A log about those Silly Folks and their Escapades

After flying from Brisbane and staying at an airport hotel on Thursday morning we caught an Uber to downtown Auckland.
Our hotel wasn’t ready so we checked our luggage and went for walk along the waterfront and West Haven Promenade. There were lots of high end yachts and cruise ships in port.

After that we bought ferry tickets to go to Rangitoto Island the next morning. Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island. It is the youngest and largest of Auckland’s 48 volcanic cones.

The next morning we headed off to the Quay to catch the 9:30 ferry. We were required to be there 1/2hr early for an environmental briefing. They also made sure that each person had brought water, food, sunscreen and suitable clothing or footwear.

Once we arrived we decided to do the 1 hr hike to the summit. It was one heck of a hike as a lot of the paths were through very uneven lava fields. Also a lot of the steps were made from chunks of lava and were not even in depth or height. So you really had to be careful.

The first 45 minutes or so the hike was slowly rising and we didn’t think we were actually going to get to the summit of the mountain. However the last 15 minutes was pretty well straight up and there were a lot of stairs.

Once we reached the top we had a stunning view of Auckland and the surrounding harbours.

After the summit we went down to the Lava Caves, Kidney Fern Glen and Kowhai Grove hikes.

The island is a scenic reserve that they are serious about protecting and keeping pristine. There are no stores, no potable water source, no garbage collection, etc. So you must pack what you need for the day and take away all garbage.

The ferry arrived on schedule to take us back to Auckland and once we arrived we were required to clean our hiking shoes as we left the ferry docking site. It was spectacular day and the weather was amazing.

Finally, this is what you look like after a day of hiking in lava fields LOL

Monday morning we went for a walk along the beach walkway. At one point we heard a couple of Kookaburra’s and saw them fly through the trees, it was very cool.
The beach walk is very picturesque and you can tell a lot of locals use it everyday. This morning the surf is huge and no one is allowed in the water/ocean. Lifeguard warnings are placed at entry points to the beach.

After chatting with Dean and Judy we all decided we best get out of “Dodge”.
So, we spent most of the day rescheduling flights, hotels, car rental, etc? to be out of the area before the cyclone arrives. This is not an easy task, since you can never find an actual person to help you work through your travel problem. However we managed to do it and then meet Dean and Judy and go for dinner to a local Greek restaurant. They had as many problems adjusting their schedule even though they were going a totally different direction.
One other thing we noticed was that the Holiday Park on the Beach which is usually full was starting to empty out as a people were moving their trailers and campers to higher grounds.

Tuesday morning we woke up early and went for a walk along the beach walkway. It was beautiful and sunny with fairly calm winds and you would have never known a cyclone was approaching; except for the fact that the waves were enormous. Many locals were watching the surf as it was so impressive with size of the waves.

So, later on Tuesday we packed up and drove to Brisbane to drop off the rental car and spend the night at an airport hotel before the Cyclone hits. It was apparent that the locals were preparing for the worst. They were sandbagging, in smaller coastal communities there was panic buying of water and food supplies, local governments hand set up sandbagging pick up sites, etc etc. The hotel at the airport where we stayed had the staff preparing to stay overnight so they could assist as required.

So here it is Wednesday night. We had an early morning and a long day and we finally arrived in Auckland. We kept expecting our flight to be cancelled as it was delayed very early in the day, however we made it out 1/2 hr late and arrived safely in Auckland. It was interesting as we flew out the Captain announced a change in the normal flight route so we avoided the winds associated with the approaching cyclone.
Here is a photo of beautiful Auckland from our airport hotel.

Before we left Bondi Beach, Dean had sent us a link to the Government Weather site about a Cyclone that was forming off the coast of Queensland. So after some discussion we emailed the Element on Coolum Beach where we were scheduled to stay for the next week. The response was, “Nothing to worry about, these storms happen occasionally and they don’t come this far south and that we shouldn’t give up our vacation”.
So our travel plans to Coolum were on track.
Anyway, Sunday morning we woke up early and went for a walk along the beach to start the day. Then it was time to call an Uber, get to the airport, fly to Brisbane and pick up our rental car. Then it was drive to Coolum was easy and we only missed a couple of “roundabout” exits.
Once we arrived got into the condo it was great? Big, airy and spacious with two balconies and one faced the ocean.

However, that night the wind started to blow and the rain came in sheets. Perhaps this cyclone is building; it was intense at times.
Here are some random pictures from Coolum

Saturday was our last full day in the Bondi Beach area. We are not catching the bus down town as they are setting up for the huge Mardi Gras Pride Parade.
They are expecting a crowd of 200,000 people; count us out.
First thing in the morning we visited the Bondi Beach farmers market. It was small but nice and the flower displays were amazing.

So instead we did an amazing walk along a beach walk path with up and down stairs, etc We went to Brontë Beach which was about 6 km. It was a very warm humid day and that was enough in the sun. Spectacular scenery.
On the route you pass by Bondi Beach Iceberg Club, which you can tell by the picture is for lane swimming and competitive swimming.

Here are some pictures from along the path.

The remainder of the afternoon we walked Bondi Beach, however the winds and stirred up the ocean and there were Blue Bottle jellyfish on the beach, at the south end.

Thursday morning we headed off on Bus 333 to the Circular Quay and our destination for the day which is the Taronga Zoo. We saw Koala’s, Giraffes, Red Panda’s, Gorilla’s, Elephants, Kangaroos, Lions, and a Duck Billed Platypus, etc. etc.
We spent about 3 hrs there, it’s a great zoo, lots to see and lots of interactive displays.
Here’s a few pictures

After the Zoo we caught the ferry back to Circular Quay and went for a stroll through shops and stores in the Sydney Harbour and historic Rocks Area. Then it was back on Bus #333 to Bondi and a great afternoon walk along the beach.

