Auckland Airport
37°0′17″ S 174°46′58″ E

We were up early to take the shuttle back to the airport to pick up our rental car. Catherine came prepared with some high tech apparel to help her manage her anxiety while I was driving on the “wrong” side of the road & she had no steering wheel.

This new kit limited her vision & allowed her to hyperventilate in comfort & without embarrassment.

With all equipment in place & our destination programmed into the GPS we headed off confidently & promptly took a wrong turn coming out of the car rental parking lot. Not a great start – we were on a dead end road that was off limits to the general public but were able to turn around & make our escape without any further stress.

Thankfully the rest of the 3 1/2 hour drive to Paihia went off without incident. Although once we were out of the greater Auckland area the route was over very hilly & winding roads.

We arrived in Paihia around 1:00 & were very pleased to see the beautiful setting that our motel (BreakWater Motel) was in. We had a really clean & comfortable housekeeping unit with a great view of the bay.

We had a brief rest & then went for a walk along the harbourfront commercial area. Shortly after we got back to our room we were lucky enough to spot the Fa’afaite, a Maori double-hulled sailing canoe pass through the harbour.

This boat was sailed from Tahiti by a Maori woman & crew with no modern navigation aids as part of the Tuia 250 Celebrations. It has joined a flotilla of tall ships that are currently circumnavigating New Zealand.

You can read more about Tuia 250 by following this link to the official website: https://mch.govt.nz/tuia250

We hope to catch up with the tall ships tomorrow.

Cheers!

33°53′23″ S  151°16′31″ E
Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

We were up at 5:00 am to see the sun come up and to catch the airport shuttle at 6:00. We had plenty of time to make our flight and had a light breakfast after checking in and going through security.

The Sydney airport is massive and full of luxury shops – Gucci, Rolex, Cartier, Versace – all of our favourite shopping spots (!) but also nice lounge areas with water features. It’s also a “quiet” airport so the only announcements are at the gates. All other public service and flight information is on the monitors so it is much quieter than most other airports we have been in.

It was a pleasant 2 hour flight on Air New Zealand. There is a 2 hour time difference between Australia & New Zealand so we left at 10:00 and got in at 2:00. We even had a tasty hot meal (instead of having to buy a crummy sandwich) and they changed our seats for free. Plus we had one free bag each to check, which arrived when we did! Air Canada, are you paying attention?

Going through New Zealand Customs & Immigration was very easy & efficient – very similar to our experience coming into Australia.

We stayed at a motel close to the airport. Good thing we had booked ahead as U2 was playing a huge concert in Auckland that night and a lot of hotels in the city were sold out. No concert for us, just dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant and bed. A big day tomorrow as we start the next phase of our adventure down under & we pick up the rental car.

Catherine is really looking forward to me driving on the opposite side of the road in a place we’ve never been before!

Hang on!

Today we were on a mission to explore the Bondi Beach & Bondi Junction areas with a few specific goals/stops in mind.

Catherine was up an hour before me & went for a walk on the beach at sunrise.

She was astonished by how many people were out at 6:00 am running, swimming, surfing, biking, yoga & pretty much all other forms of exercise. Of course the surroundings were pretty inspiring.

We started our adventure with another great breakfast at “Le Paris Go” cafe & then began our climb to Bondi Junction. While our walk was not nearly as challenging as our hike in Nepal we were very surprised to find how steep & hilly this part of Sydney really is.

It took us about an hour to reach the main commercial area – with a jumbo shopping mall, outdoor markets & apartment towers adjacent to quiet residential streets. These areas reminded us a lot of Vancouver.

Despite the 30 C weather the stores were all decked out in full Christmas marketing mode.

After resting & people watching for a while we continued on our mission to find the Bondi Junction Vet Hospital which was just a couple of blocks away from the main commercial area.

Catherine was really hoping to meet Dr. Chris Brown, the Bondi Vet from the tv show so she was constantly on the lookout for a stray kitten or an injured bird that she could take into the clinic. Alas, no luck there.

We found the clinic & contemplated going in but finally thought better of it & continued on our trek.

Next on our list was to explore Sydney’s Centennial Park. In typical Aussie fashion, this park is huge. Lots of open space for people to wander & picnic in & beautiful ornamental gardens.

We found a really nice cafe in the park & took a refreshment break before continuing on to our next destination – the Waverly Cemetery.

On our way out of the park we walked through a natural wooded area that hosted hundreds of fruit bats hanging upside down & sleeping high in the trees. Just like the park they were in, these bats are huge – each one easily the size of a cat. Even though these bats are no threat to people (they are vegetarians) we didn’t linger too long in this area.

Check out this website to find out more about the bats. They are fascinating: http://sydneybats.org.au/flying-foxes/

Waverly Cemetery is an historic site overlooking the ocean. We walked through the cemetery for a short while & saw many gravestones dated into the early 1800’s. There’s even a smartphone app that you can use to find out if you have any ancestors buried there.

