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15 Dec 2012, Leaving SA (Nicola)
Birds for the day: 32
Lifers for the day: 0
Birds for the trip: 32
Bird of the day: Purple indigobird
The morning started with a late breakfast at our guest house, before we headed off for a few hours birding at Schurveberg. Due to the late start, we only picked up 32 birds, but a Purple indigobird, a new one for the year, was a nice surprise. We then went to visit our friends Jaco and Liezel to give their daughter Maaike her birthday present. Maaike and I share a birthday, although separated by 28 years! Then the drive to the airport, where my dad dropped us off. My cunning plan of ensuring the air hostesses knew it was my birthday did not bear fruit, as not only were we not bumped up to first class, we were seated on opposite sides of the plane. Luckily we managed to swap a seat with a very nice lady, and managed to sit next to each other after all. After waiting an hour at the gate for our plane, we were starved by the time dinner was served. After dinner we made use of the on board entertainment and I watched several episodes of Grand Designs before getting some shut-eye.
16 Dec 2012, Landing in Sydney and driving to Charlestown (Nicola)
Birds for the day: 9
Lifers for the day: 8
Birds for the trip: 41
Lifers for the trip: 8
Bird of the day: Rainbow lorikeet
We landed at around 3pm Ozzie time, and somewhat nervously approached customs, expecting that our bags would be emptied piece by piece, and that our leather shoes would be removed and sterilized. While we were not expecting them to be confiscated, we did not relish the time it would take. However it seems we looked innocent since we were just waved through after a verbal explanation of the contents of our bags. We picked up our rental car and started the drive up to Charlestown. Although we were paying more attention to the road map and the GPS directions, we did manage to take in some of our surroundings. Sydney felt very much like Cape Town, the beaches and vegetation, the same easygoing lifestyle. Although it was hard to recondition our thinking and accept that Wattles and Eucalypts are indigenous and supposed to be there! Although we spent most of the time concentrating on driving, we did manage to ID some birds as we whizzed by: Sulphur-crested cockatoo and Australian ibis. We arrived in Charlestown and checked into our very comfortable apartment and added a few more birds from the park opposite: Australian magpie, Rainbow lorikeet, Noisy miner (as ugly and noisy as the mynas we know) and Pied currawong. We did some grocery shopping for the next day and were gobsmacked at the self check-out-and-pay facility.
17 Dec 2012, Driving from Charlestown to Coffs Harbour (Nicola)
Birds for the day: 32
Lifers for the day: 22
Birds for the trip: 66
Lifers for the trip: 30
Bird of the day: Rufous fantail
Jet lag meant that we were both awake at 2 in the morning, so we watched some TV until it was light. We packed up and took a slow drive to Glenrock State Park, where we took a 5km walk to the lagoon. Although not being crowded with birds, we saw several very nice species, and notched up lifers left and right. The most interesting birds were Grey butcherbird, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Laughing kookaburra, Lewin’s honeyeater, Australian brush turkey and a Rufous fantail on it’s nest, with two hatchlings inside! We then started the long drive to Coff’s Harbour, where we managed to add a few more specials like Australian figbird and Galah, before settling in for the night with fish and chips sourced from the local fishing boats. Our early night was partly due to the need to sleep off jet lag, and partly due to a late afternoon thunderstorm that prevented a walk around town.
