20th April 2011 - Milford Sound

19th April 2011 Yellow eyed Penguin and seals

Got lucky and saw a yellow eyed Penguin early in the morning. Saw some seals and a light house so high up my leg turned to Jelly !!

Saw the town of Lumbsden intriguing ! Went Shopping in Te Anau and Gore.

Leaving for Milford Sound in an hour.

18th April 2011 Dunedin Albatrosses and Lanarch Castle

Went to see the albatross chicks out in the open and saw a parent return amazing !!!

Lanarch Castle was surprisingley interesting too, super gardens and fascinating history too!!

17th April 2011 Dunedin

Very Shiny smooth Rock Balls on the Beach on the way in to Dunedin.

15/16th April 2011 Adelaide

Did go and visit Cadbra College where Mum , Nell and Bridget went to school ! Can't find the photos at the moment but will add later.

Spent time at the Botanic gardens and Cadbra etc. Very warm indeed, great !!

In the Library at Te Anau really good connection in the most deserted place

14th April 2011-- Robe South Australia

Stayed at the fist house built in Robe for the Governor. Really quite twee for Australia but very well appointed and plesant . Do it yourself cooked breakfast most imortant, everything supplies down to the four eggs ! Leaving for Adelaide today to catch a plane back to Sydney and onward to Wellington NZL on Saturday.

Worrambool 13th April 2011

12th April 2011 Bye Bye Melbourne hello the country ! Lorne

11th April 2011 Melbourne Lazy day

One needs to relax as it is pretty tiring being on the go all the time, so a planning day /relaxing day came into force. May do a bit of the town later. We will be leaving Melbourne in the morning and heading for Adelaide via the coastal route. We then fly to Sydney pick up the rest of our baggage and head off for Christchurch NZL, continueing by Air.

10th April 2011 Lethbridge Vineyard, Ballarat, Geelong

Travelled up to Ballarat and looked around the old mining town, alright I guess when they had the shiny metal but a bit run down today as the mines ran out. Popped in to a vineyard in Lethbridge and bought a couple of Reds, difficult to buy more as we already have bags in storage due to the weight problem (difference in allowances between international and Domestic flights). Geelong had a Esplanade and Pier, good for afternoon tea

9th April 2011 Woolmai Surf Beach Philip Island

On the way bacxk from Philips Island we stopped of at Woolamai surf beach to watch the surfers getting up to speed for the national championships. The beaches are really super, clean, with plenty of room. Arrived in Melbourne Town (City). Not really exciting and fairly cold !

April 8th 2011 Philips Island, Caves, Penguins

Stayed at the Continental in the town of, yes, Cowes. On the way we visited the Caves in Buchan which proved to be interesting but also gave us the opportunity to wander through the national park and get even more exercise. In the evening we drove to the Penguin Parade on the far side of the Island. This ia alll about the 35cm Penguins returning to their burrows after a days fishing where they land on the beach in numbers and parade across the beach together. A little bit overhyped but interesting!

April 7th 2011

Stopped off on another surfing beach again very similar to the last one. Decided that the car was making an unusual noise (a squeak) as we drove along, pulled over stopped the car and engine, the noise was still schrill and it turned out to be the local wildlife cockatoos we though! So good news it was not a wheel bearing !

6th April 2011 -- Batesman Bay

Picked up our rental unit this morning and headed south after depositing some of our excess baggage (allowance lower for domestic travel) at a hotel to await our return flight. Had a relaxing trip down to Batesman Bay, nice mountains, Forests and coves. Weather a bit on the cool side, 16C combined with heavy showers again but pleasant enough. No time for photos, it seems to darker faster down here but could just be the heavy cloud cover. Phone Sat Nav worked well with a cheap Thai Sim Card. It is nice to get away from the Cities, everything smells so fresh. On towards Melbourne tomorrow should be fun ! The Hotel had over 30 acres of english gardens with Peacocks and a lake. Went for Dinner at the Catalina Club in town which was different, we just walked in and they showed us to a table, quite pleasant !

5th April 2011 -- Sydney last day

Needed some off shore shots and Captain Cook obliged by taking us to Taronga. On the whole a relaxing day out of the City!