On the Bike Again: New Zealand South Island

Greetings from the land of Kiwis, where I am currently on Lake Moreaki, in the Southwest New Zealand World Heritage area. It is raining and we have a layover day from biking, which is giving me a great chance to update the blog on the trip so far.

After almost not getting into the country becuase of a jar of Tiger Balm, I arrived in Christchurch and spent a few hours exploring before it got dark. The next morning was an early start. I met my Backroads group at the train station where we boarded the TranzAlpine Express to Moana. There, we had lunch (eating is a really big theme for this part of the trip) and headed out on our first ride!

The fist sites we saw were beaches. We spent a night at Punakaiki in this really cool beachfront lodge. Punakaiki is near the Pancake Rocks, which are some large rock formations that look like pancakes. The rain was driving down so I have no photos, but will be getting some from other folks to post later. The second night we stayed in the little town of Hokitika, where there is a black sand beach! This was right outside my window:

Unlike Australia, New Zealand really has no dangerous animals (they also do not have koalas). The third day we ventured inland to where there are more mammals. This cafe in Pukekura is capitalizing on the local food source and even sells possum jerky and possum pies. I tried some of the jerky and it was not bad. The owner has quite a sense of humor as you can guess from the outside of his store. The place is for sale if anyone is interested.

A note on New Zealand possums: they are not like the ones at home. They are actually sort of cute. In fact, they look disturbingly like cats. The only ones I have seen so far are dead, because there is a huge overpopulation problem. Per the photo below, people set a lot of traps for possums and they even shoot the poor things. National Geographic did an article on the possum issue, including a photo of one still alive, which you can read at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/04/0425_060425_possum.html.

From there, we cycled to Franz Josef where we joined several thousand of our tour bus friends. Franz Josef is a small town near one of two really large glaciers, so it is worth braving all the people. We had a day off biking to explore, and I went for a hike with Pam and our guide Eoin (pronounced Owen). We saw where the glaciers melt into the riverbeds. The water is so cold that sometimes there is still ice flowing by in huge chunks!

Here I am at the bottom of the glacier:

Later that day, we did one of the coolest things ever (no pun intended). We went for a ride in a helicopter over the glaciers! The pilot of our helicopter was about 14 years old.

I'll have more photos later on this from my friend Larry, but here are some previews. It is hard to explain what a glacier looks like until you see it up close. Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers are some of the only glaciers in the world that are actually getting bigger rather than smaller! However, there is still evidence of global warming around the area. They just get a real lot of snow there. Read more on Franz Josef at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Josef_Glacier.

Here I am at the top of the glacier:

Now, I am off for a hike in the rain - it has stopped for a few minutes so maybe I'll get lucky. Check the blog soon for more on New Zealand, and post comments!

Australian Wine Country: Hunter Valley, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley

When it comes to food and wine, all you readers of the blog know that I simply love them. That's one reason coming to Australia was so exciting. I am a fan of Australian wines, and to get to visit the wineries in person was a longtime dream. Today we'll hear the highlights of our travels in New South Wales and South Australia. I can only hit the highlights because I seem to have a 20MB limit at the hotel in New Zealand, more on that later...

From Sydney, we traveled for the day to Hunter Valley via bus. This was interesting and informative. Our tour guide, Fritz, is a bousterous fellow with a penchant for bommerang throwing. We bonded with him, as you can see...

We also saw some interesting lawn art, including this statue of Russell the Rhino by a local artist. A crudely lettered signpost warns visitors that Russell may charge them if children or others try and climb up on him. Yikes!

In Hunter Valley, our favorite winery was Robin Drayton. You can check them out at http://www.robyndrayton.com.au/home.asp, but they don't export to the US. Boo!

From there, Andrea and I flew to Adelaide. The city of Adelaide is a great place to kick off a wine tour. We did just that by visiting the National Wine Centre (http://www.wineaustralia.com.au/). Here's Andrea brushing up on some important aromas...

The Wine Centre is next to the Adelaide Botanical Garden. Here I am amongst the roses, how quaint...