18 Dec 2012, Dorrigo National Park (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 69
Lifers for the day: 41
Birds for the trip: 113
Lifers for the trip: 71
Bird of the day: Regent bowerbird
At 04:30 we were up and packing, leaving our apartment just before 05:30. Before entering the Pacific Highway to Dorrigo we stopped at a pair of small dams at the Education Campus and picked up two lifers: Willie wagtail and Australian wood duck. In Fernmount, another small dam produced a third lifer for the day: White-necked heron. Mist enshrouded the mountains as we climbed higher towards Dorrigo and when we topped out on the plateau it was cool and overcast. Nicola spotted something on the side of the road and as I balked at stopping at an awkward site, a Buff-banded rail walked out of the grass! And just two minutes later, a very aptly named Superb fairywren sat still for a picture! Shortly after 7am we parked at Dorrigo Rainforest Centre, spotted our first kangaroo and walked out on the Skywalk. Mist and bird calls swirled around us and it was terribly frustrating not knowing all these new and wonderful calls. But luckily many birds did show themselves and the IDs were not terribly difficult: Eastern yellow robin, Eastern whipbird, Yellow-throated scrubwren, Eastern spinebill, Grey fantail and a few others. At the end of the Skywalk we stayed for almost an hour picking up several more, but surely the highlight of the day – two male Regent bowerbirds perched on a branch about 30m away! Strange meowing calls threw us for a while as the birds were hidden very well but when finally I spotted one and we got the ID from the book, we were surprised we didn’t get it earlier – it was a bunch of Catbirds! The 6km Wonga Walk in the rain forest produced fewer birds but lots of leeches and standing still for longer than 30 seconds (really!) proved a bad idea. Highlights on the trail were Brown cuckoo dove, Australian logrunner, Black-faced monarch and Horsfield’s bronze cuckoo. Arriving back at the Centre well after noon, we sat at a picnic table for lunch and were surprised when a female Satin bowerbird briefly sat down on another table, not 5m from us. A drive down to the Never-never picnic site added a few more lifers: Australia’s only pipit, Little black and Little pied cormorants, Red-browed finch and Australasian grebe. Back in Coff’s Harbour in the late afternoon we spent some time in the harbour and lagoon area and picked up Dollarbird, Little tern, Pied oystercatcher, White-breasted woodswallow and a trio of Yellow-tailed black cockatoos.
19 Dec 2012, Driving to Lamington National Park (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 52
Lifers for the day: 11
Birds for the trip: 125
Lifers for the trip: 82
Bird of the day: Rose-crowned fruit-dove
A very humid morning greeted us as we drove out to Coff’s Harbour lagoon before breakfast. A very familiar and welcome call greeted us as we drove: Eastern koel! The lagoon was surprisingly quiet but apart from the regular birds we picked up one new bird: Black-chinned honeyeater. We returned to our apartment for breakfast and after packing up and checking out, made a quick turn by the Education Campus dams, adding Australian darter, Hardhead, Pheasant coucal and White-winged triller. At the Botanic Gardens, White-throated needletails joined some Welcome swallows overhead but the “lakes” area of the gardens was very disappointing and no new water birds were seen. However, two other very nice additions were Scaly-breasted lorikeets and Rose-crowned fruit dove. Drizzle turning into slightly harder rain drove us out of the gardens just after 10am and we settled in for the long drive north to Queensland. Endless road works forced me to concentrate fiercely on the road and Nicola slept most of the way so no birds were logged until we reached Beechmont. The oppressing heat and humidity finally relented as we climbed up the mountains and topped out in the beautiful agricultural villages surrounding Lamington. We soon found our accommodation just before the turnoff to Binna Burra and our hosts, Jenny and Barry welcomed us warmly. After settling in we took a quick drive down to Canungra to buy food and then spent the rest of the early evening relaxing.
