1000s of kms, 1000000s of waves, 2 countries, 5 islands, 4 states, and 3 modes of transportation later, Anna and I are now on our way up north to Queensland from Sydney.

The reason for our long silence (we apologize) has been because internet on the cruise ship was expensive and slow, and since we disembarked the ship we’ve been on the move. However, this morning we’re in the Sydney Airport waiting to board our flight for the Sunshine Coast and meet up with Ryan and Christen Kirk.

Over the next 2 weeks I’m going to attempt to relive our journey, day by day, on our blog, almost like it’s happening live. Except that it’ll be heavily edited and condensed and contain photos and videos.

So… first stop: Tauranga.

Our first port of call on the cruise was Tauranga, located on the eastern coast of New Zealand in the Bay of Plenty. But, before I get to that, let me just fill in some details about the previous two days before getting on the ship…

After spending a night at the Old Oak, Anna and I got up early for another beautiful day and started our journey back south towards Auckland. Our agenda was loose, but it did contain one specific item, which was to find and visit the Matua Wines vineyard, a winery that produces wine Anna and I really enjoy back in Alabama.

The trip was enjoyable, as we got to pass through some little towns and get off the beaten path and take some amazing backroads. Eventually, by using (as always deceitful) Google Maps and having a bit of luck we found the place, and it didn’t disappoint. The area the winery was located in is a favourite region for Aucklanders to day-visit: hilly, forested landscapes that give way to carefully maintained vineyards, high-hedged roads, and quaint stone-fenced cottages. Matua’s property was much of the same, with beautiful, rustic/modern buildings and rows of grape vines.

After doing some enthusiastic sampling and making a purchase, we kept driving and got back to Auckland, which marked the end of our time with a car. We had not failed to make the most of that opportunity, and easily clocked over 1000kms in only 3 days.

The following day we took our forced and relative immobility to hoof it around the city for more exploration. We spent the morning around town, and in the afternoon were joined by an old friend, Phil, and his wife and little baby girl, for dinner. After that it was packing up and organization for the first day of our cruise.

That is one of the first things I’ve discovered on this trip. Google Maps at home is usually pretty accurate: if it says it’s 3 hours to a destination, we’ll probably make right around that time if not earlier. Not here. More on that later.

Anna and I got in the car on Friday excited about our trip to the top of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. Looking it up on Google Maps, we saw that it should take a bit over 5 hours from Auckland, totally acceptable in light of a sensible driving day. Make a few stops for sightseeing, gas, and food and it would be a full but great day. Of course, bearing in mind that we had to make a 2-hour trip back south from the Cape to reach our hotel after reaching it.

The area north of Auckland, known as Northland, is a place I had never been before on any of my trips to New Zealand. From what I knew, it was a beautifully green area, with loads of hills, ocean views, farmland, and sub-tropical forests. It did not disappoint.

Farm fields abound, and we actually saw way more cattle than sheep. Later that evening we spoke to a man who owned some food companies and he said that many NZ farmers had switched from sheep to cattle because of the financial return. Believe it or not, at a ratio of 30:1 sheep to people the market was saturated!

The other main feature of the trip north were the roads. The number 1 highway (the main highway through the whole country) takes you north, but about 30km north of the city it stops being a 4-lane highway and turns into a 2-lane. As in, one lane north, one lane south. For 300+km to the Cape.

The road passes through many little towns and small cities on the way north. There are no shortage of incredible valley landscapes and ocean views… massive islands lurk in the distance off shore, and distance hills creep over the horizon. It’s cliché to say at this point, but it really does look like Tolkien’s Middle Earth. I couldn’t imagine the movies being filmed anywhere else.

About Google Maps. We hit the 5+ hour point and we still had almost 200km to still travel, on some of the windiest roads I have ever been on. Not wind, windy. Bendy, curvy, etc. Never to be dismayed however, we pressed on! And finally we made it, and it was worth it.

Cape Reinga is amazing.

