Final Post - Random Remarks

Random Thoughts on NZ

Women’s fashion – While walking around downtown Wellington I noticed that the majority of females were dressed in black, denim or very neutral colors. There were a few well dressed business women – but they were also in black.

Kiwis are extremely hospitable, friendly and helpful including bus drivers, shop workers, neighbors – everyone.

There are no superhighways as we know them. Most highways are two lanes with occasional passing lanes on steep hills. Maximum speed limit on highways is 100 km/hr. Main highways do not by-pass any cities – they go right through and slow down. We did not see any toll roads. There are virtually no rest stops and gas stations are quite widely spaced. There are, though, a number of picnic table stops.

There are lots of cafes wherever you go. They drink a lot of tea but they also like their coffee, expresso, cappuccino, etc. Starbuck’s is here but small individual cafes are predominant, thank goodness.

There are sheep everywhere in the countryside. Lots of land has been cleared for logging and sheep farming. We saw a lot of new plantings of pine trees in areas that had been logged.

New Zealandese:

Ice chest = chilly bin

Gasoline = petrol

Cookie = biscuit

RV Park = Holiday Park

RV = Camper Van

Trash can on wheels = wheelie bin

Lot = Section

Sweet potato = Kumara

Food: Pretty much like what we are used to with one exception being they make lots of food pies – eg: egg pies, meat pies, mince pies and on and on in various sizes and types of crust. We thought there would be more seafood being surrounded by ocean but it was mainly the ubiquitous Fish ‘n Chips. Lamb and beef were prominent on menus.

Restaurants. The majority of places to sit down and eat require that you pick up a menu and when you have decided what you want, go to the counter to order and pay for it. They hand you a little stand with a number on the top that you put on your table. Someone will bring your food when it is ready. The first meal out we sat at an outside table waiting and waiting for service. We finally figured it out. They have a lot of Take-Away at these restaurants.

The wine and beer in New Zealand are excellent. We didn’t stop at any of the wineries for sampling because John had to keep his wits about him driving on the “wrong” side of the road.

Australia Random Thoughts:

We felt like we were in America – lots of same types of stores, malls, etc. People were almost as friendly as the Kiwis.

Perth to Sydney

Perth to Sydney – Thursday, April 12

Our neighbors Joy and Geoff very kindly drove us to the airport for our flight from Perth to Sydney. All went well –there was no hassle and it was an easy 3 ½ hr flight to Sydney. We left Perth at 11:30 a.m. and arrived in Sydney at 5:30 p.m. (2 hr time zone change). We took a taxi to a Balmain East – just a short distance from downtown Sydney. Our hostess, Lisette, met us at the door and we moved in for 4 nights. After visiting a bit with Lisette we felt the need for a little walk and a light supper so she gave us directions to the local Bowling Club (lawn bowling). We had a nice braised beef in Irish stout pie which was more than we needed but we ate it anyway with a bottle of beer. Lisette gave us some tourist brochures, bus and ferry schedules, etc. and we settled in for the night.

In the morning we had breakfast and then a short walk to see the harbor – just down some switchback steps from the house. Lisette then offered to take us on a tour of Sydney to get our bearings. She drove us all around the city with a couple of stops to get out and take pictures. She then dropped us off at the Sydney Opera House and went on her way. It was lunch time so we found a sidewalk restaurant on the Opera Quay and shared a very tasty pizza. Then we walked to the opera house and signed up for a 1 hr tour which gave us a nice overview and we were able to see the large hall which is used for orchestra concerts, the medium size hall which is used for opera and ballet and a smaller venue used for plays. The Australian Ballet Co. was rehearsing so we got to watch a few minutes of that. Currently the Ballet being performed is Don Quixote. We decided we just were not going to be here long enough to take that in and the seats available on short notice would not be very good and the tickets are very expensive. We’ll just have to settle for seeing a few minutes of rehearsal. It was pointed out to us in the tour that the name, Sydney Opera House is not really appropriate because opera is only a part of the many types of performance that take place in the numerous venues. We enjoyed the tour very much – the architecture is amazing and the setting is so beautiful that it’s difficult to describe.

