Tag: roadtrip

Milford Sound

It’s our wedding anniversary and what a fabulous day we’ve had cruising Milford Sound. This is New Zealand’s most famous fjord; deep blue green water, towering mountains and cliffs and spectacular waterfalls. We had endless blue sky and sunshine and were lucky enough to see dolphins and seals. Perfect.

Our driver and tour guide, Eric, was superb. It was quite a long journey to Milford Sound, around five hours in total, and Eric’s commentary was on point. We learnt about the tectonic plates, the history of the land and lakes around Queenstown, the different sheep and cattle being farmed in the area. Volcanoes and their current risks, the elusive yet charming hermit graziers, the poisonous tutu berries, New Zealand freesias, how Shania Twain bought up land in New Zealand. The gold rush and the crazy, failed scheme to dam the lake and expose the gold.

Yes, Eric was knowledgeable, friendly, funny and informative. He told some great stories and was very entertaining. And this was some feat, because we were a tough audience.

‘This hill was featured in Lord of the Rings’ he said as we headed out of Queenstown, ‘is anybody into Lord of the Rings?’

Silence.

‘Ok, nobody? That’s ok we can talk about the glacier that formed this peak.’

‘Has anybody visited Glenorchy yet?’ he asked as we drove around Lake Wakatipu.

Silence. some shaking of heads.

‘No? Ok I highly recommend a visit.’

‘Has anybody experienced a hāngī yet? Eaten meat cooked the traditional hāngī method?’

We all shook our heads, no.

‘Anybody into fishing? Fly fishing?’ he asked hopefully a little later.

No. Nobody was into fly fishing, or had even tried fly fishing.

‘There really is some great trout fishing around the South Island,’ he persevered and went on to regale us with his adventurous fishing exploits.

‘Does anybody play tennis?’ he asked as we drove through Te Anau, home of the annual Tennis Invitational.

‘Anybody know about Lake Taupo?’

‘Does anybody trek?’

No, no and no. By this stage he must have been thinking he’d picked up the fifteen of the most boring tourists in Queenstown.

‘Is anybody a singer?’

This really is where we should have piped up, but honestly we were way past that point by now.

Our apparent lack of hobbies or interests certainly didn’t deter Eric. Over the five hour drive to Milford Sound he told us some cracking stories, knew the history of every place we passed, the geology of the land and waterways and the names and uses of the plants and animals.

Then on the shorter journey home he let us choose songs that we sang at the top of our lungs all the way home.

Even though none of us were singers.

Road Trip New Zealand

We’re going overseas!

Like everybody, it’s been a while. We’re visiting New Zealand’s South Island. Don’s never been to New Zealand other than one night in an Auckland motel when our flight to Chile was delayed. I’ve been three times. I went on a Contiki tour of the South Island many, many years ago when I was within the age bracket and frankly all I have from that are dim memories, blurry photos and a firm conviction that I shall never bungee jump. I’ve been to the North Island to run 10 kms and be rewarded at the finish line with a bottle of wine, and a few years ago I went on a girls’ trip to Waikiki Island to drink wine.

I sense a theme.

Our last overseas trip was India, back in January 2020, on the cusp of the pandemic, and already it’s obvious that I’m no longer match fit in the ways of international travel. Usually I do some research first, but I was so excited booking flights that the research was only secondary.

To start with, I booked our flights ages ago. So long ago that after I’d booked them I realised New Zealand wasn’t even open to tourists yet. Just a small hiccup, only rectified by my anxious scanning of websites and the passage of time.

Then I started researching things to do on the South Island, only to find that seeing everything on the South Island requires at least 143 days. We have seven. That’s ok, I’ve done some targeted planning to narrow down the itinerary to a few key places that have wine, cheese and penguins.

