is coming in and I swim just to stay in one place.
On my way in to shore, just as my feet touch bottom, I feel the sting! The warnings have been out for Blue Bottles. I ask a local what one does if you get stung. He tells me to see the lifeguards and they will give me ice.
The lovely young lady at the station pours warm water on the area where I have been stung - my left shoulder, upper chest, and right forearm and hand. She directs me to put the ice on the area and to sit for half an hour to make sure my breathing is not affected. The areas turn from stingy to itchy. By the time we return to the motel, all is well. I feel I have been initiated into the Australian beach life.