From there we went next door to the Botanical Gardens which are quite large so due to time constraints we took a tram tour around the grounds. It was very beautiful and would have been nice to stroll around instead of race around on the tram. Maybe we’ll have a chance to go back before we leave.

Next we walked over to the circular quay which is the central ferry, train and bus terminal. We checked on the ferry schedule for getting home and then walked around the Rocks neighborhood and decided we should eat something before we get home so we stumbled upon a German Restaurant and split a plate of Nuremburg sausages, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. It was very good and we chose to accompany it with a stein of German beer. We tried to figure out where to get the bus home and ended up taking the ferry, which was easier.

Saturday – we went to the Easter Show at the Olympic Park. This was a huge show kind of like the Royal Winter Fair they have in the UK or like a very large State Fair. There were lots of things going on –a horse show with four classes going on at once in the big arena all afternoon. Getting there was not easy as the ferry was late, then bus was late so we got there around noon. We stayed until about 7 pm and took the train back but it stopped before Circular Quay so we had to find a bus to get to the ferry but it all worked o.k. We were hungry because we didn’t eat much at the fair for lunch so walked up Darling St. and ended up at the Bowling Club again where we had a light supper. The waitress remembered us from our previous visit and when I told her we had been at the Easter Show, the conversation turned to horses and it turns out she also has a horse so we had a nice horsey chat.

Sunday –We took the ferry to Circular Quay and then the Manly Ferry to the city of Manly. There was a large crowd waiting for the ferry since Manly is a popular weekend destination for its beaches, shops and restaurants. The ferry to Manly is larger than the other ferries so there was plenty of room. The half hour cruise was very pleasant and picturesque. The beach was just a couple of blocks from the ferry landing. We walked around the area and visited the artisans market and since it was lunch time we had some fish and chips at one of the sidewalk cafes. We finally learned to order just one and split it. We took a walk along the beach – there was a nice paved walk for pedestrians and bicycles and went to the next beach with benches along the way. We took the ferry back to circular quay and then another ferry home. The weather while in Sydney was perfect all three days with today being the absolute best.

Just after we arrived at Lynette’s, we had a little thunderstorm but it did not last long – hardly enough to do much good – they have pretty serious drought conditions right now.

For dinner we wanted to treat Lisette so she took us to her Football (Rugby) Club which is really an excuse for a casino. They have a very nice restaurant in one area and the rest is a room full of slot machines. Kangaroo was on the menu and Lisette said that it is good so she and I tried it while John stayed with the roast of the day – lamb. It was all very good. Afterwards we strolled through the slot machines and blew $5 each. Lisette actually turned her $5 into $15 and we left – none of us being avid gamblers.

Monday morning it was time to head home. Lisette arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 7:00 a.m. for the short trip to the airport. Security in the Sydney airport was very good – and quite time-consuming. The process took about an hour and a half before we got to our boarding gate with lots of waiting in line. We finally settled in for the 13 hour flight to LA. Since it was a day time flight I found it just about impossible to sleep – John had quite a few naps. Our connection time in LA was 2 hours but our plane was a little late. We had long lines to clear customs and then pick up our luggage. They would not take them at the luggage transfer point because there was now less than an hour to catch our Mexicana flight. We had to carry our luggage to the next terminal over to check in. When we arrived they said check-in was closed for the flight. Fortunately, our baggage was already tagged for the flight and Qantas had given us our Mexicana boarding passes so we talked them into taking our luggage and letting us catch the flight. We had originally planned to spend a couple of days in LA but towards the end of our time in Australia, we decided that we would like to fly straight home. The only reasonable flight I could find was to Guadalajara so I booked that. Upon our arrival in Guadalajara we caught a taxi to the bus terminal and just managed to catch the last ETN bus direct to San Miguel. These buses are very comfortable with only 3 seats in each row so that they are very wide and recline fully with a comfortable leg rest. The trip was 5 hours with brief stops in Leon and Guanajuato but we managed to doze the entire way. One more short taxi ride from the San Miguel bus terminal and we were home after about 30 hours of traveling. We were happy to be home and the dogs were happy to see us.

