NaDave Aussie: NZ 5 & 6 (April 1-8)

Sun April 5 (Doubtful Sound/Glowworm)

Our cruise left the dock at 8am, and it was forecasted to be a clear day!  We boated across Lake Manapouri & then drove up to Wilmot Pass.  And here is where Doubtful Sound made its first appearance.  Amazing!  We then drove down to the boat, and boarded the shortest 3 hr cruise we've ever taken.  It went by so fast.  I'll let the pictures describe the scenery.  But we saw ocean seals out in the Tasman Sea, and were also visited by wild dolphins, who live in Doubtful Sound.  There was a nature guide on the cruise, which helped spot & describe everything we saw.  Even though the skies stayed clear, it certainly was brisk standing outside on a moving boat.  

One of the best parts of the cruise, was when they pulled into a cove, and then shut off everything to let everyone just listen to the quiet for 5 mins.  A moment that caused self-reflection by everybody.  Afterwards, the guide said "imagine this place in winter, with snow falling and everything covered in white..." (now that image is unreal).

And then, sadly, it was time to hop off the boat and head back.  We got back about 4pm, and then zoomed up to the city of Te Anau.  We grabbed some souvenirs, setup camp, and then ate dinner overlooking the lake.  At 7pm, we boarded the boat to our Glowworm Cave tour.  WOW!  HOLY COW, WOW!  The cave was magical.  No pictures were allowed in the caves, to preserve the glowworms.  It felt like Disney World ride...but it was for real!

We got back to camp around 10pm and passed out quickly once again.  We needed sleep for all of our wine tasting planned for Monday!

Wilmot Pass (hard to get a good pic bc of the haze)

Doubtful Sound

Doubtful Sound 2

Look how still the water is!

The boat was coooold

Dinner before the glowworm tour

Glowworm info!

Mon April 6 (Wine tasting & Wanaka)

We were on the road by 7am, and arrived back into Queenstown ~930am.  We made a few souvenir purchases, then drove onto Gibbston Valley for some wine tasting.  We had plans to rent bikes & ride to each winery...but when we got there ~11am, they were all out of bikes!  So instead we drove along the winery trail, taking some extra time to be careful.  We even made a quick lunch stop to watch some more bungy jumpers plunge off a of bridge!

All the wines were delicious, especially the Pinot Noirs.  In fact, we bought a bottle at our last winery, and the proceeds went to a wildlife preserve, supporting an endangered beetle in the area. 

We then drove ~1 hr to Wanaka for dinner, and this town took us by surprise.  This was maybe our favorite city along the trip.  We grabbed dinner at arestaurant along the lake overlooking the mountains, and then wandered over a local pub, to again watch some rugby, as well as a surfing competition.  When it was time to go, we walked outside ~9pm to a steady rain.  We drove to our freedom campsite & quickly setup.  We fell asleep to the sound of wind, rain, and very vocal 'mooing' cows.

Tomorrow was the very secluded Rob Roy Glacier Hike!

Gibbston Valley

Chard Farm Winery

Lunchtime Bungy jumper

NaDave Aussie: NZ 3 & 4 (April 1-8)

Fri April 3 (Mt Cook/Hooker Valley Hike)

We awoke to an amazing sunrise!...but also to a bent tent pole (ut oh).  We surveyed the damage, but had to quickly pack up to keep on schedule.  As we drove towards Mt Cook, the farmland landscape gave way to rolling hills, and the sun-kissed snowcapped peaks began to get bigger and bigger!

We arrived to our hike around 10am, and it was a clear blue day!  Perfect weather for Nadine to see her first glacier!  We set out on a 4 hour hike, and it was fantastic...glacial runoff lakes, swingbridges over rushing rivers, green lush valleys, and all the while looking up at snow-topped peaks.  When we got the end of the hike (Hooker Lake), the glacier was about 1 mile away.  We pulled out the binoculars, and looked all around the valley.  The neatest thing was watching the clouds creep over the ridge line, trying to fill the valley.

It was then time to head back on the same trail.  We got back to the car, and then drove over to a shorter hike to see the Tasman Glacier & Lake.  We got to Tasman Lake to see a small group of floating icebergs (and hear Nadine say "Iceberg, Straight Ahead!")  The Tasman glacier had also melted back pretty far up the valley, so it appeared small in our camera lenses.  But there were also boats on this lake doing tours around the icebergs, and they appeared even smaller!  We watched a few small icebergs fall apart in the summer sun, and then got back to the car ~5pm.  We had 3 hrs of driving ahead of us to Queenstown, our destination for Saturday.

