Home Sweet Home!


After 8 months, 3 continents, 18 countries, 17 flights, 45 bus trips, 31 trains, 26 boats/ferries, 91 different beds, 38 books read, one crappy car bought and sold, avoiding earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, floods, cyclones, sickness and theft, we are home!  It was truly an amazing and life-changing journey and we are so happy to have had the opportunity to travel around the world together.  

Thank you for following our journey of a lifetime!

Cathy and Adam

West Coast to the North- South Island, NZ

After the Milford Track, we decided to head to the Global Adventure Capital, Queenstown. Surrounded by the soaring peaks of the Remarkables Mountain Range and located on Lake Wakatipu, the stunning scenery is home to delicious, hip restaurants, an art scene, vineyards, and of course, a mountain of activities for any adrenaline junkie. In Queenstown, you can start your day with a cappuccino, hit the AJ Hackett bungy jump of 132 meters (over 435 feet), enjoy a wild 50 mph ride through narrow canyons on the infamous Shotover Jet boat, and hang-glide your way down Coronet Peak; all in the same day! You can wrap it up with a nice glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc on a veranda overlooking Lake Wakatipu.

We arrived to enjoy the adventure, buzz, and energy of this bustling town and headed directly to the infamous ‘Fergburger’, considered NZ’s best mega and tasty burger; I opted for the falafel burger called the ‘Bun Laden’ [Adam here-these burgers were tasty and the size of a small child! I had the ‘Southern Swine’-New Zealand prime beef, bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, aioli and tomato relish, OMG!!]

After enjoying a ‘Ferg’, we headed to our hotel to drop our stuff and figure out our next adventure. On our itinerary, the Shotover Jet boat. As I climbed into the boat I have to admit, I was a bit nervous when I thought about speeding through a narrow canyon so close to the walls that I could reach out and touch them. However, once we were on the move, it was awesome! Our driver would whip left and right, drift around corners like we were ‘racer boys’ in a modified street car, and spin 360’s that would spray us with water, it was a blast!!

We celebrated Valentine’s Day during our visit and decided to head to a local favorite Dux De Lux brewery and restaurant to enjoy our favorite beers, the Ginger Tom for me and the Black Shag for Ad. Along with these great beers, we had a delicious gourmet pizza. As the sun shined down we enjoyed the gorgeous day; we knew we had found our favorite town in New Zealand.

After Queenstown, we made our way to Wanaka, via a quick side trip thru the small and quaint town of Arrowtown. Known for its discovery of gold in the Arrow River, this small town is beautiful with its tree lined avenues and original stone and wooden buildings. Leaving Arrowtown, we continued to Wanaka, a small lakeside town located on the southern end of Lake Wanaka with a beautiful view of Mt. Aspiring in the background. We enjoyed a few days of relaxing and checking out the town, tasting some local wine, walking along the lake, and simply taking in the spectacular views of the mountains.

Leaving Wanaka, our journey took us over Haast Pass and to the west coast. We headed north from here to Westland Tai Poutini National Park, home to both Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers. The smaller of the two (neither of these are small at all) is Fox Glacier where you can stand as close as 80 meters from the glacier. As you get up close, you can see the blue-grey water flowing from under the glacier, and every once in a while chunks of ice falling off the side. It was a pretty amazing sight to be taking all of this in only 80 meters away.

About 28 km north, is the Franz Joseph Glacier. The Maori legend tells that the glacier was formed by a local girl who lost her lover when he fell from the peaks, and her flood of tears froze to form the glacier. Similar to Fox glacier, Franz Joseph is roped off 200 meters away to prevent people from being caught in the icefalls and river surges. It’s amazing to see pictures of both the advances and the retreats of the glacier that date back to the mid 1800’s.