Only yesterday I researched expected temperatures, and was immediately down to Kathmandu for shoes and socks and anything else that might keep the heat in and the cold out. I already had two beannies on the packing list, but the ones I own are for Queensland winters, so it was then on to Spotlight where I bought balls of wool to give to Mum. She’s told me it takes her about a day to knit a beannie so she should get it done with time up her sleeve, even if she does have to deliver it to me at the airport. I have undergarments and overgarments, and am thinking I might need to practice layering before we leave. We should never forget how I go with dressing for the cold.

Don has a couple of t-shirts, a jacket and a beannie, and is wondering what all the fuss is about.

Despite the excess of clothes and the lack of research, we’ll be fine. There are mountains, lakes and glaciers to see, hot tubs to relax in and wine and cheese to consume.

Of course if Qantas loses our luggage, I’m screwed.

We now know everything

Today we crossed the border into Queensland, and soon the roadtrip will be over. Nat and her family will be Queenslanders.

Travel, it broadens the mind. We’ve had many discussions, conversations, investigations and questions over the past four days. And we turned to google for these most pressing questions….

– what are some fun facts about Ned Kelly?

– Parallel parking – what is it again?

– Is Uno (the card game) Spanish?

– If Uno is from Ohio, how do you pronounce Uno?

– Where is the nearest coffee/petrol/sandwich/McDonald’s?

– Can you drink your pee if you’re lost in the bush with no water?

– Can you get sunflower honey?

– What is the actual name of the song about the dog that sat on the tuckerbox?

– What’s the name of that song that goes down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico?

– How do you play Go Fish?

– What are the top things to do in Coonabarabran?

– What’s the story of Jimmy Governor and Dubbo Gaol?

– How do you play Old Maid?

– What are the real rules of Uno not the rules Goldie is explaining to us?

– What/where is the world famous six foot tall cow and is it really a cow or is Lulu just making it up?

– What is the price of cherries at Woolworths compared to the price we paid to pick them ourselves?

– Nicole Kidman – googled by Peppa, who knows why?

– Why are there so many flies?

Yes, our minds are certainly broadened. Yep, Uno – pronounced like the Spanish word for ‘one’.

The most logistically complex road trip ever

I’m leaving for the airport at 5am in the morning to fly to Melbourne, and I haven’t packed yet. It’s ok, I’m not taking much with me. Because once I get to Melbourne, I’m immediately turning around and driving back to Brisbane with my sister Nat, three teenage nieces and a dog.

I’m so excited about travelling again I even ironed my Lorna Jane cargo pants. I’m so excited by a road trip I’m back on my travel blog to record the journey. And I’m so excited about Nat and her family moving to Brisbane, I’m flying from Queensland to Melbourne and driving through three states, two of which are border to border designated Covid hotspots, to cross back into the relatively safe state I left four days previously.

So as much as I’m excited, I’m more than a little nervous. My sister has already hashtagged this #themostlogisticallycomplexroadtripever. We have counted backwards 72 hours from Tuesday to calculate when to do our Covid tests to get us into Queensland. We have checked towns and cities to find all of the clinics that are open early, possibly on a Sunday, that take walk ins. We have scoured the internet for dog friendly accommodation in rural NSW for five people and said dog in peak holiday season.

We’ve downloaded the check-in apps for three different states and connected our Covid vaccination certificates to each, and then emailed our Covid vaccination certificates to ourselves. We’ve mapped out an inland route that has some tourist attractions along the way, but which we now realise doesn’t necessarily take into account possible floods.

Nat has written a list of what can come in the car given there’s precious little space: one small bag for each person plus dog bowl, dog bed, dog food, dog lead, dog poo bags and dog seat hammock. I don’t know what that last one is, but it sounds to me like Tassie is going to be the most comfortable out of all of us.

In between all of this my amazing sister has packed up a household of five people, sorted new school enrolments, sold a house, done her Christmas shopping and continued working. Amazing.

Logistically challenging as this all may be, I’m certain we’re going to have fun. We have playlists and card games, we have snacks and stories, we have five wicked senses of humour and a collective spirit of adventure.

And most importantly, we have a dog.