A Rainy Day in Christchurch

A new adventure begins! We fly to Melbourne where we spend a couple of days before embarking on the cruise ship Grand Princess for a 13 night circumnavigation of New Zealand. Returning to land, our holiday continues at Phillip Island and ends with one last day back where we started in Melbourne. Join me for a round trip, on sea and on land, to destinations both familiar and new.

March 2023

Ōtautahi / Christchurch

It was rainy and cold in Christchurch but we found a great way to stay dry, on a Christchurch Tram. With interesting commentary by the drivers and 17 stops around the city centre, we were able to explore in comfort. On such a wet day we chose to alight at just a few stops on the route.

As we rode along the tram driver told us about the earthquakes which struck Christchurch on 4th September, 2010 and again on 22nd February, 2011. While the first earthquake was stronger at magnitude 7.1, the second at magnitude 6.3 caused widespread devastation and killed 185 people. Our driver explained how the city is rebuilding using construction techniques designed to withstand future tremors.

To learn more about the 2011 earthquake we left the tram at Quake City, a special exhibition by Canterbury Museum. Displays explaining the science of the earthquake and the response, from both local and international personnel, gave us a greater understanding of what happened to the city and its people.

Back on the tram, we went next to Cathedral Square. After reading about the destruction of Christ Church Cathedral, it was heartening to see firsthand the ongoing restoration work, scheduled for completion in 2027.

Other stops on the tram route included New Regent Street and Victoria Square.

New Regent Street is a wide pedestrian mall with shops, boutiques and cafés on either side of the tram line. We admired the pastel coloured Spanish Mission style buildings dating from the 1930s.

During a break in the rain at Victoria Square we saw Queen Victoria and Mana Motuhake, a Māori commemoration of the Treaty of Waitangi.

We finally left the tram at the top of City Mall. Here we stopped to pay our respects to past and present members of New Zealand’s Defence Forces at the Bridge of Remembrance, a beautiful war memorial spanning the Avon River.

It was a short walk along the mall to the Riverside Market. The indoor farmers’ market, selling local produce and artisan foods was a welcome respite from the rain. We enjoyed a hot lunch and the beer lovers sampled a local brew at the Canterbury Brewers Collective.

After beginning our day in Christchurch at Quake City, it seemed fitting to finish at the Oi Manawa Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial, located beside the Avon River close to the Bridge of Remembrance. The Māori name for the memorial, Oi Manawa, means ‘tremor or quivering of the heart’.

The curved stone wall is inscribed with the names of the 185 people who died in the 2011 earthquake.

Back on board our ship late in the afternoon, the rain finally stopped and the sky was clear again. The setting sun cast a golden glow over the water as we sailed out of Lyttleton Harbour en route to Wellington.

Scenic Cruising in Fiordland

A new adventure begins! We fly to Melbourne where we spend a couple of days before embarking on the cruise ship Grand Princess for a 13 night circumnavigation of New Zealand. Returning to land, our holiday continues at Phillip Island and ends with one last day back where we started in Melbourne. Join me for a round trip, on sea and on land, to destinations both familiar and new.

March 2023

Te Rua-o-te-moko / Fiordland National Park

Our day of scenic cruising in Fiordland National Park started early. An average of 7 metres of rain falls every year in the national park but at 7.45 a.m. on this day a pretty sunrise gave us reason to be optimistic. Hopefully we would have fine weather.

Even with the sun shining the air up on deck was icy cold – we were well prepared with warm coats, gloves and hats.

Fiordland National Park includes 14 spectacular world heritage listed fiords; on this day we sailed through five. The first was Piopiotahi / Milford Sound, where the steep forested slopes rise up to 1,200 metres on either side of the water. Low hanging cloud enhanced the fiord’s rugged beauty.

The tiny town on the water’s edge also known as Milford Sound was dwarfed by the surrounding mountains.

After retracing our route to leave Piopiotahi / Milford Sound, the ship sailed south along the coast before entering Te Awa-o-Tū / Thompson Sound. We sailed through this fiord and into Patea / Doubtful Sound, a journey of 21 kilometres.

Where Piopiotahi / Milford Sound was dominated by steep slopes and sheer cliffs, these waterways were broad and the mountains not quite so steep. At midday, the cloud was higher but the temperature had only risen by a few degrees.

We travelled further south again and at 3 p.m. sailed through Te Puaitaha / Breaksea Sound into Tamatea / Dusky Sound. Together these are the longest of the fiords; the ship took 90 minutes to sail 40 kilometres from end to end.

The weather changed as we entered the fiord. Even though the misty rain and fog enveloped us we stayed out on our balcony, rugged up against the bitterly cold wind. Nothing was going to prevent us from seeing this spectacular scenery.

Finally, as we left Tamatea / Dusky Sound, the weather changed again. The sun broke through the clouds, illuminating Seal Islands and Five Fingers Peninsula in the distance.

After a day of varied weather, the Tasman Sea sparkled in the late afternoon sunshine. Next stop: Dunedin!