We cruised past beautiful scenery and watched the sunset low on a spectacular Day 2.  We got into Queenstown and setup our tent in the dark (at a freedom campground again).  We popped up the tent to find that the tent pole was indeed broken.  With some engineering skills, we came up with a one-night fix.  However we were still nervous bc it was forecasted to rain overnight.  We then drove into Qtown for some real food (fergburger), and see the small resort town at night.  The burgers we had were delicious, and the scene around town was happening!  But it was quickly to bed, as Day 3 had an early start as well.

Amazing sunrise!

1st swingbridge along Hooker Valley trail

Mueller Lake along Hooker Valley

Clouds creeping into Hooker Valley (Dave's favorite thing on the hike!)

Dave at the end of Hooker Lake...looking at the distant glacier

Icebergs in Tasman Lake!

Look how small the boat is!

Sat April 4 (Glenorchy/Queenstown)

We awoke to find that the tent had held!...but also that it was raining (boo).  So we quickly packed up a wet tent, and headed straight to a gas station in town.  We grabbed a coffee to warm up & also used their bathrooms.  We then started our epicly scenic drive to Glenorchy (also near where Lord of the Rings was filmed).  We drove through mixes of rain, clouds, and sun...which meant we saw some rainbows!  Since we didn't have a 4-wheel drive, we could only go so far before the dirt roads appeared, so we turned back and drove back into Qtown.

We got into town, and checked out 2-3 outdoor shops to see if they had replacement tent poles.  They all said no, and so we figured the hardware store was where we needed to go to fix the tent.  We couldn't go another night without a fix.  We saw that the store stayed open until late, so we decided to do our hike first.

We headed up to the Ben Lomond hike, via a short Gondola ride with awesome views of the city.  We had plans to make it to the top of the mountain, but the weather kept us off the summit.  We still had some great views, and really experienced the quickly changing alpine weather.  After our 3-4 hr hike, we returned to the gondola, and watched a few crazy soles bungy jump & scream into oblivion (we have one guy screaming on video!)

It was then time to head to the store to fix the pole.  After a solid hour of conversations, measuring tapes, and scouring for fixes, we crafted our solution...and it held!  Although the true test would be in Manapouri, where we would setup camp for the night.  

We drove for ~2 hrs through unbelievable scenery again...and arrived at a quaint place (like a camping hostel) with showers & a pub nearby.  NaDavecleaned up, ate dinner & chatted with other travelers in the common area, then headed over to watch rugby in a small-town NZ pub (it was awesome!).  There was also a local band, and after a few beers, even we danced a little bit.

We arrived back to our tent to find it still standing!  And the moon was so bright you didn't even need a flashlight.  We were super excited, as the major bookings of the trip were tomorrow...,a Doubtful Sound cruise & a Glowworm Tour!

View along Glenorchy Road

Rainbows during Ben Lomond Hike

Nadine loving the Ben Lomond Hike

Careful!... broken tent pole ahead (but fixed!)

View of Queenstown from Lomond Hike

NaDave Aussie: NZ 1 & 2 (April 1-8)

After wishing Dave's parents a safe trip back to the States on Sunday (3/29) evening, NaDave had 3 days to get fully ready for their biggest trip while in Australia...a 7-day driving/camping/hiking trip around the southern half of New Zealand's South Island!  This will be our last major trip while Down Under, and with 3 days off for Easter Break, we took full advantage!

Wed April 1 (Fly out!)

We booked a red-eye flight that left Wed at 1130pm Melbourne time & (was supposed to) arrive into Christchurch 5am on Thurs.  We wanted to work a full day on Wed, then land in NZ early on Thurs morning, to help us get a full day on Thurs in NZ.  (This flight also helped us save some money).

NaDave met at the Melbourne airport ~9pm, Nadine took the bus while Dave got a ride from his housemate.  The line for International flights was, as Nadine said, "the longest line at the airport I've ever seen".  It was all the Easter Holiday travelers!...but luckily we got there early enough so we did not stress.  We got settled in easily to our seats & each fell asleep as the plane took off on time...we would wake up in NZ!

