Bookends

In true Gemini fashion, I am ending my Around the World trip as I started it - with a trip to the Bay Area to visit Craige and Greg, including a side trip to Lake Tahoe to see Dawn and Steph. It is really great to be "home" again. See August 2008 blogs "Veuve Clicquot - again", "Kayaking at 6300, Hiking at 8500" and "19 Lesbians and 3 Fags".

Tahoe is all about food, food and more food. When we finish one meal, we start planning and prepping for the next one. Greg and Steph are particularly good cooks, and we are eating like kings and queens.

This is all being enjoyed on the new back deck, in what can only be described as perfect sunny weather.

I am back in Vancouver on July 11, and the gang has already planned a little party for July 12. Then it is off to Salt Spring to catch up there, and retrieve my car (which I hear has died).

See you soon, gang!

Six Continents Down, One to Go

With this Around the World trip, I have now visited 6 of the planet's 7 continents. Only Antarctica left on the list. I got kind of close the other day at a very interesting Auckland attraction - Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter. It has a very well done Antarctic habitat with all kinds of penguins in it. You ride through the habitat on an automated snowcat - kids just love it. There is also a very good aquarium there, with several acrylic tunnels where you can view sharks, rays and other cool critters.














For those of you following my travels, today Sunday June 28, I am flying from Auckland to San Francisco. After what I know will be two wonderful weeks with Craige, Greg and Higgins, I return home to Vancouver on Saturday, July 11. My flight is AC 567, and it arrives at YVR at 4:22 PM. Robert and Nick are picking me up, but I would just love to see more smiling faces when I arrive.

This has been an amazing adventure, but so looking forward to returning home, and seeing my wonderful family and friends.

Mother Nature Cooks Lunch

I took a day trip to Rotorua on Thursday. It is a bit of a drive and in hindsight, I should have made my way there on my own, and stayed a day or two. Oh well, live and learn.

We drove through the beautiful green New Zealand countryside. It is probably just as you imagine it - peaceful, tidy with lots of sheep and cows. Inland and south of Auckland it was colder, so lots of frost around. We were diverted by a terrible accident on a frosty corner. Later in the day we saw another car flipped over on a similar corner.



























We arrived safely at Te Whakarewarewa village near Rotorua. The shorter name is Whaka, the longer one is just ridiculous. The village itself is quaint and cute, and there is steam everywhere, plus the faint smell of sulfur.

Steam vents are everywhere, including people's backyards. There are also boiling ponds, bubbling mud pools and geysers.














After a tour of the village, we were treated to a traditional show of Maori song and dance. As soon as it started, I had a smile on my face, as it sounded something like the sounds of Hawaii. I realize what a wonderful time in my life Hawaii was (not to also mention now, and this amazing trip.














After the show, there was some time to take more pictures, then we sat down to a traditional hangi meal that had been cooking for a good part of the morning. The meats are wrapped in foil, and steamed in wooden boxes build over certain steam vents. The vegetables are wrapped up in bags, and placed in some of the hottest pools that boil constantly. The food was simple, delicious and fun.














After lunch we toured the Rotorua area, including the large lake. We also stopped by Zorb-Rotorua, where people strap themselves into large plastic spheres and role down hills and over bumps. Nobody was zorbing when we got there, and I was not about to lose my hangi lunch, so we did not get any pictures. These Kiwis sure think of crazy ways to entertain themselves.

Our last stop of the day was at the Waitomo Caves, famous for the glowworm experience. We toured the caves with a guide, then got into a boat on a river that flows right through the caves. It was now completely silent, and pitch black, except for the blue starlight galaxies of glowworms on the cave ceiling. It was an eerie, surreal and totally unique experience.

The glowworms hatch out of eggs on the cave ceiling, and immediately eat their nearby siblings. They drop lines of sticky thread, and start to glow. This attracts insects in the dark caves, who get caught in the threads, and are then reeled in by the glowworms for a meal. They grow for about 8 months on this diet, go into the pupa stage, and then hatch as a large fly. The fly has no mouth, so it starves to death in a couple of days; just enough time to lay some more eggs and start the cycle again.

Auckland - The City of Sails

With a little work, my airport shuttle driver found my homestay address in a residential area near downtown Auckland. It was evening, and my host David was out. He left me a note inviting me to make myself at home, and after I eventually found the key in a pair of boots, let myself in to the house. I was greeted by Monty, a friendly and chubby little Jack Russell.

The house and my room were nice, but unfortunately freezing due to no central heating. David does have space heaters, which I cranked up. June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere is the equivalent of December 21 in the Northern one.

I was feeling quite energized, so went out exploring the new city in the dark. David is in a great neighbourhood, lots of funky shops, bars and restaurants on two nearby streets. Of course, I found a cozy little gay bar - I seem to have a nose for this.

I met David the next morning, and he had a nice big breakfast spread all ready. He said the difference between a homestay and B&B, is that a homestay is like being someone's guest. With that, he offered to take me on a quick tour up to Auckland's highest point, Mt. Eden, then to Auckland Domain, with some ideas of how to get around and what to do.

Auckland Domain is a beautiful park in the middle of Auckland, that contains the Auckland Museum. It was definitely worth a visit, with a beautiful collection of Maori items, plus others from various Pacific Islands. It was interesting to the both the differences and similarities with Hawaiian artifacts.














I walked out of the Domain and into Auckland's Central Business District. The Skytower dominates the landscape, and there are some fairly tall buildings, but not like Sydney or Vancouver. I am not sure if I am going to go up Skytower, but I definitely know I am not walking around the outside, or jumping off guided by wires. Someone did that just after I snapped a picture. Remember, all my pictures are on my flickr page.