20 Dec 2012, Lamington National Park (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 41
Lifers for the day: 9
Birds for the trip: 134
Lifers for the trip: 91
Bird of the day: Paradise riflebird
Just before 6am we left our Beechmont accommodation for the Binna Burra section of Lamington NP. Our first lifer for the day was a Torresian crow, and before we reached the park proper we also saw Pied currawong, Australian figbird, Rainbow lorikeet and Pheasant coucal. As we entered the rainforest, Superb fairywrens and Eastern yellow robins were seen frequently, Eastern whipbirds were calling non-stop and another new bird for us, Wonga pigeon, sat beautifully in a tree a few metres away. We stopped briefly at the information centre and this turned out to be a good thing as a female Paradise riflebird sat still only long enough for a good ID. At the mountain lodge we parked and walked first the Bellbird lookout track and then the Rainforest Circuit. As expected in the rainforest, it was difficult to add new birds, especially since we’ve already seen so many of them at Dorrigo. Australian king parrots and Crimson rosellas were common, Wompoo fruit doves were calling regularly and a few of the smaller jobs like Large-billed, Yellow-browed and White-browed scrubwrens had us paging through the field guide constantly. We had fantastic views of a male Satin bowerbird and Spectacled monarchs (another lifer). After lunch we drove through Canungra to the Greenmountains section of the park and picked up our last lifer for the day, Noisy friarbird, just outside the town. The long twisty drive up to O’Reilly’s is beautiful and after we saw the fantastic Tree Top boardwalk, we decided to come back very early tomorrow morning. On the way back it started raining and back in Beechmont it rained hard for quite some time while we cooked succulent lamb chops on the barbecue.
21 Dec 2012, Lamington National Park (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 41
Lifers for the day: 3
Birds for the trip: 138
Lifers for the trip: 94
Bird of the day: Albert's lyrebird
Up at 04:30 and on the road by 5, reaching O’Reilly’s around 06:30. It was very quiet and everyone seemed to still be in bed. Crimson rosellas and Australian king parrots were already looking for something to eat in the bird feeding enclosure and Eastern whipbirds and Green catbirds were calling constantly from the forest. We packed some breakfast and quietly walked towards the Tree Top boardwalk. And then, just at the entrance to the walk, a pheasant-sized bird casually strolled on the path, picking up bits and pieces to eat. It took me a few seconds to realize we were looking at a female Albert’s lyrebird! The BIG one! Nicola even managed to get a few blurry pictures (the light was terrible) before it moved on. At the top of the Tree Top walk we climbed the two platforms into the canopy of the forest, 30 metres above the floor. It’s a magnificent view and it would not have surprised us to hear David Attenborough’s voice narrating in the background. Unfortunately the platforms were very small and one could barely sit down so we scooted back to the boardwalk and sat down for breakfast on a bench at the end of it. A few other common birds were also seen, including Brown gerygone, Australian logrunner, Bassian thrush and Rufous fantail. Nicola spotted something that might have been a Noisy pitta but it disappeared so quick and we never saw it again so we still have to open our account for the pitta family. We spent a good 4 hours in the rainforest before returning to O’Reilly’s where a Mistletoebird rounded up our lifers for the day. We then bought some seed from the café and had a very entertaining 30 minutes feeding the Crimson rosellas and Australian king parrots. It was only noon now but dark clouds were building up so we decided to try something else. As we drove down the mountain it started to rain but eased up a little by the time we reached our destination: Tambourine Mountain. Watching a male Satin bowerbird while eating lunch at a small picnic site, we decided to have a look at the glow worm caves. This artificial cave was constructed purely for the conservation of glow worms that are apparently fast disappearing from their natural environments. It was a fascinating half an hour in the “cave” watching the glow worms create silken threads used to catch insect prey and 5000+ little lights creating a starry pattern on the roof and walls. After a quick cup of tea and coffee we were back on our way home for our last night in Australia before heading for New Zealand.