Friday we did the whole bus transfer thing to Circular Quay and caught a ferry to Watson’s Bay, which is a small suburb of the City of Sydney. Once there we did a walk around the waterfront and explored some other local areas. It’s a very small and quiet place until the harbour ferry’s bring boatloads of people over.

Lunch today was at a famed restaurant called Doyle’s on the Beach, it’s been there for 149 years.

Riding the ferries to all the different sites has been a great way to explore Sydney Harbour in such a relaxed and enjoyable way. You merely tap your credit card when you get on and off the ferry or bus. They have made it very easy to navigate a complex transit system at a very reasonable cost.

Today we planned to go to Manly Beach by ferry from Circular Quay.
However, before that and just as we had poured milk into our cereal the building fire alarm went off. Loud speakers were telling you to evacuate and lots of ringing alarms.
We got down stairs and waited for the fire department to arrive. It turned out to be a false alarm.

Anyway, after breakfast we headed off again on Bus #333 to downtown Sydney and got there in time to board the ferry to Manly Beach. The trip was on one of the fast ferry’s and it was very scenic with a great coastline and lots of harbour traffic criss crossing back and forth.

Manly Beach itself is a very picturesque smaller coastal community. Lots of shops, restaurants, souvenir stores, etc Once we arrived we did a short walk to enjoy the beach and then got one local bus that did a circle route of the area.

After lunch we shopped and then did a short hike to Shelley Beach. On the walking paths there were signs painted warning that penguins could be about.

Overall it was a beautiful day in a beautiful area of Sydney.

We caught Bus #333 back to Bondi Beach and since we were a little later in the day the bus was very crowded.

We got a fairly early start this morning? We started by figuring out which bus to catch and where to catch it in order to get down to the Circular Quay.
We caught bus #333 from Bondi Beach to the end of the route at the Circular Quay. This is also the location for the Sydney Opera House and it is the starting point for the large fleet of water ferry’s.
We started by heading for the Opera House, taking in the sights and having a hard time believing we were actually there.

From this pier/plaza area you can watch the ferry’s come and go plus it is a great place to see the Harbour Bridge. The Harbour Bridge is a pretty iconic structure and people actually pay a lot of money to climb to the top of it. If you look hard in the picture you can see a group at the top.

We were able to book tour tickets for an inside look of the Opera House. However the tour didn’t start till later in the afternoon so we headed to the Royal Botanical Gardens, to walk around.

After the Botanical Gardens we joined up with our tour group for an inside look of the Opera House. The tour was 1 hour long and it covered everything from the early political wrangling to approve construction, to early engineer and design, to governmental scope changes and even detail on the external tiles and how they are and were designed. Little fact, there are over 1 million tiles on the exterior of the building.

Just before we finished the tour we were taken to the main theatre that holds 2700 people and while visiting we listened to an Austrian pianist practicing for her evening performance.
We forgot to mention that in the basement of our hotel is a fantastic veggie market and combined grocery store, it’s very handy.

Monday morning was travel day for Dean and Judy and us.
Dean and Judy left very early and were flying from Adelaide to the Sunshine Coast area; specifically Coolum Beach.
We got up later, went for a morning walk, had breakfast and then headed to the airport. We were flying from Adelaide into Sydney and the staying in the Bondi Beach area.
The flight was excellent and the Chief Customer Service rep was very generous with the wine and snacks. In fact when she found out that Brenda had a peanut allergy she checked the ingredients list of the small snack packages and gave each of us a small bag of them and a small bottle of sparkling wine. Lucky us!
We are staying at The Adina which is an apartment style hotel property in the Bondi area. Once we arrived we dumped our luggage and headed off to see the beach. The beach was very busy as it was sunny and very warm, even though it was near to 5:00 pm.
Below are a few random pictures.

On Sunday we were off on a day long wine tour. The region we were visiting was McLaren Vale, which is south of Glenelg.
On today’s wine tour we signed on with a private Company that does small group tours. The benefit is that we can all sample the wine and don’t have to worry about consumption and driving.

We visited 4 very different boutique wineries and a sidebar photo stop at a Salvador Dali inspired winery called d’Arenberg Winery.
Each winery gave us a lot of different Red’s, White’s and Rose’s to sample and one even gave us a taste of their Port Wine.
At the third winery we were given a Charcuterie Board for 2 to be shared. Each board had a sampling of cheeses, meats, pickles, crackers and even beet chutney. It was all Yummy!
Here’s a sampling of some of the day’s pictures.

The region is quite concerned about a disease organism going through the wine industry. So you are not allowed to walk through the vineyards or touch the vines, henceforth the Grumpy Vine sign.
All in all it was a great day.

Friday morning we went for a walk along the beach before breakfast. The ocean side walk is beautiful with lots of apartments and condos in the area. But you can tell that this is where the real high end real estate is in the Adelaide’s area.
Glenelg is a southern suburb of the City of Adelaide and it is very well connected by a tram system, public bus transportation and road network.
once we got the day started we visited the local tourist information office and got a ton of advice on things to see and do in the Adelaide area.
So, we hopped on the tram to downtown Adelaide and our first stop was at Adelaide Central Market Market. This was a very traditional market where they sold fruits, veggies, meat, spices and everything food related. Look at the size of these local watermelons.

Afterwards we jumped on the free bus and got off at the Botanical Gardens where there is currently a glass art display throughout the grounds by Seattle artist Dale Chihuly.

After the Botanical Gardens we returned to the central shopping area. The ladies went to look at Opals and the various settings.

Then we boarded a very busy tram and headed back to our Condo for a quiet dinner in.