After Westland National Park, we continued north along the west coast to Punakaiki National Park, known for its ‘Pancake Rocks’ and blowholes. Through a layering-weather process, the limestone here makes the rock look like stacks of pancakes sitting on top of each other, and when the sea surges into the caverns the power of the ocean booms through the blowholes; pretty cool. As we enjoyed the views, we also got a chance to sea dolphins frolicking around the bays [yes, they were frolicking]

Including the area around Punakaiki and further north is what Lonely Planet describes as ‘one the planet’s 10 best coastal road trips in the world’. As you follow the highway north along the coastline of the Tasman Sea, the views of the sea and coastal cliffs, the mountains of the Paparoa Range, rivers and unique bird colonies are truly stunning.

After enjoying the west coast, we headed north-east to the artsy town of Nelson and then onto Abel Tasman National Park. Within the park there are several coastal walking tracks that spread over 51 km. Ad and I decided to do a 15 km hike only accessible by boat that started in the Tonga Bay and took us south to Anchorage Bay. As we cruised along the beautiful track, we enjoyed the photogenic views of the Tasman Sea, passing through bays with golden beaches and gleaming blue-green water; it truly was a postcard come to life.

When we finished our hike and were heading back on the ferry, an announcement was made letting us know that another earthquake had struck Christchurch, and was much worse than the first one last September (7.1 Richter scale). We would come to find out that this earthquake was a 6.1 on the Richter scale, but was only 5 km below the surface (unlike the 7.1 which was 33 km below the surface) and caused catastrophic damage to the city and the surrounding area.

Sadly, many lives were lost and many are still missing; the devastation in Christchurch is horrible. It was estimated that roughly 50-60 percent of the homes are either in ruins or deemed unsafe and the town will take months if not years to rebuild. If you can take a moment to send them a prayer, please do so. It’s incredibly sad yet their resilience, compassion and spirit through such devastation are remarkable and inspirational.

After Abel Tasman we headed to the Marlborough Wine Region. Home to well known wines such as, Cloudy Bay and Alan Scott, we decided to nose and taste our way through the area. Our first stop was Cloudy Bay, known for their Sauvignon Blanc. As we tried some of their wine, a unique Sauvignon Blanc Sparkling and few Pinots, we were surprised to not have been blown away and decide to head to Allan Scott, conveniently located across the street. After a tasting of few their wines we decided that the search for a worthy bottle to buy just hadn’t happened for us yet.

Next, we stumbled upon a small, boutique vineyard called Domaine Georges Michel with a female winemaker. After trying a few Sauvignon Blancs, a chardonnay and a Pinot, we were blown away by all, yet the passion fruit flavors in the chardonnay were hard to pass up along with the fresh floral taste of the Sauvignon Blanc, we bought them both. Next, we began to plan our menu around the Sauvignon Blanc: fresh seafood with pasta, herbs, garlic, white wine and parmesan. It was so delicious!

After the wine country and realizing that lodging was becoming more challenging to find in the South Island, we decided to catch our car ferry to Wellington (North Island) a few days early. We were sad to say good bye to the South yet are excited to explore the North.

Love and miss you,

Cathy and Adam

"The World's Finest Walk" - The Milford Track, NZ

On February 9, we started the Milford Track, a 33.5 mile (54 kilometer) hike to the Milford Sound. It began with an hour boat trip from Te Anau Downs to the beginning of the trek at the Glad Wharf. Once the boat docked, we kicked off our shoes and socks and journeyed through the brisk water to shore since the docks were flooded from recent rainfall.


As we dried off our feet, put on our shoes and shoed away the sandflys, we gathered our packs and set out for the first of three huts on the Milford Track, the Clinton Hut located a short 3.1 miles (5 kilometers) away. We walked across a long suspension bridge to start the track and enjoyed the amazing surroundings of cascading mountains, clear blue streams littered with moss-covered limestone rocks, and the peacefulness of the track ahead.

Once we arrived at the hut, we headed to the bunkroom to unpack and figure out what freeze-dried dinner we should make that evening. We chose Nasi Goreng, a Balinese dish we enjoyed many times while visiting the Indonesian island. After a decent tasting dinner, we had a sleepless night in the snore-filled room of one of the Clinton Hut’s bunkrooms.

