1
Oakville

Flew to Vancouver

2
North Vancouver

Arrived in Vancouver on December 18th for Scotty’s successful surgery.

Andrea and I went to a choir concert and to the Nutcraker when we weren’t with Scotty.

3
North Vancouver

Family Christmas at Chez Barr’s

4
North Vancouver
5
Capilano River

Capilano Suspension Bridge’s—

Festival of Lights

6
VanDusen Botanical Garden

Fun times in the rain at the Gardens!

7
Lower Lonsdale

First sunset of 2020. Bring it on!

8
Vancouver

Our travels to Australia

Vancouver to Sydney doesn’t seem to have any land in between

9
Sydney
10
Sydney

Made it. One plane and 15 hours. No smoke in Sydney today. Many people here on holidays and fleeing the fires. God bless them!!

Resting by the pool today and then the \240tours start tomorrow.

11
Sydney

A view from The Four Seasons pool. Love it here.

12
Sydney

As is tradition ... this is a \240picture of

Randy’s first beer in a new country!!

13
Sydney

Opera house and harbour bridge from a boat cruise.

Beautiful Sydney. Every corner of the streets are more historical and more interesting!!

The bush fires are all around us in Sydney. Mainly south and west. We have seen Salvation Army tents and stations for the ‘Fireies’ and signs saying thank you to them.

The volunteer fire departments are not subsidized by the Australia government. In fact, disaster relief is paid by each state.

They need support- as does the Salvation Army Australia.

Constant haze here in Sydney. But it’s smoke from fires.

Australians have simple names for everything. The is ‘Harbour Bridge’

Friends told us this walk was brutal. They went when it was 38 degrees celsius.

The Opera House.

Touring it tomorrow.

14
Scenic World

Went up to the Blue Mountains today.

They have had some recent bush fires. Hazy today but no smell of smoke.

Three Sisters

Beautiful ferns.

Misty and cool. Just what the ‘fireies’ wanted!

Old train tracks for the coal miners

Two Cable car 🚠 \240rides and a train ride to view Scenic World. The coal mines in the Blue Mountains.

Randy and a train car with coal.

15
Sydney

Toured the Sydney Opera House and said goodbye to Sydney.

16
Sydney

Dining at Bennalong Restaurant in the Sydney Opera House.

Amazing and delicious restaurant.

Last night in Sydney.

17
You Yangs Regional Park

Visited You Yangs National Park. They research koalas. And then visited a park and saw some kangaroos in the wild.

Brett. Out outback guide.

An Emu

Mommy Roo and her Joey

La Luvia. Born on this park

15 year old Pat.

18
Melbourne

A tour of Melbourne. A pretty little city.

Our ship.

At Patrick’s Cathedral

Cricket Stadium.

19
Phillip Island

Rainy day. Which the koalas love. They were licking the water from the tree. Rare occurrences. But because of drought they need to drink the water from the rain.

Wallabee

Phillip Island natural park.

Seas were too rough to go over to the island with hundreds of seals.

Mama koala. In her retirement village/ natural sanctuary. They continually plant trees for them. Their favourite trees!!

20
Gunns Plains Caves

Burnie Tasmania

Beautiful agricultural fields.

Tasmanian Devil. His jaw is as strong as a grey white shark.

100 000 000 year old caves in Burnie.

21
Milford Sound

Disembarked the ship for two days and one night in the Milford Sound fiords.

Arrived in Queenstown for the night. Took gondola up to top of mountain.

Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown. NZ.

22
Dunedin

Sheep sheering at Walter Peak in \240Queenstown

Cute homes in Arrowtown. They can’t renovated or torn down and the town is not allowing anymore building. Cutest little town around \240the Goldd Rush of the 1800s

Bungee jumping bridge at Kawarau bungee jumping centre.

Vineyards

Glacial rivers

Yes. Milton New Zealand

Prettiest train station in Dunedin

Rent a Scooter.

23
Waimakariri River

Jet boating

Train bridge built in early 1900s

Jet \240boating on the river.

Llama

4 wheeling to this sheep ‘station’

24
Wellington

Capital of New Zealand. On the southern portion of the North Island

Creators of Lord of the Rings and many other movies.

They have all of the movie making manufacturing needs in a couple blocks in the small town of Miramar

Hiked through the ‘forest in the middle of town’ where portions of the movie was made.

One location site.

Look familiar?

Same ‘cave’ as the movie. \240See the trees in the background?

25
Napier

Napier

A trip to Cape Kidnappers Station to see the scenery and the Gannets

26
Tauranga

Kiwis grow on a vine like grapes

Kiwis

Sheep shearing

They get a haircut Once a year.

Maori people, orginal settlers of New Zealand, wood working

This tree is over 500 years old.

Grass skirts that they make

Geyser

Picture of a Kiwi

27
Bay of Islands

Tall ship

Little cruise to ‘Hole in the Rock

Last dinner with our friends Carol and Sam and Jackie and Bruce.

Disembarking tomorrow in Auckland.

28
Auckland

Skyline of New Zealand

Sky Tower

Views from the Sky Tower

Beautiful and vibrant waterfront in Auckland

View of the Sky Tower.

29
Waiheke Island

A fun day of touring on waiheke island

Amazing vineyards and wines being produced on this island with the perfect climate.

Olive oil

The ferry that brought us to the island

Sunset skyline of Auckland