Thurs April 2 (Christchurch)

Well, mid-way through the flight (~3am) the captain came on to tell us the Christchurch airport was closed due to Fog.  And we were being re-directed to Auckland.  So while we, in fact, landed in NZ at 5am, we were stranded on the North Island!  We stayed in the plane on the tarmac for 3 hrs, then finally took off for Christchurch.  We landed ~10am, and by the time we got our rental car it was after 11am.  We were finally there...after 8+ hrs in a plane (yuck!)

We originally had plans to drive out to the Banks Peninsula along the East Coast to watch the sunrise for our first morning in NZ, but instead our day had been truncated.  Rather we drove straight into town, got a SIM card for Nadine's phone, and then picked up groceries (& wine!).  Since Dave hadn't eaten since Melbourne, he was a little loopy, and was kindly informed by a store clerk that eating from the bulk foods is stealing (oops!).

We headed to the Botanical Gardens for a quick picnic lunch & walkabout.  We then had about 3-4 hrs to see the city.  As advertised, the city is still rebuidling from the devastation of the 2011 earthquakes.  NaDave visited the Quake City Museum, and loved it!  We saw raw footage from the quakes & learned more about it all.  We then skipped around to the main spots in town...the Cardboard Cathedral, RE-start mall, 183 chairs memorial & still-to-be-repaired Christ Church (for which the city was named).

On the way out of town, we stopped at a local pub, and had a few local brews.  But we couldn't stay long as we needed to get some miles behind us....it was 4 hrs to our Friday destination...hiking the Hooker Valley trail in the shadow of NZ's highest mountain (Mt Cook).  We were able to drive for 2 hrs, then we found a 'freedom campground' along the side of road.  We setup camp, and then looked up at the stars....we were in New Zealand!

Massive tree in botanical gardens

Christ Church still destroyed

183 charis memorial (for those that died in the 2011 quakes)

RE:Start Mall

Cardboard Cathedral

NaDave Aussie: March 6-9 (Reef - Part 2) & March 14-15

Sunday March 8

We were up at 6am again, and then drove to the nearby beach to eat breakfast.  Pretty views all around.  We then drove back into town, 1st stopping at a small waterfall hike to stretch our legs.  We got to Shute Harbour and met our water taxi to head out to Nari Beach.  We rented kayaks, so we slogged those onto the boat as well.  The awesome thing about Nari beach (onWhitsunday Island), is that its only accessible by boat at high tide!  And, there are only 6 campers allowed at once, and since it was off-season, we were the only ones there!

We got dropped off at 11am, and setup camp under our own palm tree (for real!).  We spent the rest of the day exploring the surrounding bush and shoreline, snorkeling the reef just off our beach, and also kayaked around.  We saw a sting ray, crabs, and some jumping fish.  While snorkeling, Dave was stung by jellyfish on the neck!

As the sun started to set, we soaked it all in.  The crazy sounds of the forest, the spectacular colors in the sky...we had our own beach, with own campsite under a palm tree, on in island off Australia for a night...wow!

Breakfast at Conway Beach

Camping under a palm tree at Nari Beach

Dave stung by a jellyfish

Sunset Views from Nari Beach

Monday March 9

The sun was up again at 6am (that thing is never late!) and kayaked over to Sawmill Beach, for a hike up to the tallest point in the islands, WhitsundayPeak.  And the hike kicked our butts!  They were correct in saying its not an easy hike.  The air was dead and humid, and our energy levels were a little low.  When we got the top, Nadine had to ring her shirt out, it was that sweaty!

But the views (and the breeze) from the top were worth it.  The perspective of the islands was incredible.  We shared some romantic, melted trail mix for a snack & headed back down the trail.  On the way back, we came across a Goanna Lizard.  Very cool!  We then hopped back into our kayaks, got back to camp, & ate lunch.  During the final hour before pickup back to the mainland, Dave decided to snorkel & Nadine explored with the kayak.  A sailboat showed up & anchored offshore, which meant we had neighbors!  But we soon left, and let the next group enjoy the amazing-ness of Nari Beach. 

We got back Port Airlie, hopped in the car, drove straight to Mackay, and arrived with 1 hr to spare before our plane departed.  We made it all the way back to Melbourne on-time.  We checked the weather to find another cyclone forming and nearing the reef later that week.  What great timing for us that the weather held out!