You can literally see the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea smashing into each other, creating wild whirlpools, and beating the rocks of the point with huge waves.

The Cape is a very special place in the Māori culture. The name of the cape comes from the Māori word ‘Reinga’, meaning the ‘Underworld’. Another Māori name is ‘Te Rerenga Wairua’, meaning the leaping-off place of spirits. Both refer to the Māori belief that the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld (I got all that from Wikipedia).

The special nature of the place is very evident. Driving in to the Cape takes you up a winding incline for about 5km through that scrubby landscape that only grows near a wild ocean. Far off islands poke over the horizon, and you realize that the next stop west is Australia, about 2000km west. 1000s more kms east is South America, and north is… well, nothing. You can probably head directly north forever and only hit a few obscure islands. It’s a pretty weird feeling.

After spending a good amount of time hiking down to the point and taking in the amazing views, we decided to make our way south and east and find our hotel. We had pre-booked a hotel called The Old Oak in a little town called Mangonui, which turned out to be a really quaint seaside village. The hotel was awesome… just a few modernized, recently renovated rooms in a 160 year old inn. Next door was a little restaurant called The Acorn Bar & Bistro where we had dinner, and then it was off to bed.

Since we arrived in NZ on Thursday morning, we had already clocked over 700kms of driving, and we hadn’t even driven back south. We’re both really glad about the stuff we’ve seen though, and the weather couldn’t have been better, so it’s been awesome so far.

Folks, we’ve made it. Thursday morning, NZ time, Anna and I landed at Auckland airport and were greeted by remarkably blue skies and comfortable 65F/18C weather. It was good to be back. Without further ado, we made our way to the car rental and hopped into our little, but trusty, vehicle. It’s 8am – no time to waste! So off we went, south of the city, to see what we could find.

Our first plan of attack was to head for the quaint little town of Cambridge where I spent so much time in 2000. There’s a great bakery there that serves up the type of fare you can find in almost every town across the country: meat pies, savory eats, and sweet treats. We grabbed some grub and then happened upon a coffee spot. With pies and coffees in hand, and after a short sit, we were back in the car and driving towards Matamata, a place famous as being the location of Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies.

Unfortunately, the cost and length of the Hobbiton tour didn’t really agree with our budget. Checking out Tolkien-ish holes in the ground doesn’t come cheap. So instead we walked the grounds at the entrance, took some photos and – you guessed it – got back in the car. We returned back northwards and drove through Hamilton, where we had plans to meet up with an old friend. Alas, the 12+ hour flight was beginning to catch up with us by this point, so that meeting never took place. Instead, Anna and I drove back up to Auckland after an awesome morning and afternoon of meandering through the green backroads of Waikato, and found our way to our hotel.

The next morning would be early, because we had an estimated 5 and a half hour drive northwards to the very tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. We were both exhausted and needed sleep, but we needed to grab some good food first. Once we got our stuff into our room, we headed down to Auckland’s waterfront area on Quay Street. We found ourselves in an old reclaimed shipping office converted into a pub, sipping on NZ’s finest ales. Upon draining a pint or two, our next stop was an awesome Asian/Indian restaurant called Monsoon Poon. The food was awesome. Great atmosphere… loud, fun, rustic tables and cool decor, and all done right. The curried lamb was my final nail in the coffin and after sluggishly making our way back to the hotel, I was asleep in minutes on the couch.

Next stop: Cape Reinga.

Hey – thanks for visiting our travel blog.

It’s been almost exactly two years since we last wrote something on adamandanna.com. The last post was from our previous trip to Australia and New Zealand, and now we’re heading back.

“Why go back to Australia and New Zealand,” is a question we get asked often. Our answer is simple: it’s beautiful, it’s fun, there’s of adventure still to have there, and it’s also a special place to us. It’s where we first met, and we have a lot of great memories there.