I walked down to the waterfront, and the city started to remind me of others. The ferry building was a bit San Francisco, the harbour was like a junior Sydney, and the working port and ferry reminded me of Vancouver and the Seabus.














I took the ferry across to the charming suburb of Devonport, and checked out the village and houses there. Unfortunately, it had clouded over and the wind had picked up a bit, so I did not stay too long.

It was back across the harbour to check out touring options, then out to Navel and Family bar for happy hour. It was really nice to spend a quiet evening at "home" later watching a DVD, and relaxing with Monty puppy.

I can feel this trip winding down, and am looking forward to seeing all my friends in San Francisco and Vancouver. See you guys soon.

Air New Zealand Business Premier

I had a smooth and uneventful Qantas flight down to Melbourne from Cairns. It was back to winter again with 12 degree temperatures. I got a hotel close to the airport with a free shuttle.














I was up the next morning and off to the airport for my noon flight to Auckland. I did not bother to eat anything as I hoped the Air New Zealand lounge would have some breakfast food. I arrived at the airport, changed the last of my Aussie dollars for Kiwi ones (73 cents CDN), checked in at Business Class and headed through Priority Security to the lounge.

The lounge was nicely done and quite large. It had the best selection of breakfast food I have ever seen in a lounge, lots of delicious filling food, nicely prepared and presented. I had a great relaxing breakfast, including 2 lattes.














We boarded the plane, a 777-200ER, right on time, and I did a "Robert" and smirked at all the people walking though Business Class looking at our huge seats/beds. Air New Zealand has those angled seats that are like little pods, that fold into flat beds. The NZ sparkling wine they gave us as we sat down went down well.

The inflight service was very good. They handed out menus and took our selection of drinks for after take-off. After a vodka and cranberry juice (42 below vodka is NZ made), they set my huge table, and offered me a roast duck salad, and my choice of wines (a NZ Sauvignon Blanc, of course).

For the main, I had an absolutely delicious and tender beef fillet with a surprisingly good NZ Syrah red (did not know they made good reds too). Choice of desserts was followed by a cheese and fruit plate, topped up with coffee and a Grand Marnier.

I am now actually looking forward to my 12 1/2 hour flight to San Francisco - it may be even better than this one. God, I never want to fly economy again!

A Day Trip to Kuranda

Today, I did a trip that is a "must do" if you are in the Cairns area - a day trip to Kuranda. Andrew dropped me off at Skyrail, a gondola system (just like the ski areas) that skims over the top of the tropical rainforest. It feels like a nature special on TV, in that you are viewing the forest from the canopy. It also gets you over a range of mountains, dropping you off at 2 stations for forest walks and viewing.














One of the stops gives you the opportunity to view Barron Falls and the surrounding Barron Gorge - spectacular!


















The gondola then sails high over a wide tropical river, and "sets down" in the inland town of Kuranda. Kuranda used to be a hippy haven years ago, but like many a similar place, tourist have really changed the town. It is actually really nice, a bit of an upscale tourist town with nice restaurant, shops and galleries.

The train arrived about the same time I did, and the hordes came out. Fortunatly, the town is big enough to disburse everyone.

I wandered around town, had a nice lunch, and browsed some galleries and shops.



























We returned to Cairns in a completely different fashion - the Kuranda Scenic Railway. The line was build for the gold rush in the 1880's, and is now used for a wonderful tourist train.

The route was spectacular, stopping at Barron Falls to give the view a completely different perspective. We wound along the Barron Gorge, going through a total of 15 tunnels.














The train took me all the way back to the centre of Cairns, so I used the opportunity to check out the town, before returning to Kewarra Beach in the evening.














If you come to this part of Australia, I strongly recomment this tour.

Tropical FNQ

That is a common abbreviation given this area - Tropical Far North Queensland. It is the area surrounding the two big tourist towns of Cairns and Port Douglas. By the way, it is pronounced Cans, as in cans of tuna.

It is the winter here, and the temperatures are perfect. Low humidity, and highs of about 26 to 28, lows of 17 to 20 - just ideal.

The area here is beautiful, in that the Great Barrier Reef is close to shore, the mountains come close to the sea, the area is protected Tropical Rainforest (it is the dry season now), and there are wonderful beaches.

I arrived after a full day bus trip from Airlie Beach. Andrew, one of my hosts from Boyz on the Beach, was at the bus station to pick me up. I have splurged a bit on the last part of my trip, staying at a gay B&B. Andrew and Bob are wonderful hosts, and their two dogs, Lady and Boof, are very friendly.














Breakfast is served in the dining and lounge area by the pool. It is kind of a seamless link between inside and outside - there is a ceiling, but no walls. Everything is wide open and tropical. My room is in a connected building. I have a huge shared bath, but as there is no one in the adjoining room, it is all mine.














I bought a package from the guys that includes airport (or bus) pick-up and drop off, 5 nights accomodation, a special rainforest tour, a Great Barrier Reef snorkeling trip, and a trip on the Skyrail to Kuranda with return by scenic rail.














Every second day I just get to relax, and of course they helped me find the clothing optional beach up the coast - Buchans Point. Luckily Cairns has a good bus system thoughout its beach suburbs, so I can get to all these places. Boyz on the Beach is actually in the suburb of Kewarra Beach.

Today I have come up the Skyrail to Kuranda, and am now waiting for the train back through the rainforest back to Cairns. I will write about this wonderful experience in my next blog.



























By the way, this is my bedroom, and the morning view out my bedroom window (notice my big feet). The B&B backs on tropical rainforest.