Sea Days

A new adventure begins! We fly to Melbourne where we spend a couple of days before embarking on the cruise ship Grand Princess for a 13 night circumnavigation of New Zealand. Returning to land, our holiday continues at Phillip Island and ends with one last day back where we started in Melbourne. Join me for a round trip, on sea and on land, to destinations both familiar and new.

March 2023

Crossing the Tasman Sea

Two sea days onboard while we sailed from Melbourne to our first New Zealand destination gave us time to

• explore the ship

• go for morning walks on the Promenade Deck

• watch new release movies under the stars

• fill the champagne tower

• enjoy drinks and desserts on our balcony

• eat more dessert at the restaurant

• and look out over the ever-changing ocean

especially at sunset!

Crossing the Bay

A new adventure begins! We fly to Melbourne where we spend a couple of days before embarking on the cruise ship Grand Princess for a 13 night circumnavigation of New Zealand. Returning to land, our holiday continues at Phillip Island and ends with one last day back where we started in Melbourne. Join me for a round trip, on sea and on land, to destinations both new and familiar.

March 2023

Port Phillip

In November 2022 we spent a few days exploring Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. This narrow strip of land, at its widest just 20 kilometres across, is surrounded by water on three sides – Western Port to the east, Bass Strait to the south and, on the west, the huge expanse of Port Phillip.

The largest bay in Victoria, Port Phillip covers an area of 1930 square kilometres. It may be large but it’s also very shallow, with half being less than eight metres deep. Opposite Mornington Peninsula is the Bellarine Peninsula, its coast just visible on the horizon.

While its 264 kilometre coastline is dominated by the cities of Melbourne and Geelong, there are several pretty seaside towns around the bay. We stayed at the peninsula’s largest town Mornington where the views of the bay were superb, especially at sunset.

The two peninsulas end at Point Nepean on the east and Point Lonsdale on the west. The 3.5 kilometre gap between the points, called The Rip, forms the only entrance to Port Phillip. One day we drove out to Point Nepean National Park and hiked to the end of Point Nepean.

We watched in fascination as large vessels negotiated the tricky waterway, guided by experienced Port Phillip Maritime Pilots.

In March this year, it was our turn to sail across Port Phillip on the cruise ship Grand Princess. We said farewell to Melbourne and left Station Pier at 5 p.m. before sailing in a south-eastly direction alongside Mornington Peninsula.

It took almost three hours before we arrived at The Rip. After seeing this narrow entrance from land, it was fascinating to be on the water as we sailed through between Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean.

We could even see where we had stood watching the container ships pass by.

Due to large variations in depth and tides, the Rip is notoriously dangerous. As we left the sheltered waters of Port Phillip and entered Bass Strait, the ocean changed almost immediately and we were glad to know there was a skilled pilot on board.

We took a south-easterly course across Bass Strait towards Tasmania as the sun set behind us. It was time to settle in and enjoy our sea days on the way to New Zealand.

With this last ocean sunset photo, I’m joining Denzil for his Nature Photo Challenge #11: Yellow

A Big Collection

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Western Queensland

Thank you for coming with us on our road trip through Queensland’s Outback. We saw dinosaurs and dunnarts, learned about iconic Australians and enjoyed spectacular scenery. This final post celebrates Western Queensland’s “big” things – some fun and quirky, others functional or natural.  Let’s take one last ride around the Outback.

The Big Meat Ant – Augathella

“The Ringer” – Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Longreach

The world’s biggest Van Gogh Sunflower painting – Emerald

The Big Red Chair – Charleville

In the Outback, bore water drawn from the Great Artesian Basin is a highly valued resource. The water is stored in towers or tanks which dominate the landscape in small country towns. Many are painted with scenes depicting the history or people of the town.

illuminated water tower – Julia Creek

painted water tower – Charleville

painted water tower – Augathella

painted water tank – Richmond

A mural on the wall of the newsagent in Winton commemorates the 1995 Guinness World Record for the longest road train, held by local man Alan Grant.

The Outback is a land of big skies and wide open spaces.

on the road between Hughenden and Muttaburra

sunset – Winton

And finally some Australian birds with big long legs, for Denzil’s long-legged bird photo challenge

white egrets – Judd’s Lagoon

brolga – Rubyvale

Gem Fossickers

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

The Gemfields

While our final destination on the Dinosaur Trail involved fossicking, this time we weren’t looking for dinosaur remains. At the Gemfields in Central Queensland we fossicked for precious stones.

We’ve been to the Gemfields and their little towns before and remembered the beautiful Sapphire Reflections sculpture at the gateway to the region.

We knew we were in the right place when we spotted some oversized tools of the trade in Sapphire,

and the big sapphire ring outside Pat’s Gems Tourist Fossicking Park had us dreaming of finding the perfect stone.

Inside Pat’s we bought a bucket of wash, hoping it was laden with gemstones, and set about learning the skills of gem fossicking. First we had to rinse away the excess soil from the wash in our sieve.

Then we carefully tipped the remaining contents of the sieve onto a hessian cloth. The search began as we sorted through the gravel looking for tell tale flashes of colour, painstakingly checking the stones one at a time.

The reward for our effort was a small collection of  sparkling stones. While most were the usual blue, green or yellow, we did have a couple of the less common “parti” stones with more than one colour.

