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Landed at O'Hare!  15 hours Sydney to San Francisco, and another 4.5 to Chicago. Waiting for luggage now. Thanks to all who followed along!

Bondi beach and bridge walk

Today we crossed the Sydney harbor bridge. We went to Luna park and then did the walk back. This was big for Diane as she doesn't even like to drive over bridges!  After lunch at a roof top pub, we went to Bondi beach. This is a famous surfer beach and there were plenty of surfers out today. For dinner we are headed to Mr Wongs. It is in the alley behind our hotel. Should be interesting!

Manly Beach

We took the ferry on Sydney harbor to Manly Beach. Beautiful views of the bridge and the opera house. Spent most if the day walking around the beaches and the town. Shopping, eating, and people watching was the extent of our day. I'm fighting a chest cold now. Too many flights and wintertime.  Tomorrow we head to the Blue Mountains.  It is supposed to snow. Ugh. Last two days of vacay.

Sydney harbour

We made it to Sydney today. These photos are obviously Sydney Harbour. Beautiful city and the weather is great. Cool nights. We are staying in an apartment in the CBD.  Easy walk to everything. Plan to do a ferry trip in the harbour to Manly beach tomorrow. 8pm and ready to sleep!

Rangitoto island

Spent our morning going to summit of Rangitoto island. Beautiful, but cold and rainy. Made for long walk!  After lunch we went to aquarium. Amazing display. Usually I am not a big fan of them, but had a tunnel where fish swam all around you as you walked. Huge penguin display also. Glad we went. Tomorrow we fly to Sydney. Talk soon!

Auckland war memorial museum

Touring Auckland and the war memorial museum. Lots of Moari culture.  New Zealand was in every war England was! Toured Parnell section of Auckland. Lots of cute shops. Diane happy. Having a beer at the Quay brewery. 102 different beers.

Auckland day 3

Spent the day in Auckland. Will be here until Tuesday. Went to mission beach to walk on the sand, collect some shells, and enjoy the day. We then walked up Mt Eden. This is the largest volcanic crater in Auckland. Quite the hike up and got lost going a different way down. Rode the buses around town. Mary keeps us going on the right direction. Went to a comedy club last night. Diane and I were clueless! Everyone was laughing and we had no idea what was so funny. That alone made us laugh!  Have not planned our day yet. I am always first up. I am sitting in cafe waiting for group to awaken

Auckland!

Auckland

We flew from queenstown to Auckland yesterday. Very cosmopolitan city!  Much different than laid back South Island. Has a New York or Chicago feel. Very busy. Plan to tour the city today. Weather much warmer here. Went for walk without a coat yesterday.

Franz Joseph, rainbow and lake wakatipu

We are in wanaka at a cafe by lake Wanaka. Having difficulty downloading photos from my phone. Yesterday we took a guided hike to the Franz Joseph glacier. We went through rain forests, creeks, and our shoes were soaked. It rained and hailed. Fun but tough. Mary loved it. The parents struggled over moss covered rocks, slippery stairs and jungle. I think this was my first rain forest. I hope to get more photos as I go. I will post some from two days ago. This was a draft from Monday. Sorry out of order.

Queenstown

Sorry I have been missing! Wifi is iffy and tough to get. Very limited in our hotels. In Queensland the past two days.  Weather is cold. Stayed in Haast two nights ago. It is a world heritage site in the middle of nowhere!  We stayed there as the road was closed due to rock slide. It also was pouring rain! We drove to Mt Cook today, but the mountain was in the clouds. Mary was disappointed. On our return drive, we were driving in a snowstorm. We drove thru lindis pass and the ride was awful! Mountain driving in snow was treacherous. Mary drove and was great. Glad to be back at hotel. Hope to do Milford sound tomorrow. Weather dependent. I hope to download photos separately. That has been a problem with slow wifi. Kia Ora!