Sydney's Blue Mountains at Katoomba

The cheap flights to Sydney are very early in the morning, so we had to get up before 3:00am to make it to the airport on time. Then, with the time difference, you arrive about the same time as you left, so your internal clock is confused. We took the train at the airport out to the Blue Mountains, but unfortunately there was track work that weekend so we had to transfer to a bus for the last leg of the journey. Once in the town of Katoomba (the biggest tourist spot at the Blue Mountains), we walked the short ways to Echo Point to view The Three Sisters rock formation which was lovely, then walked about a mile and a half to the downtown area to get dinner. We got caught in a thunderstorm and had to wait underneath an eave while lightning displayed above and thunder pounded and rain poured -- some of us were more enthused than others about that scenario!

The next day we went to Scenic World, which is the easiest way to explore the rainforest down in the valley of the Blue Mountains. It has the steepest railway in the world (52-degree angle), along with two cable cars: one that goes into the rainforest and one that goes across the valley and has a glass-bottom floor! The train ride down was pretty scary because it is so steep you feel like you're going straight down, but it was fun. It's like a roller coaster but without the drop. The area used to be a big coal mine, and the miners had it a lot worse back in the day when they took that trip in a dinky mine car. Taking the train back up was actually scarier I think, because you feel like your body is falling the wrong way and it feels very weird.

 

Willowbank Wildlife Reserve

On our visitors' final day in New Zealand, we went to Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, which we hadn't been to before, and which is supposed to be the best place to see kiwis around here. It was a good experience and we were able to see lots of native New Zealand birds and other animals. The kiwi enclosure was quite large and we saw three kiwis moving around! One was right next to the gate. They're nocturnal and the enclosure was a quiet zone in low red light, so no pictures. We also got to see pukeko chicks for the first time -- pukeko are one of my favorite birds here, so that was a real treat. I would definitely recommend Willowbank for those who like wildlife and want to see some kiwis while they're in New Zealand.

Cape Barren goose

Pukeko

Pukeko chicks

Wallaby

Paradise duck

Golden Pheasant

Otters

Kunekune pig

Kunekune pig

Peacock

Llama

Long-finned Eel

Crested Pigeon

Black Swan

Kea Parrot

Mushrooms

Tuatara Lizard

Extinct Moa birds

Duck and ducklings in the parking lot

Doing Things Around Christchurch

As for things to do around Christchurch, we went to the Airforce Museum, Savemart thrift stores, Benson Chinese restaurant with our Chinese friends, Botanic Gardens, Canterbury Museum, ReStart Mall, and the ruined Christchurch Cathedral (what we call disaster tourism). There was a Hare Krishna group performing at the ReStart Mall, which was my first time hearing them. While we were at the Canterbury Museum, there was a 4.1 earthquake, but I was the only one in the group who felt it. I looked at a woman next to me and she confirmed it: 'earthquake.' I checked the Christchurch Quake Map website on my phone and sure enough, there had been one. It was the final days of a Da Vinci exhibit which was really cool -- the display on anatomy and bodies showed just how ahead of his time he was.

TranzAlpine Train to Moana

I debated whether or not to take the TranzAlpine train, but it is a really good way to see the different terrain of the South Island and it was a good day trip. [The best views are on the right-hand side of the train leaving Christchurch, and you can request this as well as a table seat in the comments section when you book online.] The rain held off during our stopover in Moana / Lake Brunner, so we were able to walk around and have lunch by the lakeside in muggy weather. Granted, the tourism website was faking it in touting it as the next big thing because there seemed to be only one cafe in the tiny town -- at least within walking distance from the train station -- and nothing else to do except fishing or boating, but we still had a nice time. The cafe was playing 50s music and we spotted a couple wood pigeons and lots of flowers on our walk. The one boat with inner-tubers had the whole lake to themselves, which you can't do much anymore in the U.S. Seeing animals along the train ride was a fun thing to do, and we saw several belted Galloway cows which look like an Oreo cookie!

beekeeping containers

New Zealand wood pigeon

New Zealand brown duck

Belted Galloway cows

Clydesdale horses

Waimakariri River