The next morning, we woke to overcast skies and light showers to begin our 9.5 mile (16.5 kilometer) hike to our next hut, Mintaro. As we ventured out, we enjoyed trails filled with singing birds, green ferns, moss covered logs and flowing streams along the trail. At many points, the trail opened up and we were surrounded by mountains and beautiful waterfalls. As we hiked along, crossing many bridges we enjoyed seeing some of New Zealand’s indigenous animals like blue ducks, weka and kea birds, and a huge rainbow trout that was in one of the streams.


After a 5.5 hour hike, and finishing with a 40-minute ascent, we were excited to arrive to a warm fire at the Mintaro Hut, as we were a little soggy from sloshing through puddles, and the light rain that accompanied us most of the day. We enjoyed another night of socializing with our 40 new friends and bunkmates, but headed to bed for an early night’s rest so we would be rested for the steepest part of our hike the next day, Mackinnon Pass.

On Friday (Day 3 of our trek), we ventured out early to endure the zigzag climb to Mackinnon Pass, the highest point on the track that would see us to an elevation of 1154 meters (3,786 ft). As we climbed up the pass and through the fog and mist-filled canyon, we emerged at the top of the pass to enjoy amazing views and the “12-second drop”, a straight drop down to the canyon floor below us. From the highest point on the pass, we enjoyed spectacular views of Mt. Hart and Mt. Balloon, it was truly spectacular! To warm up, we headed to the Mackinnon Pass Shelter to re-fuel and to put on some warmer clothes, as it was very cold on the top.

We enjoyed the amazing views for about 45 minutes before we started our hike down to the valley floor, a 970 meter descent (3,182 ft) to our final hut, the Dumpling Hut. As we maneuvered rocky, uneven terrain we enjoyed the spectacular views and waterfalls that surrounded us. This particular section is coined the ‘Roaring Burn’, and featured a wooden boardwalk and staircase section next to the numerous amazing waterfalls. Before arriving at the Dumpling Hut, we enjoyed a slight detour to enjoy the highest waterfall in New Zealand, the Sutherland Falls, dropping an amazing 508 meter (1,666 feet). We could really feel the awesome power these falls produced when we were standing at the bottom getting sprayed, it was incredible!

For our final day, we trekked 18 kilometers (11.5 miles) to our final destination, Sandfly Point. As the track gently descended following the Arthur River, we enjoyed the natural wonders like the beautiful Mackay Falls (in our opinion, the most beautiful waterfall we have ever seen- you were right Lori!). Shaped like a wish-bone, these falls are a definite highlight on the Milford Track. After Mackay, we continued on our journey enjoying our surroundings, and talking with our fellow hikers. We finally reached Sandfly Point after five hours and a reasonably easy day of trekking. We were excited to have completed such an amazing and beautiful trek and looked forward to a shower and a nice warm bed for the evening. Anyone considering this trek, we highly recommend it!

Love and miss you all,

Cathy and Adam

NZ: Manapouri, Doubtful Sound, Milford Road

(pic: View from Gertrude Saddle)

After leaving the Catlins, a region combining farmland, native forests and rugged bays, we continued on the ‘scenic highway’ heading northwest. Since starting our New Zealand adventures, we had been looking forward to the day that we would be in the Fiordland National Park, the largest national park in New Zealand and a World Heritage Area. We arrived almost a week ago, and one word…WOW!!!

We thought Switzerland was the most beautiful place we have seen, but being here has changed our minds; the Fiordlands are truly spectacular! Ok, the Annapurna Range in Nepal is quite amazing as well, but you get the point.

Our first three days we spent in Manapouri, a little town 20 kilometers south of Te Anau, and 144 kilometers south of Milford Sound; there is nothing else nearby. Manapouri sits on Lake Manapouri which is the gateway to the Doubtful Sound and back dropped by the amazing Fiordland Mountains. Our four day hut-to-hut trip on the Milford Track doesn’t start until Feb. 9, so we have had time to enjoy gorgeous hikes and scenery in the surrounding area. We have been doing roughly 3-5 hour hikes each day to get us somewhat prepared for our upcoming 54 km trek. We didn’t know there were so many accessible hikes around the area, it’s awesome!

