New Zealand Road Trip

 

New Zealand

New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  Unfortunately the pictures don't begin to do it justice.  The following pictures are from Queenstown.   

Scuba diving in Great Barrier Reef

Recently in our trip to Port Douglas we took a day boat tour to the Great Barrier Reef. It was about an hour long boat ride from the coast.  Going to the reef has been something we have been dreaming about doing for some time, and it really lived up to all the hype. It is one of the 7 wonders of the natural world and the only living thing visible from space. With over 1800 miles of reef there are some of the most beautiful fish and coral gardens in the world. Brooke and I were able to do our first dive ever here in the reef. It was incredibly beautiful. We got a case for our camera and took it with us. Though the quality is not very good you can get an idea for some of the things we were able to see.  We spent all day at the reef but it didn't feel like enough time. 

A huge fish introduces himself before we go diving.

Daintree National Rainforest and Jungle Surfing

We recently had the in-laws come and visit so we took a trip up north to Port Douglas (near Cairns).  For a day trip we and drove up north to Cape Tribulation which is in the Daintree National Rain forest. Daintree is a tropical rain forest in northern Australia. We thought it would be fun to Jungle Surf (i.e. tourist trap for expensive zip-line). It was a lot of fun, especially since I am terrified of heights.  The zip-line lasted for about 30 minutes and took us across the canape of the rain forest.

Our ferry during our trek to the rain forest

In the background you can see the Pacific coming right up to the rain forest

Brother and sister in-law and Brooke; the grandparents kept the kids for an afternoon

Jungle surfing with a death grip on the supporting ropes

 

More Great Ocean Road Pics

Here are a few more pictures from the Great Ocean Road

This is called London Bridge, it used to be connected.

Beautiful countryside with the Pacific in the far background

The 12 apostles (now there are only 8 because of the other 4 fell into the ocean).

Another picture of the 12 apostles

Koalas in the trees as we drove along.

Sunset over the mountains

The Great Ocean Road

Last weekend we decided to head to Melbourne and drive along The Great Ocean Road.  This is a stunningly beautiful drive along the southern coast of Australia.  It is filled with sharp sandstone cliffs, limestone rock formations and beautiful countryside.  It is a 2 lane road the entire trip and stretches for 151 miles.  It was built by soldiers returning from World War I and is a memorial for those killed in the Great War (the world's largest war memorial obviously).  This was my first experience driving in Australia.  While I have enjoyed public transportation in the city (because I could sit back and relax) I was ready to get in the car, blast some music and drive.  There is a certain feeling of freedom in a car, until you realize you are about to go head on into traffic b/c you are on the wrong side of the road.  It took a little adjusting, but I was able to keep us from totaling our rental.  The post after this one has some good pictures of signs we ran across on our drive.  As you can see below it was well worth the trip.  We found this diamond in the ruff town on the way, Port Campbell, and stayed in a great little inn.  A town without a stoplight but it had a lot to offer.  We had dinner at the local diner and it was great.  There are two chefs who have moved out to Port Campbell to get away and everything we had was incredible.  It was the better than any restaurant we have been to in Sydney thus far.

 

First view on the Great Ocean Road

Our van

Small obstacle