View atop Whitsunday peak

Dave snorkeling off Nari Beach

Kayak selfie!

Sat Mar 15 & Sun Mar 16

The week following the Reef was the most intense work week for each of us.  Nadine spent some 16 hr days running samples, and Dave's right wrist started to hurt from so much data analysis.  But our projects are moving along nicely (even though it sounds like we never work :-) )

The 3/14 weekend was terribly unflashy, and mostly about prepping for Dave's parents to arrive and spend the following weekend in Melbourne.  But Saturday morning we did get up early to go surfing down in Torquay.  It was a chilly morning, as you could see our breath on the bike ride down.  It was a tough morning for surf, as Nadine got smacked in the leg by her board (big ole bruise) and Dave was struggling to find managable surf for NaDave.  We spent more time paddling than surfing.  But overall, it was a surf morning in Aussie!

Nadine then headed straight to work from Torquay to complete her last 6 hrs of samples, and Dave went home to run errands.  The rest of the evening we planned out our NZ trip (with wine of course)! 

Sunday was super exciting, as we each completed our US taxes, and caught up on things.  There was a Formula 1 race in Melbourne that we hoping to go to (bc we want to catch every sport we can while we are here!), but we just had too many things to care of.  The ides of March were now behind us, but so was the 1st half of our Aussie experience.  We had now entered the back half of our fellowship.

**The next couple of weekends will be spent with Dave's parents.  They arrive later today in Melbourne!!!  We are very excited!  Wooooo!**

NaDave Aussie: March 6-9 (Whitsunday Islands/Great Barrier Reef) (Part 1)

It was Labor Day weekend for the State of Victoria, so we had a Monday holiday.  As a result, we took advantage by planning our trip to the Reef!  Luckily, Category 4 Cyclone Marcia passed by the week before and missed theWhitsunday Islands, so there was no damage to where were heading.

Friday March 6

We met up at Melbourne Airport for our 6pm departure.  Nadine took a relaxed shuttle & Dave was dropped off by his housemates.  After enjoying some free wine tasting in the airport, we boarded our 1st flight to Brisbane.  Then after a quick layover, we arrived into Mackay at 930p.  We stepped off the plane and knew we were in a tropical area.  The humidity made it feel like Mississippi...which was oddly comforting for each of us : )

We picked up our rental car and drove ~45 mins until we found a place to camp.   We headed straight to bed, since we still needed to drive 1 hour to Airlie Beach, where we needed to board our Reef boat trip at 730am.  The air was humid and dead, and we stuck to the top of our sleeping bags like flies on fly-paper.

Saturday March 7

The sun surprisingly came up at 6am, so we took down camp in the daylight.  We drove straight to Airlie Beach, but along the way, the landscape looked similar to images of Vietnam/South Pacific.  Large farming fields, with mountains surrounding.  Very scenic and colorful way to start the day.

We arrived on time (yup, no story this time!) and hopped straight up to the top deck of our Cruise Whitsundays boat.  We slopped on our sun cream, as it was a blue bird day!  From Port of Airlie, we 1st boated over to Hamilton Island to pick up a 2nd set of passengers.  From there we boated through the islands, and out to the reef!

As we arrived, the water color was a pretty light blue, and we boated up to a pontoon.  We off-loaded and headed straight for the snorkel gear!  (They offered a bunch of other services on the boat...scuba, heli-tours, massages, guided snorkels..but kept our wallet closed and noses in the water!)   We suited up, hopped in, and then were blown away at what we saw.  Fish everywhere.  All colors, shapes, sizes.  Huge sea clams & oysters.  Along with hard & soft coral.  Unexpectedly, the tide current was pretty strong, so if you were still in the water, you were pushed at a pretty good rate.  (We each had waterproof cameras, so we have pictures & video galore

After 1.5 hrs, we came in and ate lunch.  We nursed our toe blisters and sore faces (from the snorkel gear), but then slopped on more sunscreen, and headed out for another 1.5 hrs trip.  We had to finish up by 3pm, so we didn't waste any time.  The 2nd trip was a little better for each of us, as we got used to our gear.  But nothing got old, the reef is so AWESOME!

