Month: August 2026

Christchurch, New Zealand- Day 2, Arthurs Pass National Park

Scotty took us to the train station in Christchurch where we boarded a train to Arthurs Pass.
This is the scenery along our train trip. I didn’t take a lot of pictures because of the reflection in the windows. While we were on our way up there he drove his van up to meet us and then took
us through the beautiful countryside.
The next several pictures are ones Joni and I took with our iPhones, much better than my Nikon could do from the train!
The map on the train showing us where we are on the route.
We’ve arrived at Arthurs Pass, now on to our adventure afternoon with Scotty.
In the van heading out.
Scotty took a group photo of us.
And of course, I had to take one with him in it too.
Charlie Warden was the first Ranger for Arthurs Pass National Park.
Devils Punchbowl Falls was our first stop. It was quite a hike to go up to the falls so all the close up pictures were up to Joni!
Devils Punchbowl Falls from a distance.
A close up view via my 300mm lens, no hiking required!
She even took a selfie!
This bridge was as far as Jan and I were willing to hike
Jan and Joni by the Arthurs Pass National Park sign.
Some views of Arthurs Pass as we move on to our next stop.
This is the story of the three sisters, depicted by the three busts shown here.
Lots of caravans here visiting.
The explanation of the shelter carving.
Lane trying to get this bird to cooperate for a photo.

The ending of a long day, van ride back to our VRBO to prepare for day three, stay tuned……..

Christchurch, New Zealand

I’ll start this post with a bit of an add for this awesome gentleman. Scotty of ScottyB Tours was our tour guide for our 5 days in and around Christchurch. He was a fantastic guide too! He was knowledgeable and very interesting to listen to. He knows the area extremely well and had lots of interesting stories along our journey. We highly recommend him if you are ever in New Zealand, he is available for tours anywhere on the South Island!
If your interested, his website is: http://www.scottybtours.com
Our first day was a tour of Christchurch itself. Our first stop was this place. The site was a building that housed Canterbury Television Station, King’s Education Language School, Hair Consultants, Relationship Services and The Clinic Medical Center. On February 22, 2011, an earthquake of 6.3 Magnitude struck the city and the building collapsed, killing 115 people and injuring many more inside. The site is now a memorial honoring the lives lost that tragic day.
This was part of the foundation of the building.
A memorial to those lives lost.
This is a church that they lovingly call the “Cardboard Cathedral”. It was designed and erected next to the memorial and it got its name because what you are looking at is the roof of the chapel
and those are 100 heavy duty cardboard tubes coated with waterproof polyurethane and flame retardant.! They sit on 8 shipping containers which form the base and walls. It was designed by a famous Japanese architect Shigeru Ban in association with a local firm Warren and Mahoney.This is their temporary place of worship while the original church is under construction to repair the damage caused by the earthquake.
Even the chairs that are the “Pews” are in keeping with the Japanese theme.
This is the Christ Church Cathedral which as you can see is fenced off while they work on it. Completion of the project is not until the end of 2027!
Local artists took advantage of the fencing and are displaying some beautiful artwork!
Next on our tour was the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. As you’ll see.
As you’ll see in the next several pictures it was very colorful, especially since this was the beginning of their fall season!
That is a huge tree! Especially compared to Joni and Lane!
Not all the flowers are real or life size!
Lane on the left, Jan in the middle, Scotty and Joni to the right.
Quite a variety of different color roses too!
We loved this fountain!
Some of the beautiful old buildings around the Gardens
There is also some interesting art pieces scattered throughout the city too!
Down along this river they have installed another memorial to those lives lost in the earthquake of 2011.
I’m not sure what this is about, kind of odd!
Christchurch is where a lot of the expeditions to Antartica leave from! They’re only about 3500 miles from there. It seemed weird that the farther south you go down here the colder it gets; opposite of where we live!
More beautiful flowers!
We had lunch at Delilah, a very cool restaurant with great food!
After lunch Scotty took us to this trail that lead to a great view of the bay.