22 Dec 2012, Leaving Aus (Nicola)
Birds for the day: 25
Lifers for the day: 3
Birds for the trip: 142
Lifers for the trip: 97
Bird of the day: Sacred kingfisher
We got up bright and early to try and get to Brisbane with enough time to be able to do some birding at Boondall Wetland Sanctuary. We picked up a few birds en route, with the most exciting being a Magpie Goose that was flying over on one of our pit stops. We arrived at the sanctuary to be greeted by a swarm of mosquitoes. We rapidly unpacked our bags to find the repellant, slathered ourselves and set off. We followed one of the short circular routes, and the mosquitoes followed us. We walked rather quickly to try and stay ahead of the vampires, but every stop for a bird meant they caught up, and since our exposed flesh was repellant, they simply bit us through our clothing. We reached the hide only to find it was high tide and there were no sandbanks for all the waders we were hoping to see. Since the mozzies were a real menace by then, we gave up and headed back to the car. Although the outing was largely a bust, we did pick up two lifers – Sacred kingfisher and the Pale-headed rosella. We arrived at the airport early, too early to check in, so spent a few hours at a coffee shop before leaving for the next stage of our trip – New Zealand! The flight across was uneventful and we arrived in Christchurch around 11pm. The customs procedure was a little more comprehensive than in Sydney but we were still through without any hitches in about 10 minutes, picked up our rental car and drove through to our B&B where we flunked out quickly for the night.
23 Dec 2012, Christchurch to Fairlie (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 22
Lifers for the day: 11
Birds for the trip: 158
Lifers for the trip: 108
Bird of the day: Variable oystercatcher
Despite the late night, I shoved us out of bed before 6am for a quick look at Travis wetland before breakfast. At Travis we picked up our first New Zealand lifers with Grey teals and Paradise shelducks. Just after 7am we had breakfast at the B&B followed by a quick shower before checking out and heading back to Travis. A 3.5km walk took us right around the beautiful wetland and we added Silvereyes, Grey gerygone, Black swan, New Zealand scaup, Swamp harrier, and a few other introduced species. A drive past various points around the estuary potted both South Island pied and Variable oystercatchers as well as Bar-tailed godwit. We took a road that lead up into the mountains south of Christchurch and in the grassy heath we saw Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Yellowhammers. Beautiful scenery from the top of the hill had us snapping away but soon we drove back into town to do some shopping. We stopped at Hagley park, saw our first Black-billed gulls and then snoozed a little in the car while waiting for Darrell and Liza. And then the bad news came: Darrell and Liza were diverted to Auckland – too much fog in Wellington to land. This could seriously impact our entire holiday if Darrell and Liza can’t make it to Christchurch. After lots of waiting and calls to and fro, Nicola and I eventually left to go pick up our station wagon rental at the airport while Darrell and Liza still tried to get down to the South Island. Around 6pm Darrell let us know that he may be able to get tickets down to Queenstown so we could maybe drive through to Fairlie, sleep the night, then drive through to Queenstown the next day and pick them up from the airport. Another hour later we had confirmation that we should start driving to Fairlie and we set off. It was already 7pm but with the sun only setting after 9pm, and the roads south of Christchurch nice and quiet, it was a pleasant drive, arriving around 21:30 in Fairlie. The motel accommodation was perfectly adequate and soon after we checked in, Darrell confirmed that they got a flight through to Queenstown for the next day – our plans were back on track!
24 Dec 2012, Fairlie to Glenorchy (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 25
Lifers for the day: 2
Birds for the trip: 162
Lifers for the trip: 110
Bird of the day: Double-banded plover
An early start got us excellent scenery on quiet roads as we drove west towards Twizel and then south towards Queenstown. We stopped several times to gawk at the snowy peaks reflecting in perfect lakes and even added a lifer: Double-banded plover. In some agricultural fields we saw a bizarre spectacle: South Island pied oystercatchers and Black-fronted terns poking and quartering around the grassy fields. Just after 11am we made it to Queenstown and waited a short while before, thankfully, Darrell and Liza arrived. After picking up our permits for Routeburn track, we drove up to Glenorchy and checked into our hotel for the night and then back to Queenstown to buy food and sort out our transport arrangements for the next day. Back in Glenorchy around 7pm, we had some dinner, packed our bags and went off to bed.
