Although We Are Strangers, It Would Hardly Seem That
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Australia & New Zealand 2017 Including Hawaii (a trip by cars, RVs, airplanes, and ship) © Bert & Shari Frenz, 2017 All rights reserved. CHAPTER 1 – HAWAII Day 1 – Texas to Maui Day 2 – Maui snorkeling Day 3 – Maui birds and green turtles Day 4 – Haleakala National Park Day 5 – Northwestern shore of Maui Day 6 – A restful day in Hawaii Day 7 – Maui to Sydney, via Honolulu CHAPTER 2 – VICTORIA HIGHWAY TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA Day 8 – Sydney to Darwin Day 9 – Darwin Timor Sea coastline Day 10 – Darwin to Katherine Day 11 – Katherine to Victoria River Day 12 – Crossing into Western Australia Day 13 – Lake Argyle Day 14 – Lake Argyle to Kununurra Day 15 – Kununurra to Timber Creek Day 16 – Timber Creek to Pine Creek Day 17 – Pine Creek to Howard Springs CHAPTER 3 – THE OUTBACK Day 18 – Darwin rendezvous Day 19 – Picking up our RVs Day 20 – Litchfield National Park Day 21 – Fogg Dam, Window of the Wetlands, and Mamukala Wetlands Day 22 – Kakadu National Park Day 23 – Cooinda, Kakadu National Park Day 24 – Yellow Water, Kakadu National Park Day 25 – Nitmiluk National Park and Daly Waters Day 26 – Daly Waters to Tennant Creek Day 27 – Tennant Creek to Alice Springs Day 28 – Alice Springs and Simpson’s Gap Day 29 – Alice Springs to Uluru Day 30 – Uluru and Kata Tjuta Day 31 – Back to Alice Springs Day 32 – Alice Springs to Cairns by air CHAPTER 4 – QUEENSLAND Day 33 – Cairns Day 34 – Great Barrier Reef Day 35 – Getting our motor homes Day 36 – Cairns Botanic Garden Day 37 – Tjapukai and Daintree Day 38 – Daintree and Mount Lewis Day 39 – Mount Lewis to Atherton Day 40 – Atherton Tablelands Day 41 – Atherton Tablelands Day 42 – Lake Barrine to Etty Bay Day 43 – Tyto Wetlands Day 44 – Tyto Wetlands and Magnetic Island Day 45 – Billabong Sanctuary Day 46 – Back to Cairns Day 47 – Flight to Brisbane Day 48 – Lamington National Park Day 49 – Lamington National Park CHAPTER 5 – SYDNEY Day 50 – Brisbane to Sydney Day 51 – Sydney Day 52 – Sydney CHAPTER 6 – NORTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND Day 53 – Sydney to Auckland Day 54 – Auckland and Tiri Tiri Matangi Day 55 – Miranda Day 56 – Miranda to Waitomo Day 57 – Hobbiton and Wings of Prey Day 58 – Cape Kidnappers Day 59 – Tui Brewery and Pukaha Mount Bruce Day 60 – Zealandia CHAPTER 7 – SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND Day 61 – Cook Strait Day 62 – Kaikoura Day 63 – Kaikoura to Christchurch Day 64 – Mt. Cook Day 65 – Queenstown Day 66 – Fiordland National Park Day 67 – Milford Sound Day 68 – Te Anau to Dunedin Day 69 – Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula Day 70 – Oamaru and Christchurch Day 71 – Christchurch farewell 2 Australia & New Zealand 2017 © Bert & Shari Frenz, 2017 All rights reserved. CHAPTER 1 – HAWAII Day 1 – Texas to Maui (Bert) The perfectly circular crimson red orb balanced on the horizon over Houston. We left McAllen at the Mexico border in darkness, with only the streetlights of the Rio Grande Valley visible from the air and then blackness until a Houston sunrise. Below the red sun it will be another day of rescues even after the rain has stopped but the floodwaters continue to rise, powered by the Brazos unleashing upriver buildup. We had been watching Hurricane Harvey news for several days now. At first we were forecast for heavy rains and flooding, but the storm twisted north and we did not receive a raindrop. Instead, the eye of the hurricane aimed for Rockport and Port Aransas, where we own a lot in an RV resort on Mustang Island. That night, our eyes were glued to the TV as we watched the news when shortly after 10 PM, at a peak speed of 132 mph, the eye passed over the city of Port Aransas. 10:23 PM August 25 When we woke up early the next morning the hurricane had barely moved; it still swirled above the island. 3 6:35 AM 26 August 2017 Three hours later Port Aransas was in the rain belt, but clear skies were beginning to punch holes in the rain shield. 