Our amazing cruise in New Zealand!

A picture from formal night, one of my favorites!

One of those crazy jumpers!

We were lucky enough after Christmas to be able to go on a trip that could only be described as the trip of a life time; we took a 14 night cruise around New Zealand.  The cruise departed from Auckland, New Zealand where we spent the day doing a little site seeing before our afternoon departure.  We thought a visit to the Sky Tower was a must see, so that is where we headed first.  It is the highest building in the southern hemisphere, so naturally they offer people the chance to jump off of it – there was actually a line for this service!

The atrium.

Indoor pool

Outdoor pool where they showed movies.

In the afternoon we headed for our cruise ship, the Diamond Princess.  It was a beauty!  The atrium was three stories and looked incredible; there was an indoor pool and four options for outdoor pools.  We spent our time while at sea watching Movies under the Stars, playing putt-putt, shuffleboard, hanging at the pool and of course eating.  We thought the food was incredible; I made a comment that I was not sure if that was because we had been living in Alice for the last year or was it really that good.  The fact that it was an American ship meant American bacon and sausage, two things we have really missed.  Dillon’s breakfast plate looked like a truck driver’s special every morning.  We had made the decision to get a balcony on this cruise and I am so glad we did, we got to see so much more of the New Zealand coastline that way; we were even treated to whales and dolphins.

Maori performers

Carol and Bob getting into the dance.

Traditional greeting.

          Our first port in New Zealand was Tauranga.  We decided to do an excursion here and take in some of the Maori culture.  We visited a cultural center and watched a traditional haka dance and learned their traditional greetings (pressing your forehead and nose against another person).  Our bus driver taught us a Maori song so that we could participate with the performers, everyone got into it, even Carol and Bob.  Then we went for a bit of a drive to some of the scenic spots, it was an amazing landscape.

Picton from near the top of the mountain.

A Maori totem pole.

Our second stop was Picton.  Here we scheduled a private bus tour that took us to visit two wineries for wine tastings in the Marlborough region of New Zealand; their wine country.  It was a shame that a few days after this stop, I discovered we could of brought a bottle of wine each back on the ship form each port, I would of enjoyed a little more than a tasting of a few of these wines.  We then visited the Makana chocolate factory – we stopped ourselves from buying more than two boxes of chocolate but in hind sight we should have bought more – the boys cried when they realized we did not buy the peanut brittle we sampled.  We then traveled to the top of one of the highest mountains in the area for a photo op on our way to a private farm in Oyster Bay for lunch.  The scenery was breathtaking!  Our lunch was mussels, lobster and salad –all local.  We spent a little time on the farm feeding Sally the pig and walking on the coastline but our day was cut short when Dillon fell into an eel pond, yes EELS – gross!  He was filthy and thankfully the owner of the farm let him shower off and gave him a change of clothes (from her 18 year old son), he looked a little like a character from the Beverly Hillbillies with his pants tied up.  He was not in the mood to do much after so we proceeded to head back to the ship.

The boys feeding Sally

Wine Country

Oyster Bay

Dillon in his new outfit.

Our third stop was Wellington, or Windy Welly and it lived up to its name.  We visited the Te Papa museum, which is the national museum for New Zealand.  Of course there was an area devoted to The Hobbit, we even got to see the giant Troll models that were used for the film.  The museum was very interactive and very fun.  We then took the historic cable car ride up to the top of the mountain where the Botanical Garden begins and then did the walk back into the city through the gardens.  This has to be the most beautiful Botanic Garden I have ever been to – JD even enjoyed it.  On the walk down you go through an old cemetery with headstones dating back to the 1830’s, it was really neat to see the size and scale of these memorials – one caught my eye – a full size statue of a man with two adoring females at his feet from the 1870’s, he must have been quite a guy!

Dillon playing around at the museum

Learning to use a rotary phone at Te Papa.

Hobbit Troll

Wellington Cable Car

The infamous statue/headstone.

The botanical garden/

 Our fourth stop was Akaroa, a French colonial coastal resort town.  The streets all had French names and the streets were lined with cottages with some of the most amazing gardens.  There were cute cafes and shops so we finally took a little time to get a little shopping in; I found a Christmas ornament with a glass Kiwi bird inside, my big purchase for the trip!  We visited a light house and JD taught the boys how to skip rocks on the coastline, it was a relaxing day.

Akaroa Lighthouse

Our ship in the distance, this was a tendered port.

Rock skipping lessons.

