Hunter Valley Redux

Towards the end of Carolyn’s visit, Marc arrived in Oz as well. The question for Greg and I became what can we do that everyone in this group can enjoy, as different as we might all be. The answer: eat and drink.

We had decided to rent a car for our final week , so we piled everyone into the car and headed up to the Hunter Valley for a round of Christmas Eve wine tasting. We cobbled together a slate of wineries by looking up websites and articles and factoring in the convenience to our route.

Our first stop was Tyrrell’s Winery. They had some really lovely wines here . . . and they poured quite generously. A lot of their wines don’t make it over here, but three that we liked that they told us can sometimes be found in the U.S. are the Vat 47 Chardonay, the Vat 8 Shiraz, and the Vat 1 Hunter Semillion.

With all the hefty pours, we were all a little tipsy by the end of round one, which made it necessary to fill our tummies at the Smelly Cheese Shop. When we were there the last time, a bunch of people snuck in an extra tasting next door at Tempus Two. Since we’d heard positive things from their experience, we decided to do the same. Sadly, our experience was not as good. Not bad, just ok. The exterior is kind of cool though.

The one thing Greg and I had not counted on when planning this day was that we’d be beaten down by intolerable heat. This stands out in my memory as one of two most oppressively hot days of our entire stay in Australia. (The other was the first day on the Grand Pacific Drive.) The air was heavy with humidity. The intense heat amplified the effects of the wine and did both Carolyn and Marc in. Neither of them was able to pull through for the third winery.

I admit, I too had to take a step back and had a scaled back tasting, but I’m glad I was able to taste a bit since Brokenwood had some nice wines too – and these are easier to find in the US – and quite a few at decent prices. I remember enjoying some of their dessert wines and this 2007 Brokenwood Shiraz Estate Blend.

Sadly, with everyone down for the count, we had to call it a day early, which was rather disappointing, especially since this was Carolyn’s last day in Oz. However, once everyone had recuperated later that night, we headed down to Circular Quay and Marc got his first glimpse of the Opera House. His excitement was definitely infectious.

Feeling sentimental that our time in OZ is drawing to a close, I get sentimental.

Back to Sydney - Mom's Awaiting

We didn’t have time to lament the end of our New Zealand Adventure. We had only a couple of weeks left, and in addition to wrapping things up around our place, packing, and enjoying the last of our time with our Sydneysider friends, Sydney, a procession of guests was about to come through to help us spend our last couple of weeks down under. Greg’s mom was already there, ready, and waiting for us when we returned.

Carolyn flew in a couple of days early to acclimate to the time change, and once we arrived we basically hit the ground running to show her our favorite spots around town. A good beginning to the end of our time Down Under.

Greg and I had become quite enamored of an adorable area of Glebe. With so many fun spots in such easy proximity to each other, this strip was one of our first stops.

Included are Red Chilli Sichuan Hot Pot, Sapho Books, and Chocolateria San Churro.

To make sure we got the shopping in, we took her to the Paddington Market, where she picked up quite the loot.

Carolyn's new earring wardrobe.

And of course, we had to spend some time in the Botanic Gardens and enjoyed the extra treat of having a beautiful lunch at the Botanic Gardens Restaurant.

We also got the chance to experience Sydney in a way we hadn’t before – via ferry. A ferry tour around the harbor is usually one of the first things tourists do upon arriving in Sydney, but we had somehow omitted this step. Carolyn loves a ferry-ride – she finds it very relaxing – so we took that ferry to all kinds of new places.

The ride to Parramatta was lovely, but we arrived to late in the day to see much of the town . . . so we grabbed beers and appetizers instead.

We had better luck in Manly, and enjoyed walking around their strip and a long the beach area – although it was really windy. However, as most people will tell you, the highlight is the ferry trip back at sunset sunset.

Of all our ferry excursions, I think my favorite was probably our trip to the Sydney Fish Market. It was a gorgeous day and a lovely trip, and while the market can be a little overwhelming, the feast we had of super fresh fish in many forms was absolutely delicious.

Amongst our activities, we were able to mix in a little Christmas cheer as well. We celebrated at the Opera House with a show of kicky Christmas rock classics and took advantage of the beauty of the harbor at night.

The New Zealand Adventure: The Wicked Campervan Experience

Campervans are very popular way to travel in Australia and New Zealand. You’ll them everywhere you go, and the Wicked Campervans are pretty much the most noticeable vans around. Wicked converts your average minivan and equips them for camping and road-trips. However, they also give the outside a makeover that would shock your average soccer mom. They graffiti the outside of each van with extremely creative captions and designs, that also tend to be extremely lewd. You get no say in which one you get, but I have to say, ours was actually pretty tame . . . thankfully.

Part of the fun of driving around in one though, is that there is a certain camaraderie amongst Wicked Camper drivers. They’re pretty visible to begin with, and when you take into consideration a place like New Zealand, where there are long stretches of nearly empty road, you can’t help but notice each other. So, whenever you see another wicked van go by, you honk at each other in solidarity.


