Australia Ho!

First, we got to BRIEFLY catch up with Lois and Steve at their house in Auckland Friday night and Saturday morning. This was because we got there incredibly late due to the timing of our rental car (when we could pick it up and when it needed to be returned). So we weren’t able to actually talk until the following morning. We were actually quite shocked how warm it was in Auckland. It was probably in the mid to high sixties. No wonder people think Wellington has horrible weather! We flew out of Auckland at around 4:00, promising Lois and Steve that we would be back for a proper catch up on the 26th before we fly home!

We arrived in Cairns fairly late as the flight was six hours and with the time difference and plane delay, we got in at night. Checked into the hotel, ordered pizza, and we were thoroughly enjoying the nice warm night air. The following morning, Sunday, we shuttled into town and ordered the breakfast special at a restaurant. Here we are enjoying breakfast.





We then spent a great majority of the remainder of the day arranging some tours for the upcoming week at a travel agency. We also walked around the waterfront and Marian wanted to show Ang how important wearing sunscreen is in Australia.



We heard a lot of rattle up in the trees as we walked around, and John said, “Are those ___________?” (Can’t remember exactly which kinds of birds John thought they were.) Marian, “No! They’re BATS!” Denise Ladenburg would not have liked the amazing sight that followed. A tree FULL of screeching, HUGE bats. Here are pics to demonstrate:




We then headed back to the hotel. We managed to put together some dinner from some supermarket visits, and watched a bit of telly before calling it a day.

The today was fairly uneventful. We have to admit that while we were excited about the tours that we had booked, the city of Cairns was not overly impressive. After we booked the tours we inquired with the travel agent if there were some budget activities we could do around the area, without paying a fortune. She looked confused and basically brushed us off. We decided to hang around the pool, read, call some family members, and spend the day relaxing.

Last days in Wellington, so long! So sad.

Thursday was spent mostly organizing our lives and trip to Australia. Marian is particularly excited about a place in Cairns we have booked for $60/night! Four star hotel. We had a final coffee with Cat and Chanelle at Velox, and went to Two Souls that night with John, Stacey and Lucy. After Two Souls, the Johns, Stacey and Marian went to Hashigo Zake for a beer.


Marian headed back to Two Souls to see Cherry, here NZ mom, and get a hug from her as well. Cherry gifted Marian her favorite bottle of wine as a going away present. Marian was excited before she left because Cherry seemed much more business minded than usual, to which Cherry responded, “So you think I am finally becoming more of a Chinese woman?” A sad day of goodbyes with new friends, and packing up our life here In Wellington.







Now we are currently driving to Auckland. We are reflecting on the last seven months. When I asked John what he has gotten out of the trip he says, “I don’t know, I don’t want to answer this on front of the blog.” After a little more prodding and re-phrasing, John says, “Going away every other week, without working.” That was pretty kickass. Marian would like to say that she will miss the sweet ginger ale they have in New Zealand, and not having a million American tourists around. Feeling special, she supposes.

Here is our goodbye to Wendy as she showered us with gifts on our way out of Wellington:


Goodby Wellington!!!



Bye New Zealand! John and Marian Heart New Zealand.

Last day of Work

Today we had our final shifts. Marian pulled her final shift at Velox and was sad to say goodbye to her career there. She has been promised by her boss John that once he builds his castle and recording studio, she will be allowed to come and record albums any time she wants….FANTASTIC.


That night, Marian worked her last night at Two Souls. The work was steady and easy, and she enjoyed working with Chanelle and Michelle. Chanelle gave her a gift at the beginning of the shift, which she claims she spent all day Saturday looking for the perfect one. What a sweetheart. She gave Marian Season 1 Flight of the Conchords, and wrote all over the Liner. Marian loved it so much she started welling up in tears. She particularly enjoyed where Chanelle wrote “Kia Kahu My Friend,” translating to “Stay Strong” My Friend. Very touching! It was great to get to eat Martin’s Cajun fish for dinner one last time. Marian is not looking forward to cooking for herself every night again.

John also had his last night at the White House. Also a standard busy, but easy night at the restaurant. Towards the end of the night, John came downstairs to a semi circle of coworkers standing around the kitchen waiting for him. Chef gave John a present – a book called, “Natural New Zealand,” showcasing different areas of the country in pictures and texts. On the inside cover was a little note from all his various co-workers, which Marian and John both really enjoyed reading. John let everyone know that he really enjoyed working with everyone, and that it had been a awesome experience. We then sat with Kat and Pete after work, having a great chat and a few drinks.

Fatty Sunday and Monday

On Sunday, we participated in Kiwi and American fatty foods. We again made biscuits and gravy for Lucy and she in turn made us spaghetti and cheese toasties for dinner that night. We also did our customary market run. It was good as.

On Monday, we headed to Strawberry Fare with Lucy for dessert. It is a restaurant that is famous for its desserts. Marian got the Devil’s Dream Cake. Oh Boy. Take a picture of my diet buster below.



John got the Lemon Chocolate Cheesecake and Lucy went with the Caramel Hazelnut Torte. Good and BIG. We each took some of ours home for l8ter. That is crazy. Here is a quote from John on dessert that evening, “I think I’m actually sick from eating that much sugar.” From Marian, “That was honestly the best dessert I’ve ever had in my life.” WOAH!

Souvenir Shopping

We went souvenir shopping today and got lots of stuff for people. Do you want to know what we got YOU? Too bad. You’ll just have to wait.

“Flatlandia”

That Saturday, we were able to take off of work and hang out with our Irish and Kiwi flatmates. Tony had insisted that we take at least one weekend night off before we leave so we could get a chance to hang out. Well, hang out we did. After a while we convinced them to show us Irish dancing. Tony had actually taken Irish dancing as a kid, and knew some steps – Laura had never officially taken it, but learned from friends. Marian wanted in on the action, here are some pictures.




Here is everyone from the night...I think Lucy was volunteering to not be in the picture so she took it for us:



After several hours of hanging out at the house, we ventured into town, and our good friend Linda made it to the bar with us. Marian was down for some Karaoke, and performed “Like a Prayer” by Madonna. Unfortunately, after that big number, we were pretty tired and called it a night.

Us and Linda at Klub K:


Like a Prayer in action:

“Zealandia”

First here is a picture of Marian in front of “Marian.”


Zealandia is a big piece of property in Wellington that has been seriously fenced off from outside predators, and over the last 10 years has been working to preserve a great wildlife sanctuary for native plants and animals. We were told their nocturnal walks were worth the visit so we finally made it out to see for ourselves. We were guided around the preserve, and first saw a video of how New Zealand has lost a lot of native plants and animals based on the arrival of humans to the Island, but how the Karori Sanctuary has a goal to restore that native existence as much as possible.

As we walked around we learned again about Kiwis (flightless, defenseless, nearly extinct creatures), Wetas (giant grasshoppers), Tuatara (reptiles from Dinosaurian ages), Tuis and other native birds. We were quite happy to spot a Kiwi feeding about 10 feet away from us on the tour. We watched for a good five minutes. Its pretty amazing to see a Kiwi in the wild at all, let alone for that long of a sustained time. We were also quite shocked to see a Tuatara out and about. The guide mentioned that the oldest known Tuatara is 110. We asked if his name was Henry. It was. You know you have lived in New Zealand for a while when you know the local Tuatara….

Because of the night tour and 'no flash' policy we didn't get too many pictures. So here is Weta:



After the tour we were going to get dessert but John was a little sicky, and we chose to save dessert for another time.