Before we get there, however, we’re spending five days in (not-so) sunny Anaheim, California at a real estate convention. It’s the last bit of real work I have to do this year. Come Tuesday, we’ll be on a plane and headed for Auckland.

So thanks for visiting. This time around we will do our best to supply more stories, photos, and maybe even videos than we did last time.

First is Anna: it dawned on me some weeks back that my favourite thing about this trek has been sharing it with her. I know many of you will make that “aawww” noise right now, either because you think it’s sweet or you’re having a laugh, but it really is true. I’ve loved seeing new and old sights, getting on buses and planes, and hanging out with people, and all with Anna next to me. And she feels the same way (good thing too!). I think that it has only strengthened our friendship, and thus our marriage… it`s just another type of environment for us to learn about each other, how we respond to different pressures and problems, and what types of things really make us excited about life. Anna`s just a pretty fun person.

The second thing is the pace: I’ve also realized that I think I’ve eclipsed my backpacking/seat-of-my-pants years. Sure, I can still do it with the best of them, and there have still been times between condos and free-rides that we’ve had to. NZ will be full of it. But I’ll be completely honest when I say it tires me out MUCH quicker, and I find myself drawn ever stronger to the life of an all-inclusive or a HOTel over a HOStel. I don’t think that will change much of my traveler’s spirit over the coming years, other than probably shortening the length of these trips from a few months to a few weeks. And heck, I might even through in a cruise or two.

As for the trip, since leaving the Sunshine Coast we have moved around a bunch. We first arrived in Sydney and were picked up by my old friends Phil and Kathy Macarthur. They were super great, hosting us for five days and taking us around to all sorts of places. We visited the Symbio Wildlife Reserve during our time there, and got to see some pretty hilarious animals. For some reason Australian wildlife makes me laugh, and not in a mocking way. I can`t explain it other than saying that it`s almost like they`re all out of cartoons or something. See the following for examples:

During the rest of our stay in Sydney we also spent a day downtown. We visited Sydney Harbour, with it`s iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge, and walked around the old part of the city called the Rocks. We took the ferry across the harbour and north to Manly, then returned later that evening and had dinner with Andrew Feeney. A couple days later we went up to Newcastle for the night to see Ruth Feeney, then back down to Sydney. Finally, it was on to Wollongong, about an hour south of Sydney, to stay with Ian and Charlotte Kirk in their apartment that overlooks the water and the Escarpment. Our time here in “The Gong“ has been great… there`s tons to do and see in the area and since Ian and Charlotte have done (in the words of Ryan) about everything there is to do in a 300-400km radius of Wollongong, they are great tour guides. Just yesterday we visited the Blue Mountains and saw the famous 3 Sisters rock formations, the Aussie version of the Grand Canyon, and beautiful Wentworth Falls.

Only 4 days left and we head to Auckland!

Our time on the Sunshine Coast has been, in a word, terrific. The weather really has been impeccable, and aside from a few spots of rain and thunder in the last week we had seen day after day of cloudless, blue skies, hot weather, and nice breezes. The ocean water has warmed up to about 23 degrees C (73 F), which really is warmer than it sounds once you get in (Anna might disagree), and the waves up picked up nicely. Disappointingly, the surf picked up too late and I haven’t had a chance to stretch my surfing muscles again yet, but I might give it a go in NSW, and definitely will in NZ and when we come back to the Sunshine Coast.

Anna and I took advantage of all of this and got to do some more exploring. We went up to Coolum Beach one day for the annual Coolum Kite Festival. There were tons of people, most of them families with kids, so it was a fun atmosphere. Little stalls selling food, treats, and knick-knacks, and of course a ton of colourful kites of all sizes. There were little shapes and critters, and massive squids. It was a pretty cool event.

Other days, we just drove around the countryside, going through little towns and a lot of farm fields. The Hinterland, as it’s called, is really beautiful here… dry rolling hills, farms and ranches, forests sprinkled with palms with little winding roads twisting through them, and lots of nice views. We even came across a massive pineapple.

