Australia 2016, Day 12 - Livin' on a Reef

August 18, 2016

Warning: If you don't want to see pictures of paradise, leave now. :-)

The morning started with us sleeping as late as we could, which ended up to be about 8:30! We were down to breakfast by nine and had started a load of laundry in the 'free' washer (or most expensive washer we've ever used, depending on how you look at things). We took the opportunity to wander around the island and explore, taking pictures of the sun, the sand, and the reef. 

At 2:30 we met at the nature center for a reef walk. We were thinking it would be a rather small event, but it felt like a significant population of the resort took part. The reef extends out from the island by several hundred feet, before dropping off, and at low tide is in about 6-12 inches of water, which makes exploring it on foot really easy and cool.

During the reef walk we saw and were able to hold critters! We saw a bunch of sea cucumbers and several sea stars including a blue one! We saw and got to touch an epaulette shark and a rather large sea turtle. Amongst all this we saw a bunch of different types and colors of coral, clams with colorful lips and even some colorful worms! I think these are some of my (Mark's) favorite pictures from the trip!

Following the walk we folded laundry, tidied and found the perfect place to watch the end of a wonderful day.

Australia 2016, Day 11 - The Vomit Comet

August 17, 2016

Today started dark and early for Jenny & Mark. We got up around 4am for a 6:50 flight to Brisbane, then connecting to Gladstone for a 2pm departure to Heron Island and the Great Barrier Reef!

The flight from Brisbane to Gladstone was on a small prop plane that was boarded from the rear.   It was an interesting situation.  The flight was uneventful and within an hour we had landed in Gladstone and were greeted by the cutest airport we have seen in a while.  After a short wait for our "chariot" (a full size tour bus) to take us and approximately 30 other guests plus a group of overly eager marine science students to board our catamaran (affectionately nicknamed the vomit comet) for a quick 2.5 hour cruise to Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef.  The catamaran was built specifically to handle the seas around Australia - measuring over 30 meters long to ensure a smooth journey.  It wasn't long before our catamaran was hit with waves higher than the hull splashing and tossing the boat around like a ragdoll.  Needless to say this was the roughest boat ride either of us have experienced.  Mark did a great job staying focused on the horizon for the 2.5 hours.  Jen on the other hand did her best - but as we all know - sometimes your best just isn't good enough.  Upon arrival at Heron Island we were greeted with a nice blend of fruit juices and a brief introduction to the island by one of the island naturalists.  After the introduction to the island was over we recovered from our journey in our reef suite.  

Heron Island, Australia

While stomachs are settling let me give you a little background on Heron Island...
Heron Island is a small coral island on the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern portion of the Great Barrier Reef.  It is approximately 40 acres in size measuring 2600 feet long by 980 feet at its widest point.  Being this small it take a leisurely 20 minutes to walk around the entire island.  The Heron Island Resort consists of 109 rooms, restaurant and bar featuring live entertainment.  Also on the island is the Heron Island Research Station owned by the University of Queensland is the largest research station on the Great Barrier Reef.

Heron Island, Australia

After a 2 hour nap to settle our systems we indulged in dinner at the Shearwater Restaurant. Over dinner we reviewed activity options for our stay and made the plan to turn off our alarms and retire early for the day. 

Australia 2016, Day 10 - In Search of Tuxedos

August 16, 2016

We started our day by packing up and getting the car loaded, then drove to breakfast at a wonderful little place called The Olive Tree. Kayleigh had museli, Jen had a bacon and cheese toastie, and Mark was the traditionalist with 2 eggs with bacon, sausage, potatoes and toast. We got on the road for our long 8 hour drive back to Christchurch. We drove through Dunedin, and thought about stopping to see Tim & Ray, but then realized we were halfway around the world from them. 

We stopped for a jaunt at the Moeraki Boulders. These are rather spherical boulders on the seashore that... Look like a giant boccee set. The natives believed they had spiritual significance. After attempting to play boccee and failing, we did a little shopping and got back on the road.

