Wednesday 30 September 2015

New South Wales

We are anchored for a lunch stop at Bittangabee Creek and will arrive at Eden around 1:30

New South Wales. It

We are in New South Wales ##😓😰😒😙😀👿😡😈💂####LOL!!!!!!!!

Saturday 26 September 2015

Wellington, NZ

Wellington is cool! 

It must be, because it was Giles and Lauren's home for many years before they went overseas in 1998. It was also our first stop in New Zealand on our recent visit!

Arthur likes going over sea! by boat! In Wellington we went on the ferry to Picton.

Here are some photos.

By Arthur and Giles!!!!!!

Arriving by plane into Wellington is always a treat. When I flew in it was a Southerly so I got a great view across Pt. Jerningham and Oriental Bay into the city.
Later we got the opposite view, looking back down the Cable Car towards Mt. Victoria (more Mt Vic photos later...)
Giles and Lauren stayed in the Museum Art Hotel for a night. All sorts of cool art, including several Ducati motorbikes.
A nice Robyn White of Porirua Harbour
near where Giles grew up.
A Kiwi Last Supper?
The view from our hotel room.
Te Papa (the Museum of NZ) is on the left.


Street art next door to the hotel, on Wakefield St.
A perfect day for a walk up to Mt. Victoria from Oriental Bay.
Victorian timber buildings on the hillside

The car park with the best view in the world...!?
Selfie on Mt Vic.
Guardians of Mt Victoria.















Leaving Wellington by ferry
Travel food. But why does he eat them like that?

This is the way to travel!

Without doubt the most beautiful ferry trip in the world.
The ferry was packed.


Friday 25 September 2015

Melbourne to Meander

After more than three months away the time to return to Meander had finally arrived. All we needed to do was get from Melbourne to Raymond Island in one day in nice weather....Sounds easy enough!

 The weather delayed us a few days which gave Lauren and the kids the opportunity to catch up with some of our friends (more on that later) while Giles spent some time checking in and catching up at work.

Luckily for us the trip from Melbourne to Paynesville (where Meander has been waiting for us) has been done before, the connections are all in place. All we needed was stamina! The drive to Paynesville usually takes 3 1/2 hours. Our journey on public transport took us 6 1/2 hours (door to companionway). We travelled using 6 different modes of transport. 

Activities that occupied us during the journey included waiting, looking out of windows, reading, minecrafting, playing patience, playing Uno (with other kids on the train), eating, sleeping and taking photos!

Leg # 1: Giles drove the kids & I to the Collingwood station before returning our car to the office for safe keeping
6:05am Collingwood Railway Station - Waiting for Daddy & the train

6:20am Leg # 2: Collingwood to Southern Cross train

6:36am Southern Cross Railway Station - Waiting while Dad collects the tickets

6:54am Waiting while the conductor checks the train

7:18am Leg # 3: Melbourne to Bairnesdale train

11:17am Bairnesdale Railway Station

11:20am Time for a walk

12:14pm Leg # 4: Bairnesdale to Paynesville bus

12:34pm The early start begins to catch up

12:40pm Paynesville - Waiting for the ferry

12:45pm Leg # 5: Paynesville to Raymond Island Ferry

12:56pm Leg # 5 Raymond Island - Walking to Meander

1:53pm Home Sweet Home...let the unpacking begin!
What I enjoyed most about the trip was the gentle connections. No running madly along platforms with heavy bags, no getting (overly) grumpy with kids when they were worn out from carrying heavy bags, no mad panic about making an important connection....it was all just sweetness and light.... well, not really but the connections were awesome! My kind of travelling!

Now for our next adventures...

Thursday 17 September 2015

Another Strait, another ship

Crossing north across Cook Strait today on the Kaitaki. Typical Wellington weather - a brisk 40 knots from the north - so we thought we should inspect the bridge.

The girls impressed the watch with their knowledge of VHF radio protocol and familiarity with the AIS / ECDIS. The ship had a couple of features we are jealous of, such as active stabilising fins and a fully enclosed (and heated) bridge. The radar was pretty cool too.

The girls got to "steer" the ship for a while too, now that is power!

We're looking forward to getting back to our own little ship soon - a story for next week!