The first stop in South Australia was McLaren Vale. We visited the D'Arenberg Winery, home of the Stump Jump, one of my faves...

And took this photo in front of the Chapel Hill Winery, which we did not visit, but felt compelled since we both went to Chapel Hill. I probably did not mention that it was about 100 degrees there!

Our faves in McLaren Vale were the Red Dot Cafe at Penny's Hill for food (http://www.pennyshill.com.au/ourstory/) and Samuel's Gorge Winery (http://www.gorge.com.au/). Penny's Hill does some exporting to the US, including Carolyn's favorite, Woop Woop Shiraz! But Samuel's Gorge does not. Samuel is a zany fellow. Here he is chatting it up with Andrea:

On the way to Barossa Valley, we stopped at Mount Lofty for the abortive koala mission. Barossa was much more productive than the silly wildlife park. For food, we loved the Vintners' Bar and Grill in Angaston (http://www.vintners.com.au/), and Maggie Beer's Farm store (http://www.maggiebeer.com.au/home/). Torbreck Vineyards was among our favorite wines (http://www.torbreck.com/) - and you can get them in the USA! The accommodations in Angaston at Walnut Cottage were fantastic. Look them up if you are going that way, http://www.walnut-cottage.com/.

Finally, it was off to Melbourne to see the big city, catch up with some great friends, and try more wines with all that great food. Here we are on our last night in Melbourne, enjoying a New Zealand pinot noir.

I am in New Zealand now, and Andrea is on the way home. I know you all want to hear about the bike trip, but I only have 20MB so you have to wait for that. Here's a preview of some of the scenery to whet your appetite. Check back soon!

Why Someone Else Should Pay for our Australia Travels

Today's post is, in fact a business case.

Specifically, we have determined that there is a substantial amout of legitimate business for us here in Australia. OK, not for me, because I don't work these days. I'm simply the chaperone/butler/court jester in this whole thing. However, Andrea is legitimately employed with a multinational paper company. Here's how she describes her work:

"Let's see. I make paper packaging goods and have to ensure that our quality standards are upheld worldwide (read: we call it corrugated, you say cardboard). "

Great. Here is a big stack of corrugated boxes from the Irongate Vineyards. Careful competitive inspection was needed as Andrea's business is looking to take over the wine packaging market in Virginia.

I came up with the idea that they should also go into the wine barrel business. Paper, wood, it's all from trees.

Several days later, we drove through the town of Oakbank in South Australia, when lo and behold, we happened upon one of the paper plant's major customers, Stihl. We decided to stop in for quality control. It was surprising to see the sheer number of Stihl products carried in this little town. Further inpsection yielded pay dirt! A box from Andrea's very own plant.

And she even got to meet the store manager and territory manager! We successfully determined that Andrea's packaging product holds up extremely well when shipped from Virginia to Australia! There was no damage to the product at all.

The next day, another Stihl retail outlet was spotted in the town of Angaston, where we were staying! It was clean and properly stocked. Unfortunately, the competitive packaging shown below did not fare as well as the one from Andrea's plant. The store manager was very dissatisfied with the quality of the packaging. Andrea plans to contact the customer upon her return to the USA to seek award for this specific packaging structure.

Beware the lady with the chainsaw!

Welcome to Australia: The Quest for The Elusive Koala

Greetings from the great land down under! I've been in Australia for a week, and even though it is a very well developed country I haven't seem to have had much internet access. So, for the next few days I plan to update my blog readers on the happenings thus far.

Today's post involves a favorite topic here on the blog: cute animals. There was one thing I really, really wanted to see in Australia, which was a cute koala bear. Even more than that, I wanted to cuddle with a cute koala, which is supposed to be possible.

Supposed to be.

Stop #1 was the Sydney Taronga Zoo with Sharon and Andrea. We loved the zoo and had a great time. But we arrived too late to get our pictures taken standing under a koala. Which may have been OK because koalas have been known to pee on people, according to the guide Moon Handbooks. Nonetheless, I took this photo of a cute koala:

And this photo of some napping kangaroos. In case I haven't mentioned, it's hot here.