So far, we have hiked portions of the Kepler Track, Circle Track in Manapouri, and the Gertrude Saddle, the latter being an almost 5 hour hike to a 1410 meter peak above sea level. It was by far the greatest and most technically demanding hike we’ve done, thus far. Yet the rewards were breathtaking views of the Milford Sound and the surrounding rugged mountains; it was like no other in the world!

In Fiordland National Park there are many INCREDIBLE tracks to hike, or ‘tramp’ as the Kiwis call it, but only a few are considered to be ‘Great Walks’. In Fiordland, there are three: Milford, Kepler, and Routeburn with the other six Great Walks located around NZ, all multi-day hut-to-hut treks that range from 29 to 82 kilometers. For these treks you need to be self sufficient and pack in/out your own food, cookware, clothing, and anything else you might need; just like the back-country hut trips in Colorado.

During our stay in Manapouri, we decided to book an overnight cruise to the Doubtful Sound, the second biggest Sound in the Fiordlands behind Dusky. We departed by boat from Lake Manapouri and headed to the West Arm Power Station about one hour away. From there we boarded a bus that took us 22 km up and over Wilmot Pass and down to Deep Cove, the start of the Doubtful Sound, holy shizzle it was breathtaking!!

We ventured through the fiords and sounds in awe over the stunning beauty where mountains, rock, forests, and grasslands collide. The weather was not sunny and bright as we hoped it would be, but rather very windy with some rain. At first we thought we picked the wrong day to book the tour however, when the HUNDREDS of waterfalls started flowing from seemingly every nook and cranny, we welcomed the rain and wind. Our cruise took us up close and personal to the waterfalls, so close in fact, it was splashing down on the boat’s deck! Pretty cool.

We continued through the Doubtful Sound all the way out to the Tasman Sea where we saw a colony of fur seals (which are actually sea lions and not seals) sitting on the rocks. We ended our day by docking in Christmas Cove for the evening, the boat’s Captain pulled into a relatively calm bay to let people kayak and swim if they wanted to. When we looked out the window, we noticed a woman had dumped her kayak and fell into the water. She was fine, but cold I’m sure, LOL.

We had an amazing dinner on the boat and spent the night in our bunk beds. The next morning we meandered through the Sound before making our way back to Deep Cove and onto Manapouri. The massive and magnificent Doubtful sound was a great experience and we would recommend it to anyone who travels to New Zealand.

Following our three-night stay in Manapouri, we headed to Te Anau, the gateway to the Fiordland National Park, to get settled before our trek. After a few days of hiking around the area, we decided to explore the infamous Milford Sound (122 km away from Te Anau) to enjoy both the spectacular views as well as the Gertrude Saddle hike. The 2.5 hour drive is breathtaking the whole way, and neither of us has ever seen landscape like this before. If I had to compare, it would probably be a little like Yosemite in California, HUGE mountains shooting straight up from the road about 1100 meters high.

After hiking the Gertrude Saddle and enjoying the summit’s million dollar views, we made our way to the base of Milford Sound. As the sun was shining, we grabbed a cold beer and toasted to the amazing view and to our accomplishment of summiting a challenging hike.

We have a few more days until our trek and we are really excited to get it started. We hear the weather is supposed to be rain/wind free, which is really unheard of in the Milford Sound, but hopefully it will prove to be true, we’ll see.

Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love, Adam and Cath

New Zealand Adventures

Adam and I arrived in Christchurch, NZ on January 11 anxious to explore the beautiful country. We decided that the best and most economical way to see as much as possible was to buy a car. Even though we thought it would be cool to cruise around in a VW bus ‘Spicoli’ style, we opted for the old faithful Subaru. After 10 days of searching, we finally found a 1994 twin turbo Subaru Legacy; the dent in the door came at no extra charge.