We made our way down from the cemetery over to Bronte Beach.

From there it was a short walk to Tamarama Beach where we were close to the day before while checking out the Sculptures by the Sea Exhibition.

By the time we got back to Bondi Beach, the place was hopping with at least 10 times more people than we saw on our first day. We had walked almost 20 kilometers & were so tired that we bought some snacks and ate them on the balcony while watching the crowds on the street below & on the beach. The bowls of Honey Macadamia Nut ice cream completed the day.

Cheers!

33°53′23″ S 151°16′31″ E
Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

Today was our first full day in Australia. Last night we managed to stay up until about 9:00pm & then finally had to surrender to our jet lag exhaustion.

We both slept pretty well & were up at 7:00am. The view of Bondi Beach from our hotel balcony is fantastic.

We went back to the really nice cafe (Le Paris Go) that we were at yesterday & had a great breakfast there.

Next on the agenda was a walk along the seaside pathway that goes from Bondi Beach to nearby Bronte Beach. Our holiday timing was good as there is a sea sculpture exhibition along this pathway for the first last week of October & the first couple of weeks of November.

This annual event has been going on since 1996, has over 100 exhibits & attracts over 500,000 visitors each year. Check out their website at: https://sculpturebythesea.com/bondi/

Many of the exhibits were really innovative & fit into the surrounding landscape.

There were lots of people on the pathway so it was a bit of a challenge to get some photos without anyone else in them.

I especially liked the little village display.

There were also several larger than life sculptures.

The main event of the day was next on our agenda – Catherine was going to spend a few hours swimming in the Iceberg Pool at Bondi Beach. Check out their website here:

https://icebergs.com.au/swimming-pool/

This outdoor oceanside pool was built in 1929. It is 50 meters long & is filled with seawater.

The swimming club welcomes visitors for an $8.00 per swim fee. The setting is beautiful with the far end of the pool facing Bondi Beach & the outside facing the Pacific Ocean.

Catherine took advantage of the pool not being very busy & swam for about 2 hours straight. There she is below! The water was pretty chilly at 18C & the natural salt was certainly different from the pool at our local “Y” so it took a while to get acclimatized.

I took a few videos & some photos of her in action & then went to check out the restaurant/bar overlooking the pool.

It was a great spot to hang out & count her laps, while I lapped up a cold brew. We both had a great time in our own way.

Cheers!

33°53′23″ S 151°16′31″ E
Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

G’day Mates! After an epic journey we have finally landed in Sydney, Australia on the first part of our “down under” adventure.

We started a few days ago at home in London. Our friend Barb Ford was in town from Winnipeg to have a brief visit with us & to attend a high school reunion. Sunday afternoon she & Emily took us to the airport to catch our first flight – a 2 hour hop from London to Ottawa.

After a brief layover in Ottawa we boarded a 5 hour flight to Vancouver. This was starting to feel like a long day – & we had just begun!

Next came a 4 hour layover in Vancouver & then at midnight Vancouver time we boarded our 16 hour flight to Sydney. That’s a whole lot of open water to cross!

All of our flights were as comfortable as they could be – when flying economy. We watched a lot of movies & napped as best we could in-between. Needless to say we were pretty tired when we finally landed in Sydney at 10:30am local time.

We took a taxi from Sydney Airport to the Bondi Beach area. That was an adventure in itself! I think we stopped at every red light along the way. What was supposed to be a 20 minute ride took almost an hour! Oh well, we made & that’s what really counts.

We are staying at the Bondi Hotel, which is right across the road from the beach. This hotel was built in the early 1900’s & still has the same facade as when it was first built. Thankfully the rooms & the plumbing have been modernized. Very clean & comfortable! I am sure we will enjoy our stay here.

After securing our room we walked down to the beach to see if we could spot Dr. Chris (the Bondi Vet) out for his daily jog but we must have just missed him. Maybe tomorrow.

Being down under in Australia takes a little bit of getting used to but we soon got adjusted to the orientation of the planet & the gravity settings here.

That’s much better!

The weather was very sunny but the wind was quite strong, with gusts up to 70 km/hr. Surf’s up & there were a number of people out there taking advantage of it. There were more people with surfboards than there were people on bicycles!

The commercial area of Bondi Beach is heavily oriented towards beach lovers & tourism but it is very well done. Lots of choices for fast food, casual dining & shopping.

We grabbed a bite to eat at a very nice little bar overlooking the beach & then went on a walking tour to explore the area some more. We were pretty tired from our trip but we’re determined to stay up & outside for as long as we could to help us beat the jet lag.

Big plans for tomorrow. We need to be well rested – especially Catherine as she has something special planned.

Cheers!