We also went up to Noosa for the day to hang on the enormous beach on a bay there. Noosa is a really nice spot, with lots of high-priced resorts/condos and beach homes. It’s nestled in on the edge of Noosa National Park, which is in itself a huge parkland spreading across much of the Sunshine Coast coastline. Anna and I hiked there for a good part of the afternoon and got up pretty high from the ocean. Views with like Hell’s Gates give an idea of the things you’ll see… towering, rocky cliffs, huge waves crashing onto outcroppings, and the hills themselves covering in thick semi-tropical forest. We lucked out too and even saw a koala napping way up in a tree.

One of our last outings was to Mount Coolum, a huge mound that rises up not more than half a kilometre from the ocean. It’s a big green mole on the face of the Earth and you can see it clearly for quite a distance up and down the coast. The climb up was nothing short of exhausting, probably not helped by the fact the sun was beating down on us and the path was pretty steep and rocky. But the view was more than a fair payoff. You could easily see for many kilometres around the mountain, and it was cool being able to pick out the little towns and locations that we’ve come to know. Even the Glass House Mountains could be seen in the distance over the ridge.

So now our time in Mooloolaba is done, for now, and we’ve off on another leg of our trip. This part is going to be quite a bit more fast paced and packed with new things, so you can expect to get a lot more updates. Our first stop is Sydney, to stay with my old friends Phil and Kathy Macarthur for a few days. After that I think we’ll be heading up to Newcastle, but we’ll keep you posted.

I leave you with this:

That being said, we have had a whole lot of really nice relaxation time. You know how it sometimes takes a week or two to fully relax when you go on vacation? And then when you’re finally at that point it’s time to go back to the airport or hit the road back home or whatever else? Well, it’s like that now – we’re in the max-relax stage – except the great part is we don’t have to go home. No, we get to keep going. I don’t say all of this to try and induce jealousy, or gloat about what we’re doing or whatever… I’m actually just excited about the fact that we’re hitting that point of really “cutting the strings” of normal life (work, bills, computers, cars, etc.) and letting the unnormal life happen. Anyway, it’s nice.

What we have done lately is read a few books, explore more of the Sunshine Coast, and take a bunch more photos (which I’ll get up soon). Yesterday we drove up to Coolum Beach and checked out the annual kite fest; it was more interesting and awesome to check out that I had thought, there were some enormous and really cool looking kites. Massive octopi, stingrays, and other creature-kites – I’m talking 50-foot kites – floated like giant, rainbow-coloured beings waiting to swoop down and devour us. Luckily, they just ate wind all day instead.

The surf should improve this week as well, as it’s been pretty flat. Maybe we can try our hand again at surfing. I expect to share reports with you of massive sand teeth cleanings in the coming days.

Before…

And after…

Everything had a fine film of dust on it the next day, and the distant skies have been threatening further haze for days now. But in the end, despite many people’s doomsday climate change scenarios, I think that this is just a part of the Australian environment that many have forgotten about as Australia has been modernized in the past decades. I know in the Outback that dust storms are a common occurance, and they were probably wondering what all the fuss was about.

Aside from crazy weather, we’ve just been exploring our area and spending time on the beach. Yesterday we did a day trip to nearby Brisbane, but by noon hour we’d had enough of the urban bustle. So we hopped in the car and spent the rest of the day driving around the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

Both Anna and I are consistently amazed at how beautiful this country is. I think Queensland is especially amazing, and we literally go days where you could count the total clouds in the sky on one hand. If anyone is looking for a quick getaway, we’d love to be your tour guides!

You should see the drink that came with this.

We picked up a painting by a woman whose subjects are typically silly scenes of animals in the Outback and naked, plump butts leaning over Ayers Rock… typical Australian stuff.

The rest of the day we spent driving down the Sunshine Coast coastline and stopping in the little towns on the way. There is no shortage of incredible views and beautiful homes.