Visit to the Aquarium at Hillarys Harbour

Monday, April 9

Easter Monday is a holiday - this has been a 4 day weekend for Australians. We didn't know what would or would not be open so we decided to visit the Aquarium at Hillarys Harbour, just a short drive from here. When we got close we realized that there were hordes of people flocking into Hillarys Harbour. In addition to the Aquarium, there are beaches, a Boardwalk full of shops and restaurants, etc. We wound our way to the Aquarium and luckily found a parking spot as someone was pulling out. Then we had to stand in line (we know how to do that well, being from Mexico) to pay admission.

The AQWA (Aquarium of Western Australia) was well done. The exhibits were organized in such a way that you wound through the building from one section of WA to another or from one type of sea-life to another. The entire exhibit was amazingly colorful and interesting and represented 12,000 km of Australian coast. They had many beautiful and strange as well as dangerous types of marine life, including an enormous tank that you sort of walk through - with sharks, turtles, rays and many types of fish. Outside there was a seal tank and show which we only caught the very end of. Most impressive to me were the beautiful living corals in the tanks and some of the most beautiful, colorful and exotic sea creatures we have every seen. I have posted some of the pictures I took but it was difficult to capture as much as I would have liked because of glass tanks and light levels.

After our visit to AQWA we strolled through the boardwalk along with the masses of other visitors. It was time to think about having something to eat but the restaurants and cafes were way too crowded for us. We headed back to Joondalup and found Paddy Malone's open - we had been there to eat on our first day here. John ordered seafood spaghetti and I tried their fish and chips. What we forgot to do was ask what was in the seafood spaghetti because John has a bad reaction to mussels. It arrived with 1/2 dozen small mussels on top but lots of other things so guess who got to eat the mussels? They were delicious.

Tuesday the stores were open again and I managed to persuade John to take me to a large mall and then downtown where we did a little shopping. Today we will be organizing for our departure tomorrow to Sydney. I may or may not be able to post from there but if not, I'll report on our Sydney adventures when we get home.

Goodbye to Joondalup and Perth - we truly enjoyed our time here.

Chapel Farm Mongolian BBQ

Easter Sunday, April 8

Our activities for the day were a leisurely morning at home and a trip to Chapel Farm in the afternoon for Mongolian BBQ. Since we would be returning home after dark and would be having a glass or two of wine, we decided to take public transportation. We took the train to Perth but had to get off and take a bus part of the way due to track maintenance. Then we took another train to Midland where we caught another bus which dropped us off right at Chapel Farm. It took about 2 hours total compared to a 25 min. drive but it was stress-free and we had plenty of time.

Darren and Myra, our hosts, welcomed us with a glass of wine and when the rest of their friends arrived they gave us all a tour of their new guest accommodations. Chapel Farm has been a restaurant and event facility for about seven years. Darren and Myra have been working very hard to add on the six guest rooms doing most of the work themselves. The facility used to be a horse farm and the guest rooms were stables. Each room has a different theme: African, Beach, Bali, Black & White, Australian and Japanese - I think. The rooms are lovely - they did a great job.

The atmosphere is very warm and casual. The grounds include a pasture and pond with a burra, young alpacas, exotic goats and a couple of sheep - all one big happy herd. The restaurant includes an indoor lounge and tables, covered pavilion and a dance floor. There are also outdoor spaces suitable for wedding ceremonies.