Moeraki Boulders
Moeraki, New Zealand

Moeraki Boulders
Moeraki, New Zealand

Moeraki Boulders
Moeraki, New Zealand

Moeraki Beach
Moeraki, New Zealand

It wasn't long before we saw a sign for penguins near Oamaru. We've never seen penguins in the wild before, so we decided to make the detour. Along the way we came across a train crossing by the harbor, they have the cutest train signs in New Zealand!

Train Sign
Oamaru Harbor, New Zealand

Unfortunately penguins spend the day out in the ocean fishing and don't come home to their nest until dusk (what's that about!? So responsible...) so we tried to get a late lunch nearby. Many places in New Zealand advertise they are open morning till late, but they have a greatly reduced menu unless you're in the main meal times, so we struck out finding food.

We continued our drive and finally ended up in a small town named Timaru around 5pm. We stopped at this great little pizza joint named Zest and had a dinner of soup, salad and pasta. While we were eating, Mark researched penguin sighting locations and found that the worlds smallest penguins make their residence at the Timaru pier - who knew? After dinner, we headed out to the pier to try our hand at finding penguins, and... We found one! This was the perfect end to our time in New Zealand!

Little Blue Penguin
Timaru, New Zealand

Australia 2016, Day 9 - A Birthday Fiord

August 15, 2016

First item of the day - after the standard routine was breakfast - Oh wait - that is part of the standard routine.  Scratch that.  We had breakfast at a coffee shop in Te Anau - typical ham and cheese croissant for Jen & Mark while Kayleigh went all out with pancakes with maple syrup and a flat white.  Then we were on the road headed toward Fiordland National Park - specifically Milford Sound.  The quick 90 minute drive there was breathtakingly beautiful.

We arrived at Milford Sound just in time for the 12:45 boat ride through the fiord.  The weather was chilly but skies were blue so there was compromise.  Our happy little boat had approximately 100 people on it - it was a little more crowded than a tour of its size should be.  Upon enbarking on the boat we made our way to the bow for optimal viewing pleasures.  The 1 hour 45 minute tour took us through picturesque scenery past many waterfalls and through one incredibly frigid but beautiful waterfall.  The end result of the frigid waterfall were three cold and damp travellers (insert unamused face here).  After the boat ride the sky promptly clouded over and started to drip on us.  The drip then turned into rain and we were quite glad that we did not opt for the less crowded but later 2:45pm tour.

After a quick lunch and ice cream stop we were on our way back towards Te Anau with the intention of hiking a bit on the way.  The first jaunt we found was to the Chasm.  Awesome bridges carried over a rushing waterfall that had made its way through many layers of rocks.  The next stop was a hike to Lake Merian.  We crossed a very bouncy suspension bridge and made our way up a hill to a waterfall. From there we climbed up the trail until we reached a clearing with snow. The trail was very technical, having stream crossings, navigating step parts, and climbing between and under downed trees. We paused at the clearing to admire the countryside, then turned around because it was starting to get dark.

Our Toyota Highlander took us back to Te Anau, but not before we paused to play snowball catch with Kayleigh. It's entirely plausible this may be the only time we see snow on August 15th! While playing snowball catch there were Stan, Steve and Jimmy, the Kea birds that hung out at the lookout. Kea birds like cars, and they like chewing on any plastic or rubber they can get their beaks around. They tried to make a meal out of the Highlander, but once they were pelted with snowballs they looked for easier targets. A Subaru pulled up and Stan and Jimmy flew from our Highlander over to the Subaru hood and roof rack. The startled people looked in awe for a minute, then in horror as the birds started nibbling at their car. They started to drive away with Stan and Jimmy firmly planted, enjoying the ride. Once the car hit 30mph, the birds dismounted onto a nearby bridge, sad that their dinner was disappearing.

Once back in Te Anau, we found dinner at a place called Baileyz. Mark & Jen had salads, while Kayleigh had a Steak dinner in honor of turning 24! We finished the evening with Tiramisou, Chocolate Trouffon, and Apple Strudel while enjoying hot cocoa and watching the olympics. Everything was amazing.