Heller Neilson Travels: Onward to Australia - Brisbane, Sun Coast and Melbourne

Sheepdog herding on back of sheet

Lorikeets seen in the wild

Little did we know when we left Christchurch on 16 February, that one week later it would be changed forever. We are so fortunate to have been spared this tragedy, but so sad for our friends Brian and Kay. It has been declared the worst tragedy in Christchurch history.

On a more positive note, upon leaving Christchurch we discovered Air New Zealand allowed a carry on of only 15lbs which isn't much. One checked bag was allowed and anything over that was $50. Kneeling on the floor in front of the check-in we were rearranging our luggage pulling out stuff and growing more embarrassed by the minute as the line grew longer and longer. We now have a lot of sympathy for anyone in a similar situation.
My dear friend Jan and her brother Geoff whom I haven't see since the late 60's met us at the airport. They had planned a big welcoming when we walked out of customs, but somehow missed us. I thought maybe they were stuck in traffic and had no idea how to reach Jan. I know Cliff was getting nervous! After a stroll around we found each other! It was wonderful to see Jan and Geoff and we had no trouble picking up where we left off.

Beach near Jan's house

Patrolled beach where we swam

From the airport we went to the wildlife park that was on Leslie and Rich's itinerary. We were not disappointed! I wanted to see the Koala and kangaroo and saw both and held the Koala as pictures will testify. Since we had never seen Brisbane we were surprised at how little damage we saw in the city. The river front in the city was changed as there were no ferries or restaurants in the river as had been before. To us it looked fine. Jan told us the mayor sent out requests for help after the flood and people from all over Australia came and helped clean up. What community spirit.
After dinner in the city we headed out to the Sun Coast which is very much like Florida. Jan has a lovely tropical feeling house with a swimming pool surrounded by lush jungle type vegetation. On Thursday Jan hosted a luncheon for us to meet her friends, and that proved to be quite the party. Champagne at 1130 followed by bottle after bottle of wine did not bode well for the rest of the day's activities. What a group! We were thoroughly entertained by their stories and in particular Russ a "white African" who may pay us a visit in Williamsburg. He is quite the personality. The next evening we were off to Russ' house for more wine, dinner and looking for roos on the golf course, which we never found. The remainder of our visit was filled with swimming in the Pacific at Moolooabah Beach (loved the names, most of which were unpronounceable by us) which was quite alive with swimmers, lifeguards in training and a general beach town liveliness. We could not go outside of the yellow flags as the surf was extremely rough with fantastic surf. The next flag would have been red meaning no swimming.. Riding the waves was so exciting! Our last day on the Sun Coast we had not one minute to fit in another activity as Jan had planned another filled day. The evening ended with a dinner at Moolooabah beach with our new and old friends. Jan was the perfect hostess and made sure we saw it all and were never sitting still. Hopefully some day I can show her our part of the world.
Observation: Everyone has a pool, kept their houses open fans and without central air. It is very tropical with humidity to match.

Next on our itinerary was Melbourne. Another lively city with a University in the center. The shops were filled with jaw dropping high-end fashion; haute couture that one only sees in Vogue. I didn't see it on the street, however. The city had few Victorian era buildings among the modern architecture, some of which was cutting edge. If you ever get there don't miss Federation Square, the hub of the city that is filled with outdoor cafes, shops, weekly markets, entertainers, buskers and meeting spaces. It was jammed with people on Sunday afternoon when we passed through. We walked many miles, rode the tram, enjoyed the museum and ambiance of the city for two days. The only setback was the weather which was very windy and chilly. Locals were saying they had had no summer.
After picking up our car in Melbourne we decided to go to Philip Island that is a beach resort with a "penguin parade" every evening. We thought that might be interesting, but determining it was much more touristy than we liked, we decided to move to our next spot, which is affectionately known as Wilson's Prom, a National Park That adventure deserves a blog of its own.