One might have reservation about the roominess of a travelling around in a campervan. Our van wasn’t huge – like I said, it’s a converted minivan – but it was surprisingly comfortable. I always say I never knew I could be so happy living out of such a small space.


When we went to turn in our van at the end of trip, they were starting a new tradition at our location. They handed us some magic markers and told us to go to leave our mark on the inside. I left a couple of doodles and tips, but Greg really went to town.

We had an awesome time travelling around in our camper, but I have to say, I’m really happy I didn’t have to spend ten nights staring up at Greg’s freaky eye.

The New Zealand Adventure: Final thoughts and impressions

Our adventure came to a close on day 10, back in Christchurch. The final day was much like the first, but in reverse. We had to clean up our van and get it back to Wicked, so there wasn’t much of chance to see anything more in the city. The final day may have been kind of quiet, but the trip was truly amazing.

The funny thing is that New Zealand was never really on my radar as place I absolutely had to visit until we found ourselves in that part of the world. I could not have anticipated how entranced I became with the place. I mean – I’m still writing about it 9 months later, and the memories are still bright and vivid in my mind.

New Zealand is a place like no other – quite literally. It split off from the other continents so early that the flora and fauna there is unlike anywhere else. They had no indigenous mammals whatsoever. With no animal predators to worry about, insects and birds developed mammal-like qualities. For example, birds like the Kiwi learned to nest on the ground.

No place is perfect, and like anywhere New Zealand has its issues. They’re still trying to work out problems with the wildlife brought on by their earliest white settlers. Possums weren’t the only animals the settlers brought in that caused problems. Rabbits were also brought over, and they attacked the vegetation. To deal with the rabbits, they introduced ferrets, stoats and weasels. The problem is that they didn’t just check the rabbit population; they went after the birds too – birds that were often extra vulnerable due their ground nests. They’re still trying to get these animals in check. Along many trails, traps for the stoats and weasels are fairly common sights. Not all the solutions that are considered seem all that environmentally sound.

The environmental problems are sad, particularly considering that this place is such a playground for outdoor lovers; still these were the worst problems we heard about --- or at least that were discussed in front of us outsiders.

Hopefully, they’ll be able to get their conservation efforts in order and this place will remain the haven it is. In recent years, they’ve gotten a tourism boost brought on by the popularity of Lord of the Rings and other movies that have been filmed throughout the country, including Wolverine and the Chronicles of Narnia. I can’t help but hope that the increased tourism doesn’t spoil the vast, pristine beauty.

Still, I can easily see how the landscape can’t help but inspire. I fell head over heels in love.


To cap it off, here is a slideshow of Greg's favorite shots from the trip:

The New Zealand Adventure Part 7: Aoraki Mt. Cook & the Mackenzie District

Mt. Cook over lake Pukaki

Mt. Cook was the final major stop on our tour of the South Island. The area is kind of interesting in that it has some strikingly gorgeous sights, and some that are . . . well, strikingly ugly.

Mt. Cook is New Zealand’s tallest mountain. The Maori name is Aoraki which means “cloud piercer,” and it’s easy to see how it got its name.

Mt. Cook has been a longtime destination for mountain climbers. In the Mt. Cook village you’ll find the Sir Edmund Hilary Alpine Center, a gorgeous museum and educational center dedicated to the area and the history of mountain climbing. Entrance is free and absolutely worth a visit.

Plus, it ‘s a good place to pick up maps and information about area and the trailheads to several treks are right nearby.

The ugly part came in at the Tasman Glacier head. This is just my opinion of course, but this is not the prettiest place in the South Island; that’s not to say it isn’t still really interesting and impacting. My understanding is that the construction site appearance of the lake basin the glacier flows into is due to the fact that the glacier has done a little back and forth action – it advanced, retreated, advanced again, and is now once again in retreat. The result is that it has turned the terrain to rubble.

On top of the mountains of rocks, the glacial silt makes the water on this lake look dusty grey. (It's possible that in different light the water might look different, but that day it was murky.)

The place like it could have been the location for Mordor – it wasn’t . . . but it looks like it could have been. (Actually, prettier fields not too far away were the locations for Gondor.)

Just a little ways down the road, the glacial flour in some of the other lakes nearby created a completely different effect. At Lakes Ohau, Tekapo, and Pukaki light plays off the silt in this magical way that creates an intense turquoise blue color. It looks pretty otherworldly.

In between Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki we stopped at Mount Cook Salmon Farm, which is hidden just off the main road. According to their website, the farm is eco friendly and sustainable. We got there right at 5:00, so we didn’t get to tour the place much, but we did get to see a bit and feed the fish.

The pens were crowded with salmon, but they looked beautiful and the water was clean and that crisp aqua blue.

Most importantly, the salmon was delicious! We ordered a plate of sashimi and were served a heaping plate. The fish was firm and absolutely luscious.

Filled with tasty salmon sashimi, it was time to head out of the Mackenzie District and head back to Christchurch to complete our South Island loop.

Here's my slideshow:

and a link to the rest of Greg's.

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