Anyway, this really informative Australian guy on the plane on the way over told me about a park called Cleland Wildlife Park, on Mt. Lofty outside Adelaide. You can look them up at http://www.parks.sa.gov.au/cleland_wp/about/index.htm. But I have to tell you, I really don't like these people or the guy who suggested them. Taronga Zoo was as close as I got to a koala!

Why? Because apparently when it is over 32 degrees Celsius, they don't let the koalas come out to play. Even if you came all the way from the USA! It was 36 degrees when we got there, which is close to 100 degrees F. And the people at the park were a bit snooty about the whole thing. I was devastated.

Do you know what koalas do when it is that hot? They sleep wrapped around their eucalyptus trees like a pretzel. Observe:

Like everyone else, Wikipedia conveniently leaves out this fact. Here's what they have to say about koalas:

The Koala is found in coastal regions of eastern and southern Australia, from near Adelaide to the southern part of Cape York Peninsula. Populations also extend for considerable distances inland in regions with enough moisture to support suitable woodlands. The Koalas of South Australia were largely exterminated during the early part of the 20th century, but the state has since been repopulated with Victorian stock. The Koala is not found in Tasmania or Western Australia.

Anyway, we did have fun at the Cleland park despite the fact that it was bloody freaking hot. Andrea and I fed kangaroos, here are some pictures:

Sharon - kangaroos drool a bit so it may be good you missed this part.

I'll keep up with my quest to snuggle with a cute koala. But at this point, don't hold your breath.

Tomorrow we'll hear about why Andrea's entire trip should be a business writeoff.

Andrea's favorite animal in Australia is the bandicoot, which is kind of like a giant rat. Here are a few of them. But the bandicoot is not the reason her trip is business related. Tune in soon!

Bags, and Paradise Found

Great news to report since the last post - the bags got here. All it took was Sharon's expertise with airlines to shepherd them through. And, I am embarassed to say I packed way too much junk. You tend to realize that after not having any of your stuff for a few days. Sheesh, you think I would learn.

Anyway, Sharon and I are currently at Namale Resort and Spa near Savusavu, Fiji and it is fab-boo! You can see the website at http://www.namalefiji.com/. The place is owned by an American self-help guru, Anthony Robbins. There are a few oddities relative to the service, but most of all we have had a great time aand it's completely beautiful. Here are some highlights:

The not so large 12 seater plane we flew from Nadi to Savusavu. Landing strip is approximately the size of a stick of chewling gum and the pilots were consulting paper maps during the trip. Great flight though!

Our first kava ceremony here at Namale. That brown stuff in the giant bowl is kava. What, may you ask, is that? Well, it's a traditional drink here in Fiji and everyone is really into it. These guys even call themselves the Kava Band and they play at the resort every night, except Sunday.

We looked up kava on Wikipedia, hoping for an unbiased account. I also took the above photo of some dried kava for sale at a local market. Here's what Wikipedia says:

"Kava (Piper methysticum) (Piper Latin for "pepper", methysticum Greek for "intoxicating") is an ancient crop of the western Pacific. Other names for kava include ʻawa (Hawaii), 'ava (Samoa), yaqona (Fiji), and sakau (Pohnpei). The word kava is used to refer both to the plant and the beverage produced from it. Kava is a legal intoxicant in many countries and if consumed before driving can cause a DUI citation. It is a tranquilizer primarily consumed to relax without disrupting mental clarity. Its active ingredients are called kavalactones. In some parts of the Western World, kava extract is marketed as herbal medicine against stress, insomnia, and anxiety.

Who knew. I like kava, but Sharon is not sure yet. Here she is preparing to try it for the very first time:
The first day, we went on a nature hike with our guide, Paul. There wasn't a lot of hiking going on, it was more like a leisurely 20 minute stroll.

We did learn that poison ivy grows on trees here! YIKES!!!! Sharon was careful not to touch it, and so was I.

Later that day, a lovely picnic was served near the ocean...

It is really hard to describe how beautiful this place is, so I'll let the pictures do the rest.

More soon...Gretchen