Update #16 Sydney Day 1 & 2

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> We made it to Sydney...a sprawling, upbeat port city filled with almost 5 million Aussies...plus what seems like thousands of Chinese tourist. Our Airbnb is near Chinatown and Sydney is gearing up to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Our flight got us in around 5:30 pm and by 7:30 we were getting acquainted with Ethan, our host. He's Taiwanese and here studying. We settled in and spent time planning our next couple days. Got an early start the next am.m and since it was misting, we headed to the Australian Museum. I loved the room filled with ornate, whimsical, colorful, unique and fascinating face mask...most from Papua New Guinea...which increased our excitement for our visit to PNG coming up! Other amazing exhibits: extinct section with the Demon Duck of Doom...the size of a camel--a 600 lb giant kangaroo--the Hobbit...nickname of short human like mammal recently found. St Mary's Cathedral was our next stop. Gigantic arched pillars showcasing glorious stain glass windows and intricately carved main altar. Massive. We walked to the Circular Quay harbor to get a good view of the Opera House...Ahhh! Then off to the Rock Museum where we learned the history of Sydney which was built on the rugged rocky coast. The. Aborigines lived here about 30,000 years before the British landed. Next boat loads of convicts were dumped here by the British. Soon Sydney became quite an important trading port. Australia has made a concerted effort to assimilate the Aborigines into the mainstream without squelching their culture. Another neat exhibit showed the rise and fall of sea levels over the last 60,000 years and its effect on this area's landscape. Many of the early stately buildings are still here so we spent the next while looking for them. Saw many after climbing to the top of the Sydney bridge. Had a fish & chip dinner overlooking the bay before heading "home." After a break & enjoying some of the stir fry Ethan fixed, we went for a walk to Darling Bay...a hot spot for food, bars and evening entertainment. Liking Sydney!!
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> Sent from my iPad

Update #15 Good to Know About NZ

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> Here's a few last Good to Knows About NZ
> 1. Don't compare a North NZer to a South NZer...it's like calling a New Yorker a Californian!
> 2. Avoid NZ around Chinese New Year. In that 10 day period about 60,000 Chinese descend on NZ.
> 3. Use Connectabus--great and efficient way to get around and most of the drivers are a wealth of info and love talking to you.
> 4. Big plus for NZ: no snakes!
> 5. Most electricity for NZ is generated using hydropower in SNZ.
> 6. 65% of NZers live north of Hamilton.
> 7. Lots of cheese and lamb selections on menus.
> 8. Need lots of $$$ for a trip to NZ!

Update #14 Back to Queenstown to Relax

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> After a host bike ride along the lake, we were headed back to Queenstown where we'd booked an Airbnb with Megan and Richard. Their condo overlooks Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables (name of the twin peaks). They've traveled lots using Airbnb so said--why not offer our extra bedroom?? We went to town for dinner and got some groceries for next day. We visited with Megan & Richard talking about our upcoming US elections and the Flint water mess. It always amazes me how much people halfway around the world know and care about US news! Megan set out a nice selection of breakfast food for us before she left for work which we ate leisurely enjoying the view. I put a load of wash in and did more later so we'd have clean clothes again. Then I caught up on emails & updates while Rog caught up on the world news. We'd bought salad stuff & a broasted chicken so made a big salad...ate half saving the rest for supper. Rog went to town for a bike ride while I finished up my writing sitting on the balcony. Late in the afternoon I felt caught up so I finally started reading the book I'd brought. We needed this relaxing, catch up day. Tomorrow we fly to Sydney!