Christina’s appearance on this trip had purpose: she was travelling to Australia to attend her friend’s wedding, as were we. Christina and Emma were friends since before high school and we are friends with Emma’s parents. Thus a trip to the Antipodes, mostly New Zealand, and then to Australia where we headed next. https://retirementadventureblog.com/2025/03/01/kia-oro-new-zealands-north-island/
Upon leaving Q’town we flew to Melbourne, staying overnight at the lavish Park Hyatt in downtown Melbourne. Greg drove our rental through rush hour traffic, past the huge University of Melbourne campus (53,000 students), shiny mirrored skyscrapers, the Victorian Royal Exhibition Hall and Botanic Gardens, and on to the Parliament District with its grand ornate government buildings and green parks with white parrots squawking overhead. After a quick check-in we did a walkabout in the lovely Melbourne evening. Our purpose: a dinner engagement with my nephew and his wife, newly relocated to Melbourne from Germany. Aru was hired as a professor of Math at the University. We enjoyed catching up, having last seen them when on our river cruise a few years back. Melbourne has a lively nightlife with many bars located in unusual settings, like parks and vacant churchyards, all still very busy as we walked back to the hotel later.
We had a bit of time the next morning to walk around the city. Our (Christina’s) main destination: a graffiti art neighborhood. Multiple alleys were tagged with dedications to AC/DC (local musical heroes), Women’s Rights, and generally arty themes. The artwork was ever-changing as some walls were being painted over to be graffitti’d afresh. A busy workday morning, we walked amongst people dressed in uniforms: white shirts and dark pants for the ‘fi bros’ and also groups of school children on field trips. Both provided contrast to the colorful graffiti background. We strolled Chinatown and the Arts district, various city malls (no time for shopping) then headed back to the hotel to fetch the car and depart. It was a woefully short visit to a really nice city.
We headed out on a 3 hour drive north/northwest of Melbourne to Bright, VIC. The landscape around Melbourne and for a couple hours drive was flat, dried grass pastures dotted with sheep and a few trees. Immediately after leaving the residential outskirts we also saw mobs of kangaroos hopping in empty fields. They totally blended in with the landscape, not unlike our white tail deer back home. Closer to Bright vineyards and hills appeared but with the afternoon rain and low clouds we didn’t notice the surrounding mountains. We checked into our lodging, Hara House, an upgraded roadside motel, in tiny touristy Bright after lunching at a nearby brewery. A break in the showers allowed us to explore some nearby trails. Christina and I watched an animal nosing along a riverbed from a walking bridge above. Turns out, it was a duck billed platypus which is a rare sight! No photos but take my word for it. Christina then departed to join the wedding party preparations.
The next day Greg and I hiked along the river a ways (no sign of platypus), swam a bit as the sun emerged, then left for Brad and Emma’s wedding the next town over. This required a 30 min drive on one of the narrowest, windiest mountain passes yet. The pulloffs revealed a stunning pastoral scene amongst the ski mountains beyond. It was a perfect setting for a lovely ceremony. We enjoyed catching up with Emma’s family and meeting her Aussie mates, all so friendly. They did a great job with their DIY wedding. We had more travelling ahead so we left Bright early the next morning, picking Christina up after a late night and driving back to the airport. We were headed to Tasmania!
A short 1 hour flight from Melbourne took us to southern Tasmania, Hobart, then another 2.5 hours by car transfer and we were deposited at Freycinet Lodge in Freycinet National Park up on the eastern coast. Along the way we saw more of the dried grass rolling pastures with more sheep and now most of the kangaroos we saw were thinner than on the mainland. In other words, roadkill. Like, 30 carcasses on our drive. The coastline appeared as we got further north and the hills became hillier. The trees appeared scrubby, of mostly a eucalyptus variety. Finally we were dropped off at the Freycinet Lodge on Honeymoon Beach on Coles Bay. The view was beautiful across the bay and the Hazards, red granite mountains, stood upright above us. We felt somewhat abandoned without a car in such a remote place but it all worked out.
The next day we went for a hike just outside our cabin. It was cloudy and cool which was perfect for what turned out to be a 10 mile loop from Honeymoon Beach up and over to Wineglass Bay, then over to and along Hazards Beach, returning to our lodging. The path was mostly the same red granite gravel as the surrounding mountains and seaside cliffs. The surroundings were mostly eucalyptus trees with shredded, shedded bark, brush, and a few charred tree trunks. The park had undergone a recent bush fire which is common; signs on the trail instruct you on what to do if one occurs while out hiking. What we were also grateful for was not seeing any snakes. The secluded outdoor tub at our 2 bedroom cabin was well utilized for soaking tired feet and knees afterward. The Lodge had nice restaurants and a bar with a bayside, sunset view for chilling after a long day. And a kookaburra right outside our cabin!
The next morning we took a helicopter ride over the park to Wineglass Bay. The sun was out which allowed for the turquoise waters to sparkle and the white beaches to gleam. This was Christina’s first heli ride and we all enjoyed it. The company was kind enough to pick us up at the Lodge and delivered us back afterwards. That afternoon, we split up: Greg headed for a hike up Mt. Amos, behind our cabin, and Christina and I went biking to tour the park to the lighthouse. Greg’s hike was pretty difficult with some pretty steep scrambling on the gravelly red granite while Christina and I managed e-bikes. Greg was red faced from exertion and me from pushing my e-bike up the steepest hill in the park. I eventually figured out the power to gear ratio going uphill but not before enough people at the Lodge saw me walking. An e-bike. The views from the Cape Tourville Lighthouse were gorgeous, overlooking the Tasman Sea across to NZ, and the shoreline of beaches and pounding surf. Downhill riding was VERY fast; I was worried I’d burn out the brake pads. Later we enjoyed some beach time and our final dinner in Tasmania with a chatty, fun waiter, Lucas, from Marseilles.
We were picked up and delivered 2.5 hours back to the airport where we said “goodbye” to Christina. She headed to Sydney for her flight home whereas we returned to Melbourne. After over 15 flights on this trip we encountered our first difficulty with delays and missing a flight on our way homeVz. It all worked out after a lengthy back and forth between affiliates Air NZ and United; we returned to Newark 3 hours late but intact. Thus ended our amazing Pacific adventure: Hawaii, New Zealand, and a tiny bit of Australia. We traveled for 6 weeks without ever feeling homesick, or for that matter, getting sick. We met amazing people everywhere and made some great friends along the way. We were blessed with outstanding weather and for those few days it rained, we enjoyed alternative adventures which turned out to be memorable.
I’ve mentioned before but kudos to our travel agent Erica Harnett at Erica.harnett@protravelinc.com who set up some great accomodations and tours and who got us rebooked on our missed flight. Over the years we have arranged trips on our own or have used travel agents (i.e. Erica) or have gone on organized tours. Each has its benefits. This was a big trip so having a travel agent really made things easier. When we had weather cancellations or flight trouble, the agent was right there to assist. This trip was complicated enough that I made a spreadsheet to track each day, flight, confirmation number, and relevant phone number. Pro travel also had a convenient app called Axus which listed all relevant info on a daily basis and was updated as arrangements changed-so very useful. Erica hooked us up with Pacific Experience rep Karen who helped with the NZ portion of the trip. The bougie hiking tour with New Zealand Trails we booked on our own as it was the centerpiece of the trip, and, I will say, was the highlight as well.
And now, this:
My new reality 