Our fifth stop was Dunedin.  At this point the boys wanted no more sight- seeing so they opted to stay on board the boat in kid’s care, so naturally JD and I chose a brewery tour and pub crawl for our excursion.  I loved Dunedin, and no, that is not the beer talking!  The architecture in this town was incredible, some of the most beautiful churches and buildings I have ever seen.  We went on a tour of Speights Brewery, the oldest brewery in New Zealand.  It was really fun to see how the beer is made but then we got to go in the tasting room, where they had a “free pour” policy for about 45 minutes; so after willingly trying all the brands, JD and I decided that Speights Distinction Ale was our favorite!  We then headed to an old English pub, The Duke of Wellington, for lunch and another beer, followed by Cableways pub.  Our last stop was a pub right on the water, Carey’s Bay; that not only had wonderful beers but had beautiful views.

The train station

JD pouring a few brews.

One of the many beautiful churches.

The Duke of Wellington pub

Our view from the last pub.

Another beautiful church.

Our next day was spent sailing though the Fiordland National Park, we went through Doubtful Sound, Thompson Sound and Milford Sound.  This is where having the balcony was perfect; we were able to sit on our deck chairs, covered in wool blankets (the high that day was 56F) and enjoy the beautiful view.  It was a cloudy day so unfortunately we were not able to see the snow capped mountains, but with the haze and clouds it had a mystical feeling.  There were so many waterfalls due to the extensive rains a few days earlier, that I actually lost count. 

One of the many beautiful waterfalls.

Doubtful sound waterfall.

Three waterfalls together.

Grandparents/Grandkids

We spent the next few days at sea and one of the nights was a formal night.  After a day of relaxation it was fun to get dressed up.  We had the boys in dress shirts and ties and I thought they could not have been cuter.  We stopped to have our photo taken and ended up loving the result, a friend of mine commented that we looked like a family on the old show “Dynasty” – I am certain this will be one of the few formal portraits we will take.  After a wonderful dinner in the dining room we went to one of the clubs where they were having Elvis hour.  This became my favorite night on the ship as I got to watch the boys dance the night away; it was like a bad wedding as the ties came off, the shirts were un-tucked and the dancing was plentiful.  Dillon then came up and asked me to slow dance with him which afterwards we received applause from the crowd.

One of the many beautiful sunsets while cruising.

Our sixth stop was Hobart, Tasmania.  Our morning was spent at a wildlife reserve, the boys had a mission in mind, which was seeing a Tasmanian Devil!  The reserve had about 50 kangaroos roaming freely, this of course was a big draw for everyone but us. Now that we have been in Alice for over a year, seeing a kangaroo is so common that I wanted to move directly on to the other animals.  We got to see the elusive Tasmanian Devil as well as koalas and wombats.  I think the wombat was the highlight for me since “Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball”, a children’s book about a wombat was a family favorite when the boys were small. We then did a few walks around the city stopping at a James Squire restaurant for lunch. Hobart was a great coastal town with much to offer.

The sleeping Koala

Tasmanian Devil

The boys at the Wildlife Sanctuary.

.The little wombat,

Well the night we got back to the ship from Hobart, I caught the dreaded gastro illness – I was sick all night, so much so that JD called medical in the morning.  Later that day I was told I had to go the medical office due to my high fever and heart rate – but soon I was feeling better, after a shot of Phenergan in the hip, 6 prescription Immodium, 5 Panadol, 24 hours sleep and an IV drip.  I am not sure if it helped or hurt that my doctor looked like George Clooney with a South African accent!  It was hilarious to watch the ship’s crew come into our room twice daily with their hazmat suits on to disinfect the room.

This bridge was built in the 1800's.

One of the many art pieces.

The bar under the bridge.

Another art piece on the walk to the Aquarium.

An enormous stingray.

As I am not one to be kept on lock down, I was released from my room at 10:30AM on the day we reached Melbourne, so while we did not get a full day in port at least I got to see some of it.  What an amazing town, we took the walk from the Art Center to the Aquarium (boy’s choice) and got to see an amazing mix of historic architecture, contemporary buildings and incredible art installations, I loved it.  We spotted a bar under the bridge, surrounded by water that the boys wanted to go to but I was not quite up to bar hopping!  The Aquarium was quite nice and the walk- through tunnels were the best we have ever been in.  We saw the largest Stingrays I have ever seen in my life.  The little bit of time we had left was spent walking around the city and to our surprise we saw a 7-11 store, can you say Slurpee!  It is funny the things you miss living in the Outback!  Then it was off to Sydney, where we disembarked and spend another 5 days there.

Our ship docked at Circular Quay in Sydney.

Christmas spirit has arrived in Alice!

The boys posing in front of the white "boomers" pulling the sleigh.

I have had a difficult time adjusting to Christmas in the summer, even with my tree up, the arrival of our  Elf on a Shelf, Tumbleflump (fortunately he knew the way to Australia) and a few decorations here and there, the Christmas spirit has been lacking.  That is until this weekend, it is amazing how one event can change your whole perspective of the season.

