April 22nd - Warrnambool to Mt. Gambier

With the skies breaking into blue in patches we elected to back track to the Bay of Islands and the Bay of Martrys. Oh what a good decision!  The sun came out in earnest and we were treated to spectacular views with virtually no tourists in sight!  We got to go down on the beaches in between the spectacular lime stone formations.  It felt like you were in Narnia when they came back the second time.  I swear Asland was in the bush whispering to me!  We hung out in the By of Islands until about 11:45 then shot for Warrnambool for lunch. 

After lunch we headed to Tower Hill to see what typically Australian animals including emu and koala bears.  We walked and were rewarded with emu, little birds, and butterflies.

Traveling from Tower Hill to Mount Gambier is filled with green rolling hills, cows, sheep, wind turbines...it's very peaceful. It like I think Montana is...big skies and long distances.  Oddly, the ocean is just over the ridge. 

The light is beautiful today.  At 4 PM we left the ocean and headed into the hills toward Mount Gambier.  Sad to leave the ocean, but the adventure must continue.  

We've been trying to catch the parrots since we got here.  We've seen many blue and reds as well as green and reds.  Finally scored them!  Then 5 o'clock came...the golden hour and when all the nocturnal animals start coming out.  It's like being on an African safari. Kangaroos on the left, emus on the right!  Spot, spot, spot!

Dinner was divine!!!  Local cows, local farm, local wine - yahoo!

The milky way was bright and we shot it!

Emu

Enjoy! John & Cheri

April 21st - The Great Ocean Road Continued! - Lorne to Warrnambool

A 3 for 1 day- 3fer! 

  Sunrise! - we awoke to cloudy, rolling skies.  Bonus!  That's what spectacular sunrises are made from.  We quickly hopped onto the road and got to the ocean and wow!!  We saw the angels singing the day in...check this out and see if you agree!

We then shot back to the lighthouse at split rock to see if it might brighten up.  By the time we finished it was nearly 8 am and the breakfast places were opening.  After a yummy breakfast where we learned why food is so expensive....the minimum wage is $22/hr!  We headed off Apollo Bay toward the zip lines.  Along the way there were lots of photo ops!  We stopped in at Kennett River and saw Koala bears in their natural setting.  It was day time so of course they were sleeping. 

We then headed into the hills to the Zip lining.  We had never done this before and boy was it fun!!  There were 8 zip stations and two bridges to traverse.  All along the way they told us about the rain forest.  Will definitely do this again!!

By now it 3:15 with sunset at 6 and hours to go .... 12 Apostles...we ran for it and made it.  Luckily it was overcast and the light was uniform and built for taking our kind of pictures!  We shot and shot and went from pull off to pull off until it was dark!  Boy were we hungry when we got to Warrnambool! 

The MidCity hotel was great!  Comfortable bed and amazing rain forest shower!  Not much was open for dinner since it was a holiday so we headed for the pub and were very pleasantly surprised!  Extensive menu, good food and of course Guinness on tap!  Happy Cheri!

It rained torrentially, thundered and lightning through the night.  We slept till nearly 8 and the storm was breaking up and the blue sky reappearing!  Love it when it rains at night!

Angels sing the day into being

split rock lighthouse

our first koala

12 Apostles

ziplining!

Enjoy! 

Cheri & John

April 20th - Easter Sunday!

After a wonderful nights sleep, which was extraordinary having changed +15 hours!  John had found some walks near St. Leonard's.  this was great because it took us off the Beaten Track.  On the way we saw some very cool birds including black swans and others we haven't identified as of yet :-).

We got some great surf shots where just the locals were enjoying the day.  We transited through Torquay, a town made famous by the movie Point Break where Boody surfs off into the 100 year storm and meets his maker. 

Before we knew it, we had made it to the Great Ocean Road; one of the must see's in Australia.  Having been on it, we now understand why!  The ocean is big and spectacular with tons of surfers and waves!  The surf is green and the rocks are limestone and carved into all different arches and formations.  Something you just don't get tired of looking at!

We saw our first kangaroo!  They are nocturnal and come out around 4:30 to 5 PM.  This one was dining on someone's lawn!

We pulled onto Lorne at 5:30 on time for our 6 PM Easter dinner reservations at Maple Tree.  Fever tree, Hendricks and cucumbers were on their menu....yum!  Cheri had local prawns, sea trout and barramundi over linguini. John had lamb.  It was yummy!

Enjoy!

Cheri

April 19th - The Land Down Under

Both John and I arrived in Australia on separate planes; the way of frequent flyer miles.  The journey's were good and restful even at 15 hours per leg!  Cheri got to use a fast pass for passport control and made it through in record time.  John was already there with the car in waiting!

Thank you God!  It was supposed to rain today, but it began to clear as soon as left the hotel. Blue sky is now dominating the sky with sunshine.  The birds are flying over us in flocks and individually.  Joy!

Today was all about getting on the time, remembering how to drive on the right, and provisioning!  We found a mall about 2ks from our hotel.  The plan was to acquire an "Eskie" or a cooler, some food in case everything was closed for Easter, some water, and anything else we saw we needed.  As luck would have it, there was an electronics store where we went in to check out go pro accessories.  Lo and behold, they had a pay as you go Wi FI!  So, for $99 we acquired on the go wi FI for the whole trip!!  Yeah. Hooked up!

John had researched potential walks to give us an activity to keep us awake.  We found some great birds including parrots.  Nice to get some "lead in the air" and be sure all our equipment was functioning. 

