Melbourne Aquarium

One Emperor penguin...

Two Emperor penguins and an egg...

Poison Arrow Frog...

Jellyfish... 

Turtles...

Shark!...

Another shark!...

A very big fish...

Dinner time for the giant Rays...

More of the giant Rays...

Leaving On A Jet Plane...

As many of you already know, we are leaving Melbourne in a few weeks time to return to London. My secondment has come to an end and my team in London want me back! 


We are going to have had an amazing 6 months here, and although not as long as we had planned, we have been told many times that we have squeezed more into 6 months than some Australians squeeze into their lifetimes here....


Sydney, Great Ocean Road, Gold Coast, New Zealand and all of the many fantastic things we have done in and around Melbourne only begin to tell the story...


We've still got coming up the Socceroo's, Cairns and the Grand Prix as well as any other 'touristy' things we can fit in - the Aquarium, Gaol and Eureka tower top the list....


Keep check back for more updates of the coming weeks/months as we finish off the Blog and no doubt add some things we've missed out along the way... 


We also want to thank everyone for their support and well wishes whilst we have been here. I know you are ALL going to be pleased we are coming home and so are we! 


We are planning to live in and around London for the next 6 months and try to do a few more things we've always put off because they are on our doorstep! Plus the end of the FOOTBALL season, the European Championships, Wimbledon and a little know event referred to as 'The London Olympics'. We couldn't be coming home at a better time.

Melbourne prepares for the Grand Prix...

A view across Albert Park to the City...

All the preparations are under way for the Grand Prix in 4 weeks. The start/finish line and team garages...

The stands... 

A tyre wall... We'll be sitting up there for the Grand Prix. At the top of the pit-straight. 

Hoping to see something a bit faster than bicycles going round the track... 

New Zealand - The North Island - Part 3

Next stop was the Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal 'Wonderland'. Again I'd love to explain but you can look at the pictures and read more here... http://www.waiotapu.co.nz/

At 10:15am the Lady Geyser erupts...

On Thursday morning we went to the DeBretts Spa Resort in Taupo and enjoyed our own naturally heated 38 degree spa...

We then headed up to the 'Craters of the Moon' for more geothermal areas...

We then headed over to see the Huka Falls. They are the largest falls on the Waikato River and the most visited natural attraction in New Zealand. The Waikato river is one of New Zealand's longest rivers and it drains Lake Taupo, the largest freshwater lake in all of Australasia...

We moved down river to the Aratiatia Dam. At 10am, 12pm and 2pm everyday the water is released...

The dam gates open to allow a surge of water to pass down at a rate of up to 90,000 litres per second. After 30mins, the spill gates are closed and the water recedes, leaving behind a dry riverbed...

On this Friday lunchtime we were lucky enough to watch a helicopter filming the rapids in 3D for a certain film due out at the end of the year... think New Zealand... think Middle Earth... ---> THE HOBBIT!!!

http://www.greatlaketaupo.com/new-zealand/Aratiatiarapids/

We then drove across the North Island to Waitomo and on Saturday visited the Ruakuri Caves...

http://www.waitomo.com/ruakuri-cave.aspx 

Then we visited the Glow Worm Caves (http://www.waitomo.com/waitomo-glowworm-caves.aspx) and went on a boat ride in the dark caves, the ceilings all lit up with glow worms...

In the afternoon we headed back into Auckland. We visited the Auckland Museum...

Which includes many Maori artefacts as well as a whole floor devoted to natural history and another floor for the war museum and memorials...

Lastly we visited Auckland Town Hall before heading back to the Harbour to sit in the sun with a nice cold Stein lager...

New Zealand - The North Island - Part 2

On Wednesday morning we left Thames and drove down to the Karangahake Gorge. This was the site of a gold rush in 1875. Apart from the swing bridges and river walk, the main highlight was walking a VERY dimly lit 1km tunnel...

We then drove down to Rotorua and visited the Whakarewarewa Forest containing magnificent, towering Californian Coastal Redwoods...

We then visited the Buried Village. Mount Tarawera erupted in June 1886 burying an entire village in mud, rock and lava. Excavations have since revealed a number of the wood and stone buildings preserved in the mud... 

We then went into Rotorua and walked around a Maori village including the meeting hall...

In the evening we rode the Rotorua Skyline...

We had a buffet dinner watching the sun set over Lake Rotorua...

The full moon lights up Lake Rotorua, formed from the crater of a large volcano...

On Thursday we visited the Waimangu Volcanic Valley. We followed the crater walkways throuhgh Waimangu's steaming landscape and many geothermal features... I'm not going to try and explain the features so you can look at the pictures and read more here... http://www.waimangu.co.nz/  

One more for the album...

Part 3 will include Wai-o-tapu, Taupo and Waitomo.

New Zealand - The North Island - Part 1

On Saturday morning we flew to New Zealand and drove up to Whangarei, 2 hours north of Auckland. On Sunday morning we visited the Whangarei Falls and then Ruapekapeka Pa Track (the site of the the last battle of the Northern Wars, fought between British colonial forces and northern Maori).

Then we drove up to Paihia in the Bay of Islands. We went on a boat trip through the Bay of Islands. We saw dolphins playing in the water...

More dolphins...

When we left the pod, some of them followed the boat...

The boat moored at Urapukapuka Island Reserve and I climbed the hill for a great view of the Bay...

On Monday (Waitangi Day - a public holiday held on 6 February every year to commemorate the signing of New Zealand's founding document - the Treaty of Waitangi) we drove down to Auckland going over the Auckland Harbour Bridge...

We then went up the Sky Tower for views over eastern Auckland including the Auckland Museum and Parnell district where we spent the night.

and a view out across the harbour toward Rangitoto Island...

No trip to Middle Earth would be complete without My Precious at the Weta display inside the Sky Tower complex...

A walk around Auckland Harbour....

On Tuesday morning the sun came out and we climbed to the top of One Tree Hill, one of the numerous extinct volcanoes circling Auckland...

A view of Auckland from Mount Eden, the huge crater and extinct volcano...

We then drove out to Thames in the Coromandel Area. We drove up into the Kauaeranga valley where Sarah had time for a swim...

and we climbed up to 'Lookout 76' for a stunning view...

More to follow in Part 2 including Rotorua, Taupo and Waitomo.