Saturday began with a pancake breakfast with Santa, this was a great opportunity to catch up with friends and for the boys to tell Santa exactly what they want.  Their Christmas list here is considerably shorter with the absence of toy advertisements on TV and the complete lack of “super stores”.  As a matter of fact, the number one thing on their list is football uniforms so they can play against each other.  Jake, of course, has asked for a Dallas Cowboys uniform while Dillon has asked for the New England Patriots, not sure why.  I told Dillon if he gets it, he will have to wear it outside!

Sunday we woke up to a welcomed cold front, the forecast was a mere 96 degrees, so we decided this would be a good time to put our outdoor Christmas lights up.  When we were about half way done we heard a honking horn coming towards us, low and behold it was Santa’s helpers in the back of a ute (truck) handing out icy poles (popsicles).  Apparently this has been a tradition done by the APEX group for almost 40 years, they drive up and down every street in Alice bringing smiles to all the kids!

Watching one of the choirs.

The children with candles chasing Santa!

Sunday evening was a beautiful, windy night so we decided to head to the Carols by Candlelight celebration being held at one of the sports ovals.  There were about 2000 people there and we were all given a battery operated candle as we entered that we could wave simultaneously while singing.  There were various choirs performing, we heard carols in English and in Aboriginal languages.  Of course the highlight for the boys would have to be when Santa decided to join the party – he arrived in the back of a ute with about 100 children chasing him through the open field.  My highlight would be when the carol “We Three Kings” was performed; the three wise men were brought to the stage on camels dressed in Christmas lights – unbelievable!  The story of the baby Jesus was then told with quite the Australian twist, if I heard correctly the innkeeper might have told Joseph “Good day, Mate”!  After about an hour and a half of Christmas Carols we were treated to an amazing fireworks display, right over the tops of our heads – honestly it could not have been any closer.  I knew when this event was over that the Christmas spirit had arrived in Alice!

Santa made it up on stage to throw candy to all the kids.

I received a package this week from some of my friends in Dallas, they had included me in our annual ornament exchange even though I am thousands of miles away.  The ornaments all had a Texas theme which means more to me know than I ever thought it could.  I soon realized how much I miss seeing all the bling and of course how much I miss margaritas, but most of all how lucky I am to have such amazing friends in my life!

A little more Aussie everyday.....

Wild Camels

It has been 10 months since we moved to Australia and gradually I am picking up on bits and pieces of their culture.  While I still have yet to camp and sleep in a swag, I have started to put my sheets and blankets out on the clothesline to dry.  Most houses here have a clothes line, and quite a few even have a concrete path leading to that line - many of the Australians do not have driers.  For those that know me well, please know I draw the line at hanging my undies out to dry!

Sheets on the line - they dry in about 15 minutes.

When we first arrived, we were all taken aback by some of the differences in food – you can refer back to my blog post “To Eat or Not to Eat”.  Now there is no issue when dining out or deciding what to make it home – I clearly understand that a snag is a sausage and have been enjoying the many “sausage sizzles” we have been invited to. Another thing I have discovered here is pumpkin, the Aussie’s refer to all types of squash as pumpkin and they use it on everything.  I in turn order it everywhere, I love it!  I have had pumpkin and feta pizza, thai pumpkin soup, beef – pumpkin and goat cheese salad and pumpkin/ pesto foccacia – my friends have made fun of me because I always seem to have it on my plate.  Once again, we all have a draw the line point and that would be a burger (could be lamb, camel, beef or kangaroo) with a fried egg and beet on top, in other words, “loaded” – I am afraid this combination is a no go!

The camels, right in front of the car.

Perentie Lizard

I am getting used to seeing wild animals ever where, it is nothing for me to see a giant lizard running across my yard.  I almost wrecked the car when I spotted my first perentie lizard in the road, at first you think it is a log but then it moves and has a face!  I have held a snake, pet a skink and fed wild wallabies – but even with all of that I was amazed when this Sunday we saw a group of wild camels – yes , camels. We were driving back from a night at Glen Helen when a herd of camels was spotted on the side of the road, they noticed us and decided to remove themselves from the safety of the dirt and jump right in front of us – it was utterly amazing!

Our most recent trip to feed the wallabies - Dillon is petting a joey.

Some friends have asked if I have picked up the lingo and while I have picked up a few phrases, I am afraid I sound more like a tourist from Texas than someone currently living here!  The boys on the other hand are pronouncing the letter Z as zed, they say yeah with an Aussie flare and asking to have morning tea instead of a snack – I love it!  I was told by a wonderful friend of mine back in Texas that an Australian accent raises the cute meter by 2 points, if this is true I think I will have my hands full keeping the girls away from my boys!