The goal was to stay awake until 8 PM.  So we headed off to a Thai restaurant a mere 6 miles away....mere....it was like an obstacle course with trams, round abouts, and for two tired Americans, it was a challenge!  Luckily we made it and made it back.  The Mantra hotel had a GREAT bed and a Good Shower!

Enjoy!

John & Cheri

Tuesday - August 13, 2013 - Time to game drive!

Finally!  We are headed for the bush and our reunion with Dani and Marius du Preez!  We have been anticipating this reunion for a very long time!  Texting and emailing has been problematic, and we are hopeful they will be at the airstrip when we arrive on a Cessna from Dar.

Reunion!!!  Happiness is seeing dear friends and then sharing great adventures with them!!!

As usual with this dynamic foursome, we hit the ground running and started game driving immediately!  Lion, elephants, and more right out of the gate! 

That night we stayed at Sunset Mountain Lodge.  Great food, great staff, and great sunsets, but a bit tired facilities. 

Enjoy!

Cheri & John

August 11, 2013 - Addis Ababa, Ethopia

Phew - we got our boarding passes to Addis Ababa, but no luck on the boarding passes from Addis to Dar.  Yikes!  Sure hope there is an agent and someone speaks English there!!

We flew on the worlds oldest 767, but made it!!  I think it may have been older than me!  It had a projection system for the safety video.  Needless to say, the seats weren't too comfortable and sleep was elusive. 

We arrived and exited the plane on the tarmac.  Good news, there was a bus for business class passengers and they took us to the right terminal.  Bizarrely, the flight to Dar went from the domestic terminal even though Tanzania is a different county.  When in Rome....

We got into the terminal and looked around....no agents in sight.  OK...breathe!  Ah, there is a business class lounge.  In we went and lo and behold, we got our boarding passes here, so are set for the flight to Dar Es Salaam!  Yeah!

The business class lounge was a picture of world travel....

People from all cultures were there and we had a good time people watching.

Before we knew it, we were on our way to Dar. We arrived in Dar without issue and cleared customs quickly since we had our visas.  Our driver was waiting with a sign!  Off to the Hyatt and a shower!

We highly recommend the Hyatt Kilimanjaro in Dar.  It is an amazing place with incredible food.

Enjoy!
Cheri & John

August 10, 2013 - Paris Bound

One good thing about being in NJ for a day, we had time to research Paris and make a plan.  There are some great websites out there that helped us alot!.  http://parisbytrain.com/ is a great one that has pictures and everything.

This time, we boarded the plane and it was clear they were going to fly!  We made it safe and sound to Paris!  We got in early (7sish) and went to see the sights.  They offer a metro ticket that allowed us to ride the subway and get transport to and from the airport all on one ticket.  

Once we got to Notre Dame, we got of and began exploring.  They have a hop on hop off Seine tour (Batobus) - so we opted for the boat instead of the bus. That was a great way to see Paris.  It goes to all the major sights and it was a glorious day!!

We are headed to Ethiopia tonight and hoping to get our boarding passes for the next leg.  Ah but no luck on the boarding passed from Addis Ababba.  

 

Stay Tuned for more

Cheri & John

August 9, 2013 - On the road again!

We had been planning this adventure to Tanzania with Marius and Dani du Preez for nearly 3 years.  The time was finally here to make our way to Africa!  We had secured frequent flyer tickets months ago....all that was left was to get on the plane and get there!

 

Well, every adventure has it's bumps along the way.  This time it's getting out of the US.  It was a rough weather day from the start and we left home extra early.  Good thing we did since the thruway was flooded and we had to find our way through cow country to make it to Newark.  Phew...we finally made it 5 hours after we started, but with time to spare.

So, we decided to wait and eat on the airplane....then off to the gate.   The flight was to take off at 7:15 PM.  Great, should be fed and asleep by 9!  Not!!  The departure time began to slip and slip.  OK, 8:35 PM boarding time...better late than never.  We boarded the plane and we waited, and waited.  The pilot came on and said that there was a maintenance issue with the plane and they were waiting for a part.  Time ticked by and he was back to say they brought a Continental part not a  United part....all in all four hours elapsed before he announced that we all had to leave the plane because the crew had timed out!

Into the chaos we went....off the plane and directly to customer service while calling United on my phone.  We got a very nice agent who said oh dear...the flight from Istanbul tomorrow has already cancelled!  The only way I can get you in is via Paris and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!!!  And, I can't get you there until Monday PM via 2 overnight flights.  She said, "I'm sorry, it's the only way in".  Ouch - take it!

We stood in line and got a hotel and meal vouchers!  Great - the Double Tree.  Once we got to the hotel it was 11:45 PM and room service had just closed along with the gift shop....no sleep shirt, no dinner.  Take out here we come...estimated to arrive at 12:30 AM.

OK, time to be sure the flights got booked right....I log into United to find they rebooked us coach for the two overnight flights....I don't think so!  We had business class tickets.  So - on hold for 50 minutes and counting and praying!  The second two flights are on Ethiopian Air.  Yikes!

Eureka!!  Confirmed business class!  Now we will have a day in Paris...so will try to see if we can see some sights.  Will also work out how to get to Ruaha without inconveniencing Dani and Marius too much more!!  1:30 AM and it's way past time to sleep.

Stay tuned...
Truly yours from Newark NJ!
Cheri & John