As for the Mongolian BBQ: we were given a bowl to fill with raw ingredients of our choosing from a refrigerated buffet cart containing beef, chicken, fish, squid, a variety of veggies and a large assortment of sauces - mostly of the Asian variety. We then handed the bowl to the chef who skillfully cooked it all (like a stir-fry) on a huge gas-fired grill - 1.8 meters wide. Actually, there were two cooks and quite a few dinners could be prepared at one time. The completed meal was plated and we helped ourselves to steamed rice and more sauce if desired. The results were delicious and you would only have yourself to blame if you didn't like the taste since you chose the sauces yourself.

One of the guests was Darren's mother visiting from Melbourne. After dinner, she and a friend of hers entertained us all with line dancing on the dance floor. Now the last time I was involved in line dancing was when we lived in Missouri. There it was all country & western music. It seems that now it's done to all types of music including opera. Anyhow, it was great fun watching and lots of the kids in the restaurant joined in.

Darren's chef very kindly offered to give us a ride home since he lives near Joondalup and we gratefully accepted. We said our goodbyes and thank-yous and were home in about a half hour.

Kings Park Perth

Saturday, April 7

Good Friday was an official holiday so we stayed home and didn't do very much - recuperating from our late night out Thursday.

Today we decided to head downtown to visit Kings Park. We had seen the edges of it briefly when taking the bus around Perth last week. We took the train to town and then a short bus ride to the park. By this time, it was noon so we had seafood and chips in the park overlooking the city.

Kings Park is the most impressive city park we have ever seen as it covers an area of 1,000 acres - Central Park, New York City could fit inside it and there would still be 1/3 of Kings Park left. After lunch we gathered up a map at the Info Center and set off on the Federation Walkway through the Botanic Gardens. The park was not at all crowded and we strolled along the walkway at a very leisurely pace looking at the amazing variety of Australian plants, shrubs and trees. A sign boasted that 1/2 of Australia's 25,000 species are represented in Kings Park. There were labels on many of the plants and most were unfamiliar to us. Since it is fall here, there were very few flowers - I can only imagine what the gardens look like in spring. The walk follows the edge of the park overlooking Perth center and the Swan River. The views were magnificent! There were lookouts along the way for taking photos and an unusual bridge that goes up to treetop level at one point. There are many areas for picnicking on the grass or in gazebos with ponds, waterfalls and fountains. Several areas were available for weddings (they are free to use) and they were all busy this day. At the far end of the walk we strolled through the grassy areas back to the Info Center. We then took a short (25 min) tram ride through the park since we weren't up to covering all 1,000 acres on foot. There is a lot of room for future development but the park is fabulous just as it is. I will be posting some pictures shortly. The day was somewhat overcast but pleasant for walking.

We caught a city bus inside the park which took us back to Perth Center where we strolled through some of the pedestrian shopping areas including London Court - a passageway of shops with English type facades. Finally, we browsed in Border's Books where I bought a book I had been looking for.

We headed back to Joondalup on the train just in time to fix a light supper and relax for the evening.

Jeannie's Birthday Dinner

Thursday, April 5

Even though my 65th birthday was on March 31, John decided to organize a dinner party to celebrate and last night was it. He asked our neighbors for a restaurant recommendation and invited them to join us for the dinner. He also invited Myra (our friend from Kansas City's daughter) and her partner Darren. Our destination was the Matilda Bay Restaurant overlooking the Royal Perth Yacht Club harbor. We were delighted that Geoff and Joy offered to drive since John still is not keen to drive at night. He was also able to partake in our wine drinking without having to worry about driving. In fact, last night was our first time to see Perth at night.

We arrived at the restaurant for our 8:00 reservations and the view of the harbor and the Perth city lights was stunning. The weather was perfect and the bay was like glass. Matilda Bay was a lovely restaurant - perfect for our little celebration. After enjoying our first bottle of wine we ordered our dinner (I ordered Tasmanian wild salmon which was served over risotto and a delicate orange glaze all topped with a couple of perfectly cooked onion rings) and more wine, ending with dessert 3 1/2 hrs later - a fun leisurely and delicious dinner party. While I certainly would have enjoyed having old friends there too, we did enjoy the evening with our new Australian friends.

