A view of the resort at Hamilton Island

Fourth and Final Blog From Our Australia and New Zealand Holiday

Our fourth week in Australia began on Hamilton Island. A very nice family resort location. Golf carts are everywhere on this island.  They are the primary mode of transportation. And since most of the drivers don’t pay attention to any of the traffic signs it is a pedestrian beware location. Snorkeling was only fair off of Hamilton Island but I did get to snorkel with two large turtles for about 15 minutes with no one else around. Unfortunately one of our boat tours of the Whitsundays Islands that I was looking forward to taking was cancelled because not enough people signed up. Since three meter waves were forecasted for the day Kathy was not too disappointed about the cancellation.  Kathy and I spent the day sea kayaking and hiking to the highest point on Hamilton Island.  Here are some pictures from our hike.

There were quite a few butterflies on our walk to the highest point on the island. This was the prettiest.

This picture is for John Miller.  In Africa he laid down in the dirt to get a picture of mushrooms. This fungi is much prettier and I took this picture standing up.

Sunset shot from one tree hill.  This is such a popular spot for sunset that the resort sets up a bar every evening.

Sunrise from the hotel beach.

After three days on Hamilton Island we flew to Brisbane and spent more of those Hilton points. The highlight of our Brisbane stay was catching up with Susan and Larry Dio.  They cooked us a nice dinner at their home.  It was so nice to see them and have a home cooked meal.

We visited the Botanic Gardens and walked through the city center. Here are a few pictures from Brisbane.

This guy was just hanging around on the south bank of the Brisbane River

Emu with a bad hair day

A lizard who was visiting a Wombat enclosure. I thought he was colorful.  I wish I knew his name.

Our time in Australia spun to a close, now we are off to New Zealand.

Our time in Australia was now complete and we flew to Auckland and spent even more of those Hilton points.  We decided to stay on the North Island this trip. We visited the Auckland Art Gallery to see an exhibit titled from Degas to Dali. It must have inspired me to take the following pictures which are not my typical landscapes.

The picture captures Auckland. Areas of beauty and some areas a little gritty.

After three days in Auckland we caught the bus up to Paihia. I didn’t know we were leaving the sun behind when we left Auckland. Paihia is a resort community set on the shore of the Bay of Islands. Sun makes the world go round in this location. Lucky for us we scheduled a tour of the Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga and left the rain behind. Cape Reinga is the northern most point on the North Island. The souls of Maori people leave New Zealand from this location and head back to their home island. So it is a very sacred location for the Maori.

Cape Reinga Lighthouse

The Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet just beyond the Lighthouse.

After visiting Cape Reinga it was off to the Ninety Mile Beach for a little sand boarding  and a drive down the beach. Since I was the one sand boarding I don’t have any pictures to post. I expect Kathy will be posting some pictures on Facebook. Here is a picture of the bus on the beach.  The speed limit on the beach is 100km/hr.

Rental Car agreements won't let you drive down the beach so this bus is the best way to get here.

Ninety Mile Beach

Kauri Forest Boardwalk

The sun has set on our trip and today we begin the long flights home.