"Australia and New Zealand" video

A few little tastes of New Zealand fun...

New Zealand Awaits

We were up bright and early to catch a flight to the South Island of New Zealand. We were sad to say goodbye to Sydney, but we look forward to New Zealand excitement.

 6am airport Dexter.

New Zealand bound.

Kids that help are great! 

We landed in Christchurch and we grabbed lunch then headed for the center of the city. We decided to check out the Botanical Gardens.

There was a rose map in the garden showing the hundreds of varieties of roses. We decided to find the most fragrant ones.

New Zealand kids.

Having fun a much cooler New Zealand.

This impressive memorial is dedicated to those who fought and died in WWI. 

Much of the city is still recovering from the 2011 earthquake that did severe damage. Here you can see the damaged Christchurch Cathedral.

The Last Jedi Down Under

Because of this trip, we missed the cast and crew screening of Todd's last project, The Last Jedi. Lucky for us, we got to see the movie before anyone else because of the time difference in Australia.  We went with our two Star Wars fans in Sydney, Hal and Simon. It was a fun way to spend our last day especially because it was over 100 degrees outside. This is our last full day in Sydney.

 Another amazing breakfast.

Yes, there's a Westfield mall in Australia which is just weird. Here we are with Santa in the summer.

The official pic.

  

Christmas tree at the movie theater.

Post movie snack.

Hal, who is trying to bulk up, ate an entire giant container of yogurt. It was disturbing to us all.

Our last dinner with Mary and Tim. So sad that our time in Australia is done.

Dumplings and Penguins

Today we decided to take some of the fun tourist activities in Sydney.

Yes, this is exactly how we found Charles' refrigerator. Yep, we are in Australia.

Bus stop kids.

We wanted to get dim sum in Chinatown. Here they call it Yum Cha. 

Everyone is happy...

...when there are dumplings.

Gorgeous Chinese Garden of Friendship.

Maya taking our photo.

Dexter showing off his big purchase: these $5 shades. 

The kids LOVED this awesome playground.

Enjoying the penguins at the Sea Life Aquarium.

We spend a little extra money to do this weird boat tour on the top of one of the aquariums.

Glass bottom boat.

We did get throw a few fish flakes out to the fish. It was so memorable that Dexter asked us at the end of the tour, "When are we going to feed the fish?"

All done with our sweaty tour.

Manly

Today was another beach day. This time we took the bus, train, then ferry to Manly beach on the other side of the harbor.

 Ferry ride!

Enjoying the gorgeous view.

First we hung out at Manly beach. A delightful spot.

Maya buried her brother.

Then we walked to Shelly Beach, but not without stopping at this cool, ocean filled pool.

Nice.

Then we enjoyed the calmer more protected Shelly Beach for a while.

After beaching, we went back to the Nuttall-Smith house for yet another wonderful dinner.

Love spending time with all these fabulous people.

Maya help prepare delicious desserts.

Yum.

A perfect shot of Tim with Buster the dog.

To the Beach(es)

After a lovely wedding evening, we decided to do a famous walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach.  

 A very late breakfast in Bondi before our walk. Dexter ate most of this.

Here we go!

Looking out to Bondi beach, a Sydney classic.

Two happy kiddies.

Love the seaside pools along the coast. These pools are filled with sea water. This pool requires a fee to us, but there are others that are free.

Another view of Bondi.

This is the walking path. Lovely! 

 Stopping at another cute beach along the way.

Due to storm damage, part of the path was closed and we were detoured through this amazing cemetery.

At last after about 3.5 miles, we reach Coogee beach to meet up with our friends from the zoo, Simon, Lara, Serena and Hugo.

Fun with friends!

Evenings are great in Sydney.

Dexter getting buried by Lara.

Of course, ice cream after a fun dinner.