While waiting for a few “minor” fixes (like a new transmission), we checked out Christchurch. The town has a similar feel to Boulder; a very laid-back and friendly environment. There are beautiful Botanic Gardens where we enjoyed early morning walks and evening sunsets.

On only our second day in town, I (Cathy) experienced my first earthquake aftershock (if you are not aware, Christchurch experienced a 7.1 earthquake on September 3), thankfully no one was killed or seriously injured, yet it caused a lot of structural damage to many of the buildings; most of the town looks like a big construction zone. One morning while Ad and I were enjoying a cappuccino, we felt a strong shake throughout the building, then a few days later, we were woken up at 6:00 in the morning to a 5.1 tremor that caused us to jump out of bed and head to the nearest corner of the room.

Even though we had to deal with a few aftershocks, we enjoyed the very friendly people and also found some great local breweries that served delicious beers and food. My favorite beer was the ‘Ginger Tom’, and for Ad, a dark stout called the ‘Black Shag’. Next to the local brewery was a farmers market; we roamed around, checked out the local artists, tasted some local cuisine and enjoyed the sun while it was shining.

Akaroa, Lake Tekapo, Mt. Cook, Otago Bay, Catlins National Park

Our car was finally ready and we were anxious to hit the road in our ‘new’ silver Subaru. We headed to the Banks Peninsula and the town of Akaroa, a small harbor town and the site of the country’s first French settlement. The charming town is filled with B&B’s, cafés, small bistros and beautiful bays.

For the evening, we headed to a campsite located outside Akaroa in the beautiful Okains Bay. It was chilly, rainy, and foggy yet we pitched our tent and enjoyed a delicious pasta dinner on our new camping stove.

After Akaroa, we headed to the ‘Southern Alps’ of Lake Tekapo, a turquoise lake with a backdrop of green rolling hills and mountains. The blazing turquoise water, called ‘Blue Crush’ is due to the sediment in the water. This sediment gives the water a milky quality and refracts the sunlight which gives it its brilliant blue color.

Next, we headed to Mt. Cook National Park, a World Heritage Area in the Southern Alps that has a blanket of permanent snow and glacial ice. Of New Zealand’s 27 mountains over 3050 meters (9150 ft), 22 of them are within this park. Ad and I headed out to enjoy the awesome peaks and the surrounding landscape by hiking up to the base of Mt. Sefton and checking out the amazing view of Mt. Cook (Maori name is Aoraki). Mt. Sefton includes the Huddleston Glacier, and the Footstool.

Not only is the Mt. Cook Wilderness area surrounded by incredible mountains and valleys, it is also home to the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre, which was opened three weeks before his death; Mr. Hillary is regarded as the greatest New Zealander of all time. Above the Alpine Center is New Zealand’s most famous hotel, the Hermitage Hotel which was constructed in 1884 and rebuilt twice after a devastating flood in 1913 and then a fire in 1957.

When we left Mt. Cook, we headed south towards the Otago Peninsula, but stopped in the small town of Cromwell first where we enjoyed a delicious wine tasting at ‘Wooing Tree’ winery; oh these wines were spectacular! After spending the night, we continued our drive and reached the Otago Peninsula, which is located along the rugged southern countryside and home to an albatross reserve. As we traveled along the coast, we enjoyed incredible views of the rural countryside, beaches, amazing coastal birds and many sheep along the rolling the hills.

We stopped at the Royal Albatross Centre and learned about the world’s only mainland royal albatross colony. We learned that the birds spend eighty percent of their time at sea and New Zealand is the only place where they touch-down to nest. In addition, the female albatross will only lay one egg every two years so the species has been enlisted as endangered.

Once we left Otago, we headed further south to Catlins National Park. The Catlins combine lush farmland with amazing forests and rugged bays. Our first stop was Kaka Point (hee hee) to walk on the huge beach and collect sea shells. After enjoying the fresh cool air and the beautiful view, we headed to Nugget Point, which offered breathtaking views of the ocean, and unique rock formations. As we followed the path to the lighthouse, we enjoyed watching the fur seals and sea lions laying out on the beach and frolicking in the water.