Swan Valley Winery Experience

Wednesday, April 4

Just a short drive from here (25 min) is the beautiful Swan Valley - home to 70 wineries. As mentioned in earlier blog entries, we had already visited one or two. However, since we really couldn't drive and sample all the great wines, we signed up for a day tour of the area.

The 21-passenger bus picked us up outside the train station around 9:15 a.m. for the drive to the first winery. Our tour guide and bus driver, Claude, was personable and knowledgeable about the area and the wineries. He kept up a steady pleasant chatter on the way to the Sandalford Winery. This is one of the largest wineries in the area using commercial methods to produce their wines. In the beautiful, modern tasting gallery we were given a lesson on how to taste the wines and the fun began. Our Sandalford wine-pourer introduced each of the wines starting with the whites, then the reds and finally a Port. I lost count but I think we sampled at least 7 or 8 wines there. And, it was only 10 a.m. We had a few minutes to browse the shop and purchase any wine if we wished, but were under no obligation to do so. We did enjoy the Port so bought a bottle of that to take back with us to Mexico.

The other four wineries we visited were small, family owned vineyards as are most of the wineries in the Valley. While you may run into Sandalford wines elsewhere in the world, it is unlikely that you will find the others that we visited - like Windy Creek or Lancaster. Our second visit was to Lancaster - a very small vineyard where they send their grapes elsewhere to be processed according to their specifications. We again sampled several whites, reds and a Port. Swan Valley specializes in their white wines but also produce some nice reds and Ports. At the Lancaster tasting cellar we also enjoyed a sampling of delicious cheeses produced in the area.

Next stop was a lovely botanic garden on the river where our driver picked up the rest of the tour group who had taken a cruise from Perth to this point. We now had a full bus as we headed to the third stop - Windy Creek Estate. Again, we had a diverse selection of wines to sample and the group was definitely getting a little livelier.

It was approaching time to absorb all this wine with a little lunch so we drove next door to the Sittella winery. Unfortunately, we had to sample the wines there before lunch. By this time, they weren't tasting quite as good - my taste buds were already getting worn out. We sat down to platters of meats, cheeses, tempura veggies, salad and fresh bread. We enjoyed visiting with a British couple and another couple from Queensland, Australia while dining. Other tour members were from New Zealand and Italy. We were the only Americans. Everyone was very friendly.

Now we were ready for our fifth and last winery - Heafod Glen. Again we had 7 or 8 wines to try and I have to admit that I could not sample all of them. There was a noticeable lack of enthusiasm at this tasting cellar - I think we were all getting wined out. But, we had two more stops to make.

Elmar's in the Valley was a micro-brewery and we were offered to try a small glass of one of their 4 brews. We tried Ein Stein - a Pilsener and were not very impressed. However, we continued our visit with the British couple we met at lunch.

Our final stop, thank goodness, was the Margaret River Chocolate Factory - yum. There were bowls of chocolate buttons - dark, milk and white - which we could eat at much as we wished. We each received one truffle of our choice and a couple of other pieces of chocolate candy. There were viewing windows to watch the workers making these luscious truffles and other candies. The shop had lots of chocolate Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs.

Completely sated with wine, food and chocolate, we climbed wearily back onto the bus for the short trip back to our drop off at the Perth train station. Just as we were making the last turn onto the street by the train station, a large city bus turned into Claude's lane and dragged our bus several feet. It was clearly the city bus driver's fault and Claude had 21 witnesses to that fact. After a short slightly heated discussion with the guy, he (the city driver) admitted to his fault. There was not a lot of damage and we hardly felt the impact. Since we were so close to our drop off at the train station, we said our good byes to everyone and jumped on the train for our 25 minute ride back to Joondalup. It had been a lovely day and a great way to see and experience the Swan Valley.