25 Dec 2012, Routeburn track Day 1 (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 16
Lifers for the day: 4
Birds for the trip: 166
Lifers for the trip: 114
Bird of the day: Mohua (Yellowhead)
We started the day with a cold breakfast of muesli, yoghurt and fruit and left the hotel just after 7am. It was a pretty drive across the terminal moraine but after we parked the car at the trailhead, the sandflies attacked in force so the insect repellant was pulled out first thing. Just after 8am we started the famous Routeburn track. Across a stream and then through beautiful old red beech forest we walked, quickly adding two lifers: New Zealand robin and Rifleman. We regularly stopped to take pictures, especially where openings in the forest lent us views of the nearby snow-capped peaks. Our bird of the day was easily the Mohua that came to sit less than two metres above my head, just before the gentle path reached a hanging valley floor. The Routeburn river streamed crystal clear across the grass and rocks and since we made excellent progress, we sat down for a long tea break about 5 minutes from Routeburn Flats hut. Another New Zealand robin came looking for food and we all got a few close-up pictures. Then the slog started: trudging uphill to gain about 250m to Routeburn Falls hut. Stopping several times to catch our breaths and gawk at the scenery, we reached the hut shortly before 1am and gratefully rested our feet while having lunch. The hut was huge: there were 48 sleeping bunks, a common room, toilets, ranger’s hut and another set of luxury huts for the guided walkers. And from the deck of the hut we had the most unbelievable view down the Routeburn valley and to the top of a few 2000m peaks. For the rest of the long afternoon we dozed a little, took gentle walks around the hut and watched the scores of people coming in off the day’s hike. Around 18:30 we had a sandwich dinner and then joined all the other hikers in the common room for a “hut talk” with the ranger. After 8pm we headed for bed.
26 Dec 2012, Routeburn track Day 2 (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 16
Lifers for the day: 4
Birds for the trip: 166
Lifers for the trip: 116
Bird of the day: Kea
Still feeling a little stiff from the previous day’s climb, we started slowly up the hill at 07:30. We were among the first people leaving Routeburn Falls hut and the morning air was still and cool. There were quite a bit of cloud around and rain was forecasted for the day, but we were still able to hike in shorts and T-shirts. The path ascended in a series of small terraces, allowing us a short reprieve after each incline. Not far above Routeburn falls, we heard a screeching noise and we managed to get a quick glimpse of the Kea that flew past, on its way to the hut to ransack boots and backpacks. Climbing higher, beautiful views opened up and when we reached Lake Harris, we had to stop several times for pictures. We reached the Harris Saddle about 2 hours after we started. We took a quick rest in the small shelter and made up our minds: Nicola and Liza were going to carry on walking towards Lake MacKenzie hut while Darrrell and I climbed Conical Hill. Darrell and I left our packs in the shelter and started climbing slowly towards the summit. Darrell reached the top in about 40 minutes and I followed about 10 minutes later and we spent a good 15 minutes taking pictures and reminiscing about previous summits reached. This was certainly one of the most beautiful! Then it was downhill back to the shelter and off towards Lake MacKenzie to try and catch the girls, who now had an hour and a half head start. With me struggling with sore feet, Darrell soon took the lead and we each hiked at our own pace, traversing the steep slopes above the Hollyford valley. It was hard walking: the path rarely had flat sections and the continuous up and down slowed me down badly. But the magnificent views made up for it and I felt privileged to finally see the Southern Alps. Finally, after about two hours walking and an annoyingly long uphill, I reached a saddle and looked down onto Lake MacKenzie. It was a steep descent down into the valley and when I reached the treeline, my feet were hurting badly. At last reaching the hut, I eased off my shoes and had a late lunch before settling into our bunks for a bit of a rest. Later in the afternoon, Nicola and I took a walk to see the Tomtits that Nicola and Liza saw on the way down. Another sandwich dinner was followed by a hut talk by the ranger and then it was off to bed.
