Blow Hole at Punakaiki and Paparoa national park between Westport and Greymouth.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
New Zealand - South Island - September 11 to 19
Blow Hole at Punakaiki and Paparoa national park between Westport and Greymouth.
New Zealand - South Island - September 11 to 19
We took the ferry from Wellington to Picton on the South Island. We took advantage of a beautiful day to visit the Abel Tasman National Park. This rock is called the Split Apple. It split in half during the ice age.
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
We continued south and visited the Tongariro National park where there are 3 volcanos. This is Mount Ngauruhoe on the picture. This is ¨Mount Doom of Mordor¨ in The Lord of the Rings.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
We also went to Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland where we saw a multitude of colorful geothermal sites.
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
Volcanic activity at Waimangu volcanic valley. The water is boiling.
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
We continued south and stopped at Rotorua where there are several geothermal sites created by a volcano. On the picture we are in the Waimangu volcanic valley and we can see the vapor of the biggest thermal source in the world. It is called "Frying Pan Lake". The water can reach 80°C.
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
The rain continued but we decided to visit the Hobbits (for the fans of "The Lord of The Rings"). Those green hills as in Hobbiton can be found everywhere on the North island.
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
In this forest the Kauri trees are huge and can reach 60 meters in height and the trunk can reach 5 meters in diameter.
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
Despite the rain we visited Paiha and Karkare beaches where "The Piano" was filmed.
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
From the boat we saw a few animals. We saw seals but also dolphins and a whale.
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
Still at the Poor Knights islands this is the site called "Magic Wall" and is the site of our second dive of the day. The bay is called "Calypso bay" because this is where J. Coustaud's Calypso ancred.
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
Don't laugh! Yes we went diving on the Tutukaka coast north of Auckland. The dive site is located around the Poor Knights islands and is considered the best diving site in New Zealand and one of the 10 best sites in the world. Those islands bathe in a subtropical current, so tropical and subtropical fish can be found there that are not found anywhere else in New Zealand. The water temperature was still cold for us, it was at 15 C, so we still needed a 7 mm thick diving suit.
New Zealand - North Island - September 6 to 10
In New Zealand we started by visiting the Bay of Islands on the northern island.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
At Bruny Christophe got himself a friend. This kookaburra or laughing kookaburra as they are also called stayed on its branch at 1 meter away from Christophe for at least 30 minutes. Those birds are founds only in Australia and sound like someone who is laughing. People like them because they kill snakes.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
During our lovely stay at Bruny Christophe went kayaking on the bay. Griff was again in a playful mood!
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
During our stay in Hobart we visited Ian and Ann and the family and had a lovely dinner. The next day Ian and Ann kindly invited us to their cottage on Bruny Island. Griff (the dog) was always ready to play! He loves Bruny and is not the only one!
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
On our way back to Hobart we went through the Tasman peninsula.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
We continued to Port Arthur, an old penal settlement created in 1830. The convicts were sent from the British empire. The center closed in 1877.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
As we were having dinner in our tent a wallaby paid us a visit. He even posed for the picture. Isn't he cute!
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
We walked to the Wine Glass Bay and then walked from one end of the 2 kilometer long beach to the other before we camped our tent.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
We continued our trip and stopped at Freycinet to see the beautiful Wine Glass Bay.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
We left Cradle Mountain to go to the east coast of Tasmania. We stopped at the Bay of Fires at sunset and setup our tent. We were the only people camping on the beach. The weather was perfect.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
As we were walking around Dove Lake we saw a young wombat with its mother. Wombats are marsupials found only in Australia.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
From Cradle Mountain we could see the Barn Bluff peak.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
During our hike we went up on the mountain ridges around Dove Lake. Yes we found snow up there (It is winter in Australia!). We also found other smaller lakes.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
Amongst the wild plants and trees we could see the pandanis only found in Tasmania in the rainforest as well as in the sub alpine environment. They are the trees in front on the picture.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
We saw quite a lot of wildlife at Lemonthyme. We saw wallabies, possums (on the picture) and a lot of birds on our balcony.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
We arrived at Cradle Mountain and stayed at the Lemonthyme Lodge in a tree top cabin, a very comfortable cabin in the middle of the trees in the rainforest.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
After 2 days in Hobart with Stephanie and Lyndsay we left for a few days to explore Tasmania. On the picture we are on our way to Cradle Mountain in the north of Tasmania.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4
The next day we took advantage of a clear sky to drive up Mount Wellington to admire the views of Hobart.
Australia - Tasmania - August 23 to September 4.
We flew from Syndey to Hobart where our friends Stephanie and Lyndsay gave us a warm welcome. We are walking on the beach in Hobart on the picture. I am next to Lyndsay.
Australia - Sydney - August 21 to 23
View on Sydney city center from the zoo. We can spot the famous opera and bridge.
Australia - Sydney - August 21 to 23
Among the few sites in Sydney, we visited the Sydney zoo, not only for the animals but also for the wonderful view across the harbor.
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