weird. I had to find a "backdoor entrance" to post today.  It is a lovely morning here in Ingham, Northern Queensland.  at 5:30 am it is around 80 degrees and I have enjoyed listening to birds though I have no idea who is saying what.  The field guide lists many oexotic species including lorikeets, curlews, mynas, wagtails, etc. and I will get more names.  Since we are near the Great Barrier Reef, there are lots of shore birds as well as tropical species.

when I got in yesterday it was about 90 degrees and humid... and they are planning a heat wave just for me!  the area between the mountains and the coast is flat with lots of sugarcane and cattle farming.  The rainy season is coming very soon and the grass and streambeds are parched.  We looked ant brochures last evening and picked ou some representative things to do, including trips to snorkel on the reef, a trip to a spectacular waterfall, the Billabong sanctuary, a chocolate themed tourist park, and several others.  there is so much to see!  Today we will take it easy but will ride out to see some things.

 
Rain is predicted later this week so my snorkel trip will beearlier rather than later.  so far the little stinging jellyfish have notbeenaproblem, but they do have protective gear.

The hotel internet was very poor, so I am just now posting about my trip yesterday.  I won't attempt to spell anything right since the words foe the cities, trees, birds etc. are in Maori dialect and I don't have my notes.  Yeasrerday morning I went out for a brief walk and to get some pictures of downtown.  It was cool and drizzly so I was concerned for our tour of a local park, but caught the van at 12:30.  We had an interesring mix of folks from Malaysia, Belgium, Denmark and the US me and a couple from Colorado).

As we headed out of the city I had a better understanding of why Auckland is one of the top 4 places to live.  There are over 20 parks in the city including the 45,000 Acre Waitere park.  Many trees in Auckland proper are  "exotics" or not native.  The areawhere we went is 10 miles out and is densesubtropical rainforest.  It islocated in and around a volcanic crater, and the road twisred along the fringe of the cone.  Our guide was very knowledgable and included factoids about the natural area.  I spotted anIndian myna  bird acting pretty comfortable finding seeds along the sidewalk, andlater saw  a couple of birds in the rainforest.  We beard a cuckoo, a seasonal migrant that puts its eggs in the tiny nests of the grey warbler.  Poor foster mom loses her own chicks as they are displaced by the larger chicks.  The guide said the country is in the process of eradicatin wild pigs because they are suspected of contributing to some tree virus.  What do you want to bet that there will be some environmental Oops later?  I would think that the pigs at leasthelp to spread and fertilize the rainforest.

The tour wasreally nice and I did get good pictures to share later.  Today I meet my hostess friend and head to her home in Ingham dor 10 Days.  I am looking forward to a more normal life!

Good morning from Auckland!  I arrived yesterday in rain and cold, and went into culture shock immediately due to the bustle, noise and other big city issues.  The hotel is in the inner city a couple of blocks from restaurants and shopping.  I found a coffee shop and cafe which served an amazing version of eggs benedict on Turkish toast with spinach and sauteed mushroms.

One thing I,ll say for thetrip is that my tummy has been thrilled! So far I have had main meals of fish andchips, lambshanks, venison satakiand the eggs  enedict.  breakfasts have mostly been bread and fruit.  This would bea tough place to have a gluten allergy.

Today I have a tour of Waitekere rain forest and one of the black sand beaches.  The north islan is primarily volcanic in origin. Aukland occupies a narrow connection of land about halfway between Cape Reinga at the tip and Wellington at the southern tip of North Island. The volcano eruption a couple of weeks ago was about halfway beteen Auckland and Wellington.

Auckland reminds me of a cross between Charlotte and Asheville... It is the largest city in NZ but is hilly.  houses in the suburbs have hedged or walled gardens and the soil is rich.

I will closefornow and will not post again until I get to theairport tomorrow am.  My flight leaves at 6:45am so I shoulld have time before my flight  to Australia.

I am at the Qtwn airport and just finished an amazing cheese scone, a banana and a latte. The airlinefailed to notify Lisa thatthey are now on their summer schedule so my flight isn't for afew more hours.  could be worse! It means I have a few more hours here in South NZ and even the view from the airport cafe is spectacular.o


It was cold this morning andovercast.  The sun is starting to burn off the clouds and the Remarkables mountains aredisplaying their lovely shades of green, red, black and brown.  Today I go to Auckland fortwo nights.  I may shave my head soon. Security took my hair spray and my perm has grown out,so itis a floppy stringy mess.  My best hope is to get somespray in Australia andleaveit with Marlies.u

As you can see I have not mastered the space bar.

This will be my third try at posting today.  Argh.

Today we took a guided tour of Qtwn highlights including a view from Queenstown hill, which I posted on Facebook.  The weather continues to be spectacular, sunny and pleasant  with low humidity.  We saw one of the firstbridges built on the south island in the 1800's which was in use until the 1960's.  It is now leased by a bungee juping company which lets you leap 43 meters to the icy river below.  No I did not.

Wewent to Arrowton where I was yesterday and I was able to get digital pictures. A good thing.  We wentby a winery and cheesery and I got healthier stuff for lunch.  This included fresh cherries  Yum.

It is so good to have all my assumptions challenged in daily routines. water is not hot until after I normally take a shower, and the hot water is in the right faucet.  think to look right before crossing the near lane of traffic or you may die.  some people don,t have paper money smaller than a 5 and do justfine with one and two dollarcoins.  buses are a good way to get around. and 2.17 for a litre of petrol is MUCH worsethan we see daily.

this morning I got a light breakfast here at the hotel.before heading out to catch the connector bus into town and then toArrowtown.  It was a big gold mining town in the mid 1800's and has since become a tourist spot with its nearby alpine skiing attractions.  The mountains are still snowcapped despit the fact that it early summer.  (please excuse the spacing and spelling errors.  any time I try to repair one the keyboard disappears)

Mum and I hiked along the Arrow River and were amazed by the beautiful flowers andtrees.  Pink and purple lupine, yellow meadow buttercup, scotch broon with its proliferation of yellowblossoms, clover ans eve  pansies or violas were in abundanca. A few friendly birds came out of the thickets inclufpding one called a saddleback (I think).  It was all gorgeous.  My digitalcamera needed anextra charge today so I had to use the disposable.  A nice couple was walking along with me and he was kind enough to take my picture among the lupine.  I bought a few souveniers before coming back to the hotelto get my feet up.

Since my room is right next to the pool I think I willtake advantage of it.  my body has to get ready for my escorted tour tomorrow!

When we got in I went out walking, mostly to restore function to my lower body.  Today I will figure out what to do about breakfast before catching a hop on and off bus tour of Queenstown and Arrowtown and the immediate area.  Mumis happy to be going with me.
Electricity is a challenge with so many charges.  Thanks to Lena I have a power and plug converter,but the phone. tablet and camera all needed charge!  My camera battery was "exhausted" (I understood completely)but did revive.  Can you imagine being in NewZealand without acamera???

I will add more when I get back later.  Just know I am here, doing fine, and ready for my adventure, and so is Mum!