27 Dec 2012, Routeburn track Day 3 (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 29
Lifers for the day: 4
Birds for the trip: 175
Lifers for the trip: 120
Bird of the day: Tui
Once again we were among the first people to leave the hut. This time it was quite cold and all of us had jackets on as we started on the trail. First taking us into some silver beech forest, the path then ascended up and across the slopes through the forest, crossing a number of beautiful streams and waterfalls including the 176m Earland waterfall. By the time we reached the gentle path leading down to Howden hut, I was hurting badly and at the hut I had to take off my boots and massage my feet. At least it was nice and sunny and we thawed well after the cold walk in the mountain shadows. After a 20 minute rest, my feet felt better and we started our last climb of the Routeburn track. Fifteen minutes later we reached the top and from here it was about 3km of downhill all the way to The Divide. I reached the car park first and happily saw our rental car left by Trackhopper who drove it around from Glenorchy. The other three were soon there and after a few “After” pictures, we packed the car and drove to Te Anau for a picnic lunch of roast chicken and coke. At the Mirror Lakes we stopped for a few pictures but a stiff breeze destroyed the image – however, our first Tui were seen foraging among the flowers around the edge of the lakes. We made another stop at a wetland but didn’t add any new birds here. Finally we reached Invercargill at 6pm and were greeted warmly by our hosts at Bushy Point Fernbirds Homestay B&B. They had a birdfeeder at one of their bay windows and within 2 minutes we got fantastic close-up views of both Tui and Bellbird (another lifer)! After a cup of tea and chocolate, we all had an incredibly welcome shower and then Darrell and Liza generously took us out to dinner at the Cabbage Tree, a wonderful local restaurant with great food. Although we only got back at 9pm, there was still a bit of light left and dropping Darrell and Liza off at the B&B, Nicola and I made a quick turn at Sandy Point reserve. Unfortunately the light was fading fast and we saw nothing new but thought it was a worth a visit the next morning.
28 Dec 2012, Invercargill to The Catlins (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 22
Lifers for the day: 4
Birds for the trip: 179
Lifers for the trip: 124
Bird of the day: Royal spoonbill
With Darrell picking up a bit of a cold and staying in, Nicola and I had a quick cup of coffee at 6am before Jenny took us on a walk around Bushy Point, there own private reserve. Rubbing a piece of polystyrene on a glass jar, she managed to call a few inquisitive Grey fantails. Out in the grassy rushes, prime Fernbird habitat, Jenny began whistling and Nicola soon took over the job - amazingly the Fernbirds were so curious about us that they would scamper through the rushes up to less than a metre from us! But their habit of staying well within the grasses made seeing and photographing them almost impossible. During our hour long walk we spotted perhaps 8 individuals and did manage to get a few pictures of these curious little birds. At 07:30 we were back and had breakfast with Darrell and Liza before packing up and heading off to Sandy Point. Here we drove around slowly picking up several common birds but also two lifers: Hedge accentor (Dunnock) and in the estuary at Daffodil bay, Royal spoonbill. Around 10am we started making our way towards the Catlins, stopping at Curio Bay's petrified forest where we saw a Yellow-eyed penguin in a the far distance. We reached our motel-style accommodation at McLean Falls holiday park in the early afternoon and decided to have a rest. Later, while Darrell (still feeling sick) stayed in, Nicola, Liza and I drove to Papatowai to buy food for dinner. We were all still a bit stiff and sore after the hike and after dinner went off to an early night.