At 3pm, we headed back into the Whitsundays & saw a dolphin along the way.  We arrived 1st to Hamilton Island, then back to Port of Airlie.  We then headed to a grocery store, got the NaDave classics (bread, pb, hummus, trail mix, & wine), and found a free dinner bench across the street from a pub with live music outdoors.  We then drove to Conway Beach to set up camp, and get ready for our Whitsunday Island camping trip!!

The boat we took to Hardy Reef

Hardy Reef Map

Big fish, little fish, yellow fish, blue fish!

Feeding Frenzy

Hardy Reef Pontoon

NaDave all suited up!

NaDave underwater

Nadine with a Humphead wrasse fish

Sea Clam!

View from the Pontoon, down the snorkel area

NaDave Aussie: Feb 25-Mar 1 (Conference, Air Show, Festivals & Rowing)

It was a short week after Sydney, as Nadine & I were invited to present posters on our PhD work at a conference hosted by Deakin University in Geelong.

Wed Feb 25

After an early work day, Dave traveled via train to Geelong and arrived ~5p.  We walked over to the hotel where the conference was held, and got there just as the session began.  We had a great time discussing our research with other researchers, as well as networking with academics & industry partners.  Also, our program director from Southern Miss was there (Dr Wiggins) and he was very pleased to see us representing USM at the conference.  Dave also got the chance to meet the Deakin professor he almost wrote his Australia proposal with (if the proposal with Dr Fuss fell through)

After the session, we joined Dr Wiggins for dinner and drinks at a nearby pub, and also met a group of Boeing PhD Engineers.  We strolled home with full bellies & an Australian conference on our resumes!

Nadine, Dr. Kzeminski, Dr. Wiggins, Dr. Tucker

Thurs Feb 26

The day was geared around tours.  After Dave called his Mom to wish her a Happy 60th Bday (woo!), Nadine gave Dave a tour of the Deakin Sports Engineering facilities.  We saw all the labs and met several people (from around the globe!).  Deakin is quite an impressive campus, and will be making noise inthe upcoming future.

We then met up with the conference group and joined them for their planned social event at a local brewery.  After some conversations & tasty brews, we caught the bus back into town.  On the way home, we found a new pub that was starting their Trivia night.  So we popped in, struggled to answer even the most obvious Aussie questions, and then finally continued on home.

Poem at Brewery

Fri Feb 27

Today was the final day of the conference, and it was held at the Australia Int'l Air Show.  Everyone from the conference was given free tickets, so of course we joined in!  We toured the planes, walked around the trade show, and hit up the free lunch.  It was then time for the true Airshow to being, which was highlighted by 'experiencing' the F-18s take off & fly around.  Very exhilarating!

The wind picked up and the dark clouds rolled in, so we caught a bus back into Geelong.  We quickly stopped home to change clothes, and then headed to a local Nightjar Festival.  As the sun went down, the festival lit up!  There were also live bands, and after a little wine, Nadine & I were dancing to a local blues musician.

USA at Air Show!

Air Show

Nightjar Festival

Sat Feb 28

We woke up at 630am to head to Torquay beach for surfing!  The waves were calm, but were plenty to surf on.  Nadine tried out a hard board for the 1st time & it was a success.  Both of us were surfing waves in Australia!

For the afternoon, we headed to the Sustainable Hook & Vine festival.  It was full of seafood, wineries with tastings, and live local music again.  Sure enough, we were dancing until the end.  We then biked home before the sun went down & right before a thunder shower!  What a sustainable day...biking, surfing, wine & local food.

Surfer Girl

Surfer Dude

Nadine gettin' that free wine!

Huge Prawns at Hook & Vine

Sun Mar 1

To cap off our long weekend, Nadine had the awesome idea to sign up for our 1st rowing lesson.  There was a local rowing club on a nearby river, so we biked over for a 930am lesson.  We knew that rowing coordination was tough, but we now have a totally new appreciation.

We shared a 4 person boat with a lady Aussie that said it best "Isn't rowing terribly British?"  Also, our teacher was Peter from the UK, and he was a delight.  So proper!  Nadine & I had a blast and were finally getting the hang of it by the end...maybe we'll try a two person boat next time!

We biked home for lunch & then firmed up our plans for the Great Barrier Reef next weekend!  The forecast said no Cyclones & plenty of sun!

Rowing Club & River