We are now in Invercargill and planning our route to the Fiordlands, which lie in the southwestern part of New Zealand’s south island. We are enjoying our journey in the far south of the world and hope you are all doing well!

Love and miss you,

Cathy and Adam

Melbourne, Australia

Ad and I arrived in Melbourne via a quiet and easy overnight train from Sydney. Melbourne is south west of Sydney situated along the coast. Deemed as the “world’s most livable city,” Melbourne is filled with hip cafes, delicious restaurants, trendy culture and beautiful gardens. The rapidly growing city (over 1500 people move to the city on a monthly basis) is easy to navigate and filled with friendly and active people.

Once we stumbled out of the downtown train station, we walked to our hotel located in East Melbourne next to the beautiful Fitzroy Gardens. As we walked down the street, we stopped in a cute café located down one of the many alley ways in Melbourne and enjoyed a little breakfast to help wake us up and get us going. After breakfast, we enjoyed the morning walk through the city to our hotel.

During the first few days, we walked around an enjoyed delicious (but expensive) food from some of the city’s restaurants. After stuffing ourselves with delicious Italian, Chinese and local cuisines, we decided to venture out of the city and enjoy a wine tour through the Yarra Valley.

Our first stop on the tour was to the well-known French winemaker, Domaine Chandon. After tasting some delicious sparkling wines, crackers and cheese and enjoying the surrounding hillside views, we headed onto to the next winery, Rocheford Winery.

Only a few scenic miles from Domaine Chandon, we arrived at Rocheford. The winery offered a variety of red and white wines, yet is known more for their whites and in particular, their Chardonnay. Besides wine, the winery also has delicious fudge and gave out samples of over 15 different flavors. After a few tastings, Ad and I opted for the Jaffe, chocolate and orange flavored; it was delicious!

After Rocheford, we headed to Yering Farm Winery, located on a beautiful fruit farm with scenic background views of the mountains, rolling hills and vineyards. Yering is a boutique vineyard and offers a more intimate country-style tasting room as well as an onsite bed and breakfast. After a few tastings, we found their dessert wine t be the most delicious.

Once we finished at Yering Farm, we headed to our final stop on the tour, the Kellybrook Winery, known as both an apple orchard and winery. Among the many wines, this small winery also featured a very delicious cider that tasted like a light apple cider with a kick (7% alcohol). It was delicious (better than the wines) and we decided to buy a few bottles for the trip back to Melbourne.

In addition to our wine tour, we also booked a tour to see Australia’s Great Ocean Road (a must if you come to Australia). The highway was built in 1918 as a dedication to those who served in WWI and offers a ton of scenic highlights. Our first was Bells Beach, famous for its international surfing competition and its feature in the movie Point Break. As we drove up the coast, we were also able to see several kangaroos hopping around “the bush” (or fields) as the Aussies like to say.

After Bells Beach, we headed to Split Point Lighthouse to take in the fantastic coastal views. Our tour driver explained that every lighthouse has its own unique light signal; this is so sailors know exactly where they are on the coast. Next, we headed to Kennet River where we got a chance to see a few small, very cute cuddly koalas.

We were only a few hours into the tour and already had a full day’s worth of sights. Our next stop was Maits Rest, a cool temperate rain forest with a few walking trails. On the trail, we walked under a canopy of huge and very old (a few hundred years) ferns, Myrtle Beech trees, and towering Mountain Ash and Blackwood trees; it was pretty awesome!

Our next stop was the beginning of the infamous Twelve Apostles; dramatic limestone rock formations located along the coastline. We walked down the Gibson Steps to the beach to get a close-up view of the first two Apostles and marveled at the sheer height and beauty; they were pretty amazing!

After Gibson Steps, we headed to the remaining six Apostles. Originally, there were 12 Apostles yet due to erosion there are only eight remaining with the most recent one falling in 2009. [Side note- the formations were originally called the Sow and her Piglets and eventually were renamed the Twelve Apostles when Australia didn’t think the name truly represented their beauty].