29 Dec 2012, The Catlins (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 30
Lifers for the day: 2
Birds for the trip: 181
Lifers for the trip: 126
Bird of the day: White-fronted tern
There are quite a few things we all wanted to do around The Catlins so soon after breakfast we headed out to a lookout point just outside Papatowai. An information board provided some interesting history about the area and included a beautiful poem by a bush tramway builder, Frank Ward. At Cathedral Caves we parked and walked down to the beach for about 20 minutes to walk around the interconnected caves in the shore cliffs, covered by high tide. Unfortunately there were throngs of people so we only stayed long enough for a few pics and then headed off to Tautuku estuary, Lake Wilkie, Purakaunui falls and Tunnel Hill before stopping beside the Catlins Lake for lunch. At Nugget Point we walked out to the lighthouse and added tow lifers: White-fronted terns were flying around the cliffs and numerous Spotted shags were drying out on the steep slopes. It's a beautiful walk with fantastic views and reminded us a lot of the walk to the Cape Point lighthouse. All too soon it was time to head back as for the first time in 8 days in New Zealand it looked like it might start raining. We stopped in Owaka to pick up a few groceries and then headed back to McLean Falls. While Nicola and I cooked a steak dinner and watched a David Attenborough special on the computer, Darrell and Liza decided to eat at the Whistling Frog restaurant. As the evening wore on, the skies finally opened and a light rain started to fall.
30 Dec 2012, Driving back to Christchurch (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 4
Lifers for the day: 2
Birds for the trip: 183
Lifers for the trip: 128
Bird of the day: Stewart Island shag
It was an overcast an drizzly morning as we set out for the 500km drive back to Christchurch. The drive was uneventful with frequent showers of rain but we stopped briefly at Moeraki to get a look at the Moeraki boulders and also the Little (Blue) penguin colony in Oamaru where we also spotted a few Stewart Island shags on the baywater. We reached Christchurch just before 4pm as the clouds made way for a hot afternoon. While Darrell and Liza rested, Nicola and I went looking for souvenirs in Christchurch but found everything closed. We dropped off the rental car at the airport and got a lift back to our motel before getting fish and chips takeaway for dinner. We had a subdued evening as we knew the holiday was fast approaching it's end and as we needed to get up at 03:30, we were off to bed before 10pm.
31 Dec 2012, Sydney (Pieter)
No bird-watching
After the early rise, we got a taxi to the airport and were soon checked in. Nicola and I wandered through the small airport but could find no souvenirs we liked so went off to the lounge for some breakfast. Darrell and Liza's flight back to Brisbane was called first and we said our goodbyes before also leaving for our gate. The uneventful flight got us back in Sydney at 08:15 but it took almost two hours to get out of the airport due to a 20 minute wait for an open aircraft parking bay, then almost an hour in immigration queues as an Airbus 380 deposited a huge number of Yanks just before we arrived. Finally out the airport we were at our motel in 5 minutes but could not check in before 1pm so we drove out towards the harbour area. Unfortunately our rented Tom-Tom GPS made a has of things - it continuously lost signal between the tall buildings and when on occasion it knew where we were, it's directions were lagging by a block or two. Inner Sydney roads are not easy to negotiate and we spent almost an hour driving around in circles before finally finding an out-of-way parking area next to the Royal botanical gardens. Throngs of people were already streaming into the gardens and we joined them, if only just to get some good views of the Sydney Opera House and and Harbour Bridge. We ate pies for lunch in between the growing crowds and were almost glad that both of us felt too tired to stay for the fireworks. After lunch we drove to The Rocks where we parked again and did some souvenir shopping before heading back to our Wolli Creek motel. We were both very tired and after repacking our bags, a shower and dinner, it wasn't long before we were both fast asleep, long before midnight.
01 Jan 2013, Home (Pieter)
No bird-watching
With our flight only at 10:30, we were able to sleep in a bit, but at 07:30, on eerily quiet roads, we made our way back to the airport. Checking in was quick and was followed by breakfast in the Qantas lounge. The flight back was long and as awful as it can be in cattle class but we landed on time and was soon met by Nicola's dad at Arrivals. A quick stop in Pretoria for Nicola to say hello to the cats before driving home.
Another short but incredible holiday! We thoroughly enjoyed both Oz and NZ and thought it would be an easy place to live in, if we ever decided to make our way to that side. We saw more new birds than expected and added some truly remarkable scenes to our memory banks. We hope we get a chance to go back again soon. Thanks to Darrell and Liza for sharing our time in NZ - it was good seeing old friends. Happy 2013!
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