Maybe in Oz

We were originally going to take my parents to Uluru, so timed my parents' visit to the cooler months in the Red Centre.  When I started looking at hotel prices in Ayers Rock I got serious sticker shock and started thinking about a plan B.  Jetstar had really good fares to Auckland around that time and so we ended up headed to New Zealand.  Unfortunately this meant that it was a bit cooler than we would have liked but that didn't stop us from showing my parents how amazing that country is. We started out by walking up Mt Eden in Auckland.  It's apparently the highest volcano in Auckland (there are quite a few).  It was a short hike to a big crater covered in green, and then just a bit further to the top.  There we were rewarded with a great view of the city and several of the other volcanoes in the area. Looking across the crater to the op of Mt Eden My parents and I with Auckland in the background The surrounding town After that we hea...

September 20, 2016 Here we are again, packing up the suitcases and trying to make everything fit.  Good thing we stay with so many people who have washing machines so we can concentrate on bringing back Karen's wood and all kinds of bits and pieces.  (Do I sound Australian yet?) The North Island of New Zealand was great with all of the geothermal stuff bubbling away - I've never seen so much of it.  The hikes and the caves were great too. It was interesting to see the new houses you were checking out and hopefully that will all go as scheduled.  You are really getting to customize things the way you want them! Come and visit us sometime! Mom and Dad Kookaburra at a friend's house Pretty parrots Feeding an orphaned joey Visiting with my mom and dad's friend from high school who moved to Melbourne many years ago My dad teaching Maybe about the world   Auckland Coromandel Coast Riding the crazy train Nose rock Ch...

I have heard people say Litchfield National Park is even more beautiful than Kakadu so I was looking forward to exploring and seeing if this was true.   Our first stop was to see the Magnetic Termite Mounds.  The termites build the mounds in the North-South direction to minimise heat and maximise cooling.  They kind of look like graveyards stacked in a field - it's an eerie sight. Magnetic Termite Mounds The largest of the termite mounds is Cathedral Termite Mound, standing over four meters tall.  It is pretty crazy to think about little tiny bugs building something so giant and it lasting for centuries. Cathedral Termite Mound Next we stopped at Buley Rockholes and Florence Falls.  We wanted to find another nice waterfall to take a dip in, but these were both way too crowded.  We decided to keep moving. Florence Falls It turned out to be a really good thing we didn't stop for longer because just down the main road we got to ...