All our stones were pretty, but they weren’t good enough quality to make into jewellery. They did make a wonderful souvenir of the last stop on our holiday though.

In The Middle

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Muttaburra

As well as being the home of Muttaburrasaurus langdoni, the little town of Muttaburra also has another claim to fame. It is the closest town to the geographic centre of Queensland. To celebrate its unique location, the community created a wonderful monument, rich in symbolism and history.

 Beside the monument is a timeline of the town’s history, in the form of an historical pathway. Pavers placed in chronological order are engraved with significant local events. Posts aligned with the pathway show annual rainfall totals since 1885; their height equals the rainfall for each year. 

The most moving element of the monument is the seating in the meeting place, created by local school children. Symbols on each disc connecting the children to their town, its past, present and future, invite visitors to Muttaburra to sit a while, close to the centre of Queensland. 

Meeting Muttaburrasaurus

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Muttaburra

There are dinosaurs on every street corner in Muttaburra.

The most famous prehistoric resident of Muttaburra, however, has his own special exhibition at the Muttaburrasaurus Interpretation Centre.

In 1963, the skeleton of a previously unknown dinosaur was found by Doug Langdon on a property near Muttaburra. Later, when the skeleton was excavated by palaeontologist Dr Alan Bartholomai, it was named Muttaburrasaurus langdoni.

Muttaburrasaurus lived in this part of northern Queensland between 112 and 103 million years ago. He was primarily a herbivore although the shape of his jaw and teeth suggest he may have also been a meat eater. 

The interpretation centre bearing his name features displays describing the discovery of the first skeleton, replicas of the fossilised bones and a timeline of the earth’s palaeontological history. 

While the fossilised remains of four more of these unique dinosaurs have since been discovered in other parts of northern Australia, the most famous will always be the one found near Muttaburra.

Sunset Views

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs.  

Hughenden

Usually when we go to a lookout there’s just one wonderful view to enjoy. At the summit of Mount Walker, 10 kilometres from Hughenden, the lookout has six vantage points all facing in different directions. We decide to drive up the winding road to the mountain top just before sunset, when the wintery evening sky takes on deep purple and orange hues.

Etna and Ironbark Lookouts face south west towards the vast open plains between Hughenden and Winton.

A stand of majestic ironbark trees on the downhill slope gives this lookout its name. 

Hughenden Lookout faces the little town of Hughenden to the south,

while in an easterly direction is the Jardine Valley, located between Hughenden and Prairie. 

Reay Lookout also faces south, looking over the Mitchell Downs towards Reay Station. 

We save the best till last, going to Sunset Lookout just in time to see the sky alight with a fiery glow as the sun disappears below the horizon.

No Porcupines Here!

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Nature Photo Challenge: Patterns

Porcupine Gorge

We didn’t see porcupines at Porcupine Gorge – there aren’t any in Australia. But we did see fabulous scenery! 

Porcupine Gorge has been formed over the last 500 million years, weathered by wind and water. When we were there in the middle of the dry season Porcupine Creek, which flows through the gorge, was a series of still, clear waterholes. In the wet season from November to March, the average rainfall totals around 400 mm and the creek becomes a raging torrent.

A 400 metre walk from the car park at our first stop to the Gorge Lookout led us to a viewing platform on the edge of the gorge. We could see, in both directions, a large section of the 27 kilometre long canyon. 

It was easy to distinguish the layers of exposed rock on the walls of the gorge; the dark basalt cap on top, resistant to erosion, and the soft lighter-coloured sandstone beneath, worn away by the power of moving water. 

Further on, at the Pyramid Lookout, we saw the gorge from another perspective.

After a relaxing picnic lunch at a table overlooking the gorge we decided to tackle the Pyramid Track, a 1.2 kilometre path winding down to the creek and the base of the Pyramid. While it was not a long walk, the suggested time of 90 minutes return told us it was going to be more strenuous than the level cement paths to the two lookouts. 

It took 30 minutes, walking downhill through the savannah grassland, to reach the floor of the gorge. The Pyramid, a huge sandstone monolith, towered over the creek, its sandy beaches lined with melaleuca trees.

The sandstone beside the creek was carved in fantastical shapes, in some places worn smooth and elsewhere shaped into deep overhangs. 

Where the creek had receded, most of the large hollows and deep potholes formed in the stone were left full of cool clear water.

A few, though, were stained red with runoff from the sandstone walls of the gorge. 

After a hour spent exploring, it was time to retrace our steps back to the picnic area. It did take longer to walk back uphill, but at 40 minutes we were well within that suggested 90 minute time frame. 

So why is the gorge named after porcupines? We read two different theories.

Even though we didn’t see any, there is a large population of echidnas in the area. While their only similarity to porcupines is their covering of protective spines, that may have been enough to confuse early European explorers. Or perhaps the gorge was named for the dense clumps of spiky spear grass which cover the slopes on either side of the creek. 

Either way, the three walks at Porcupine Gorge lead to stunning views of this spectacular landscape. 

Joining Denzil for Nature Photo Challenge: Patterns and Jo for Monday Walks