9:20 AM 4 Water surged over the island inundating everything in its path, floating boats from the harbor and dumping them in the middle of streets, ripping to shreds restaurants and shops we oft visited. We know, because within a couple of days first responders drove the flooded highway and city streets, videoing everything as they past and uploading to Facebook. While the devastation in town is severe, a few miles south our RV resort is mostly spared: a few overturned RVs that were not evacuated in time, shingles flipped from the roof of the reception building, flooded ponds, saltwater saturated lawns, sand strewn concrete pads, tilting palm trees, and tossed lawn furniture. Amazingly, the boardwalk over the dunes is intact as are the barrier dunes. And, since Port Aransas had a mandatory evacuation, no life was lost. 5 The photo shows our RV lot after the rains stop and the winds subside. The palm tree is on what is left of the lawn. The concrete table and benches remain intact. The chairs on the left are tipped over. Normally the pond is about 2-3 ft. lower than the concrete, which is now covered with sand. Mightily, the hurricane pushed inland to College Station where we first lived when we moved to Texas. A daily rainfall record is broken and the rains continue for days. Total rainfall has been reported variably from 21-27 in. College Station is in Brazos County, named after the river flowing on its border. Much of the College Station rain is draining into the Brazos River and flowing toward Houston and is one of the reasons the reservoirs there are at maximum depth and the water had to be released, causing more flooding in Houston. Our daughter once lived in Sugarland, a suburb of Houston, and much in the news now. If she still lived there, she would have had to evacuate because homes there are in water. Rainfall total in Sugarland was reported at 36 in. Damage by winds has been pretty much restricted to Port Aransas and Rockport where the eye of the hurricane first hit land. Everywhere else, the problem is the rain and flooding. Final reports list the maximum rainfall at 51.88 in. and a total deluge of 27 trillion gallons, with 6800 homes destroyed. But today all seems calm from the air as we pass high over the dry desert-like mountains of the western U.S. and then over the cloud covered Pacific Ocean until we see clear blue seas as we descend to Maui. 10,000-ft. Mt. Haleakala on Maui (Shari) Where can you go leaving Dallas by 9 AM on American Airlines and reach your destination of palm trees, beaches, and island breezes by noon? Crazy, but that’s all the time it takes to get Maui. Now, we are eating lunch overlooking the Pacific Ocean and feeling very blessed, but tired. 6 Lunch at Seascape Early this morning, getting up at 3:30 AM is not my cup of tea. We drove to the McAllen airport, parked our car and I texted Harvey and Gail the car's location so they can pick it up later. After an uneventful first flight to Dallas, we took the sky train from terminal A to terminal C arriving in plenty of time for our 9 AM departure. Arriving at noon is really an 8 hr. flight because of the time change. The seats are uncomfortable, every person that walks by nudges me as the aisles are narrow, and I am bored. The two movies offered are not to my liking. Luckily I downloaded things I like from Netflix. Anyway, we make it, rent a car, eat a delicious lunch at Seascape and check into the rental condo at Papakea Resort just north of Lahaina on Maui. Unpack, take a nap, and grocery shop is all we can manage before hitting the sack at 8 PM local time. 7 View from the Maui condo Day 2 – Maui snorkeling (Shari) Today is Shari's Comedy Show. I had tested my snorkeling gear before we left home. Adjusting the straps on the fins and breathing through the tube, I was set. Well .... first we get lost trying to find the calm beach the consignor told us about at the Maui information meeting this morning. We find it after doubling back twice. The beach is not crowded as it is already 4 PM. Bert, who did not try out anything ahead of time, is in the water first. I, on the other hand, am still trying to strap on my first fin. It must have gotten smaller on the plane on the way over. The incoming waves are strong and the outgoing undertow is even stronger. I can barely stand. Then the snorkel tube does not want to stay attached to the mask. A nice woman takes pity on me and thinks I cannot get in so offers to walk me out. But I am not nearly ready for that as I am still fiddling with the mask. It crosses my mind many times to just give up. We ponder the dilemma a while with her suggesting I just use the mask. She goes back to her chair and I struggle some more. Bert says, “Stick the snorkel under the mask strap.” I do. Now, no way can I walk forward with those fins on. Don't know how geese do it. The woman comes again, I give her my fins to carry back and I walk barefoot into the water.