That’s it for Day 1 of our Adventures with Scotty. Stay tuned for Day 2……..

Brisbane, Australia-Day 2

Maleny Botanical Gardens and Bird World

It was a rainy day but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of our guide in the Bird World enclosure! She was a fantastic guide with lots of great information!
Joni making friends!
The residents didn’t seem to care about the rain either!
I don’t think James was 100% sure he was enjoying this close encounter!
The bird was though!
I was glad I had a hood between this bird’s talons and my bald head!
Stunning White Peacocks
Joni making more friends!
Jan wasn’t too sure she was enjoying this! Exactly why I was glad I had my hood up!
Lane and friend! She had that feather duster to keep them away but apparently A) she didn’t want to or B) the bird didn’t care!
Joni’s turn, but at least she has thick hair!
The feeding station.
Twins! Whose nails are longer, the birds or our guides?
The useless feather dusters.
We rented a golf cart to tour the Botanical Gardens but due to the rain it was a short trip.
The rain and foggy conditions made the gardens look even more tropical and lush!

This concludes our pictures from Sydney and Brisbane, Australia. Next up will be our adventures in New Zealand! STAY TUNED!

Brisbane, Australia

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

James, Bryce’s brother who lives in Brisbane, was our tour guide and driver. He had lots of very interesting history and other info he imparted to us as we toured around Brisbane. He took us to this Sanctuary which was very interesting!
These are Flying Foxes, a very large Bat!
One of the many very cute Koalas. This one is actually awake….and eating!
I believe this bird is a Bush Stone Curlew, common for the area. It looks like it’s legs are broken but that’s the way they’re built!
A Pink Cockatoo, grooming!
Sleeping!
This picture is for our grandson, Reeve!
This handsome guy is one of the many species of lizards at the Sanctuary.
Another sleeping Koala!
WOW! Not sleeping or eating!
Rainbow Lorikeets
They had a great Raptor show!
A very large nest with an occupant.
A few resident Sheep as well.
And a lazy pig.
Another species of lizard.
The resident Crocodile, Wickham.
The crocodile enclosure tank even had this enticing child bubble for Wickham, the lone resident Crocodile!
We were excited that they even had a Dingo display!
Unfortunately, the Dingo didn’t share our excitement!
This little cute koala even posed nicely for me!
And one last lizard picture!
After our sanctuary visit, we went to the water for lunch. These sea gulls were enjoying the shade of this tree.
James, Joni and Lane enjoying the view including the wind surfers.
It was a very good windy day for the wind surfers for sure!!
A couple of tourists and their dog enjoying the gentle surf.

Next Up, Day 2 in Brisbane and a Bird Sanctuary

Sydney, Australia- Day 3

The Opera House (In Depth Views)

Here’s a full view of the front of the Opera House. It is quite a stunning structure!
These photos showsthe intricacy of the roof lines, amazing!
The structure inside was equally impressive as you’ll see in the next pictures!
This is Premier Joe Cahill who was instrumental in getting the Opera House built starting with the design competition starting in 195,. the winning design was picked in 1957. Actual construction began in 1959 and opened in 1973.
It took the architects and designers 3 years to finalize the design before construction could begin.
This is Queen Elizabeth and her Court at the opening in October of 1973!
Here’s an arial photo taken at the time; it was now the premier focus in the Sydney waterfront!
The walls and these wood structures were all engineered for optimal acoustics!
A view from the outer area towards the skyline of the city.
Lane and Joni with the guide. She was very informative.
Back in the city we took a Hop on Hop off tour of Sydney. This is the Australian Museum which we unfortunately did not get to visit.
This the Sydney Tower Eye from a distance.
We loved the contrast of old world architecture mixed in with very modern and creative architecture!
Again, Jan’s favorite “LEGO” building!
After the tour was lunch at Bondi Beach.

That’s it For Sydney! Next up; Brisbane! Stay Tuned….