To really enjoy the natural beauty of Twelve Apostles, Ad and I decided to take a helicopter ride around the amazing formations. We were blown away by their beauty, especially with the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean. I couldn’t help but giggle and smile at the 360 degree views of this amazing natural wonder.

Our last stop took us to the Loch Ard Gorge which has a beach and cave where only two survivors took refuge after a tragic shipwreck in late 1800s. We also viewed the Razorback, Island Arch and the remains of the London Bridge. The London Bridge (a natural limestone bridge) collapsed into the ocean in the 90’s while two people were crossing, but lucky for them they survived the fall.

During our stay in Melbourne we stayed with our friend Belinda (thanks for the connection Bridget!) who was an incredible host and treated us like family; did I mention she’s also an amazing chef (she really is a chef) and treated us to a few very tasty meals! OMG were they delicious! Thanks Belinda, we are sincerely grateful.

We enjoyed our time in and around Melbourne, and hope you do too when you check out our photos!

Love to all,

Cathy and Adam

New Year's Eve in Sydney, Australia

After a night flight out of Bali, Ad and I arrived in beautiful Sydney, Australia on Wednesday morning. Our Aussie friend Dave picked us up at that airport and we headed back to his (and his fiancé Beck) home that is situated along the Sydney coast in a small community called Vaucluse.

Once we arrived, we dropped our stuff and headed outside to take in the amazing ocean bluff views. Their condo is situated on a park that borders the Pacific Ocean with a view of the Macquarie Lighthouse, the oldest and longest running lighthouse in Australia that was built in 1791; it has had a working navigational light since 1818.

On the south side of the park is a paved walking trail called the Coastal Cliff Trail that follows the coastline and offers amazing cliff-top views of the ocean. To the north there are picturesque views of Sydney Harbor, Watson’s Bay, Center Point Tower and the infamous Sydney Harbor Bridge; all are stunning!

After enjoying some sunshine and a nice shower we made a plan to pick up a few items for the New Year’s celebration. In addition, we decided it was time to get haircuts (we were in dire need). It had been 8 months since Ad had his hair cut, and for me, almost 6 months, so we were excited to get rid of the floppy mess we had on our heads.

One of the highlights of Sydney is the infamous Bondi Beach, a beautiful beach just 5km from Dave and Beck’s house. We only got to spend a few hours down here, and even though the beach was packed, the water was cool and quite refreshing; oh and the fresh fish and chips we had for lunch was incredible!!

New Year’s Eve celebration was on Friday and Dave and Beck invited a few friends over to ring in 2011. For the festivities, they set up a nice tent and had tables that were covered in white linens out on the front lawn. While a 13 pound red snapper marinated in Dave’s Thai-chili recipe, and tasty steaks grilled on the barbeque, we enjoyed delicious appetizers, glasses of wine and the first round of fireworks at 9 pm (in Sydney, they have fireworks for kids at 9 pm and midnight for adults). The fireworks were spectacular and it left Adam and me wondering what the midnight fireworks would be like.

After a few more hours of enjoying the festivities, the midnight fireworks started and were incredible. Ad tried to capture as much of the show as he could on video . It truly was the most spectacular fireworks show we have ever seen!

A couple of days after New Years, Dave and Beck took us down to Watson’s Bay to catch a ferry into the city. Along the way Ad and I had a chance to see the beautiful harbor as we made our way to the Opera House wharf. Once there, we walked through the city to an area called Darling Bay to enjoy lunch and the beautiful city views. After lunch, we decided to head back to the Opera House to have a nice glass of wine out on the deck and watch people climb to the top of the Harbor Bridge ($220 per person!).

After our great time in Sydney, we thanked our friends Dave and Beck for their wonderful hospitality and then jumped on an overnight train (and hopefully the last) to our next city, Melbourne!

More to come!

Love and miss you.

Cathy and Adam