Punakajki- West Coast NZ

We road-tripped along the wild, wet, west coast. The views were amazing, reminisent of northern california coastline, but with crazy dense, palm, fern-filled rainforest opposite the coastline.

Seriously...? Adorable! We were officially now on penguin watch! (many let-downs to come, wouldn't end up seeing any for many more days!
These "V" shaped Nikau Palms are a symbol of New Zealand.
Famous "pancake rocks", thin layers of rock with a blow-hole when the tide is right.
The "koru" is the spiral shape that is taken from the spiral of a fern. It represents new growth, change and hope and can be seen in Maori designs and kiwi art everywhere. Fitting symbol for my time here as well!
Hiking around through Punakajki.
These towering Flax plants were everywhere! The Maori use them to weave mats and baskets.

Tranz-alpine Train, NZ

Lauren and I headed to the west coast of NZ on the train, known for its amazing scenery. So exciting, because it had a viewing car, (translation: open car with no windows for picture taking and experience absorbing) good thing its 'summer' because my fingers were basically frozen to my camera! :)

The amount of vibrant wildflowers (mostly Lupin) was insane! (Sadly hard to capture on a fast-moving train )
Lauren and the train.
Famous Arthur's Pass, brief stop before heading into the ridiculous tunnel through to the other side of the Alps.

Mt. Eden

So, after climbing around One Tree Hill I decided to walk to Mt Eden to admire its famous views of the city. Again, my ridiculous ablity to walk for hours (and several kilometers!) in flip-flops came in handy. (Boy, did my feet hurt that night!) It was delightful walking through the leafy neighborhoods of Epsom and Mt Eden, the houses were a mixture of gorgeous dream homes with hedges and quaint cottages with gardens spilling over their fences.

Lining the neighborhoods were adorable little "main st." shops and cafes.
Central Mt. Eden with the summit in the background.
Starting up the hill, looking down on the shops.
Mt. Eden is one of the many old volcanos.. this is the crater.
Compass showing directions and distances around the world from this point. Central Auckland visible in the distance. I'm only 10,500KM away... :)

One Tree Hill

This particular sunny day I decided to hike up to the top of One Tree Hill (sadly not the site of the tv show. ;)) This area is a memorial/tribute to the original Maori of the area made by the founding father of Auckland. (Oh dear, I am heading into tour guide mode..)

Gorgeous view and I haven't even started up yet!

Obviously by the name, there used to be one lone tree, now there is this oblisk/memorial.
The view of the harbor, Rangitoto, and Aukland suburbs from the top.
The path down..northern and western shores in the distance.
The landscape felt very Tuscan/Mediteranean

Trip to Half Moon Bay

I took one of the many ferries from the heart of downtown Auckland 30 minutes away to Half Moon Bay. From there I explored on foot (i.e. missed the bus), making my way 1 1/2 hours later to Howick, a quaint historical village. I then magically caught the bus back and wandered down the coast to explore Bucklands Beach- it was such a gorgeous day!! The beauty of this ferry thing is, even if the place you are going ends up being lame, you always get a great ride on the water out of it!

My walk to Howick..man- look at that water!!
Bucklands Beach, Rangitoto Island in the distance.

Christchurch, NZ

Our first stop in New Zealand was Christchurch, a city that is basically an homage to Britain (rain and mist included!) It was quite a change from the wet heat and sun that we had been experiencing in Australia! We had to break out the scarves and hats! We stayed in a converted jailhouse.. the tiny cell we slept in was disturbingly reminisent of Alcatraz! This is what memories are made of!!

The heavy, echoing sound of closing cell doors is hopefully the closest I will ever get to being incarcerated!
Outside the jail walls was green, green, green! (and lots of rain that helped make it that way!)

Of course, a massive cathedral is in the heart of Christchurch. (in addition to some art displays)

This converted house was our favorite coffeeshop!


Massive stone buildings were everywhere.

The Christchurch Botanical Gardens were amazing! Winding paths through ponds, a slow-moving river, trees, and the most amazing rose gaden I have ever seen!
We had just finished stalking baby ducks as they walked/hopped/swam across the lily pads-so cute!! (and it really had been raining, not just an adorable prop..! :))

The Whitsundays

We cruised on a boat through the gorgeous waters of the Whitsunday Islands in north-eastern Australia, past the white beaches and dark trees, out to Knuckle Reef in the outer portion of the Great Barrier Reef.

Off to explore the reef!
Sadly, no pictures do the colors of the reef justice..!
Cruisin'
What a way to end the day..

Roadtrip-Australia!

The diversity of terrain while we drove along the east coast of Australia was crazy. we drove through open fields, forests of eucalyptus trees, fields of sugar cane, farmland and beautiful coastline.

Baby sugarcane (flying by!) and eucalyptus in the background
Gorgeous water up in Airlie Beach, by the Whitsunday Islands
Dusk in the Town of 1770
Palm trees along a sleepy coast highway.
Mango trees!
The beaches were all little shells!
Plumeria everywhere! (fragapani)
Rolling hills of Australia