NYE08@Sydney

The countdown has started.
Everybody is very excited here in Sydney, looking for a good place to see the famous fireworks show. We're planning to camp on the Opera House area, let's if we're still in time for that.

Meanwhile, happy new year!!!

Blue Mountains

Today we went for a tour to the Blue Mountains: we could see the wonderful wild landscapes of Australia, and meet the most popular animals.
I got to touch a koala and feed a kangaroo!

Sydney Aquarium

Today we walked around the city and eventually visited the very interesting Aquarium at Darling Harbour. We just discovered a new species: the dugong. He's a big water mammal (somehow similar to a seal) with a funny face and he's very fond of lattuce!

Honey Moon - Last stop: Sydney

So, Christchurch was our last city in New Zealand.
After a nice tour on the hills around the city, we visited the Antarctic Center (very interesting interactive museum about Antarctica). They even put us in a polar storm (in a room at -8 C): interesting, but nothing compared to the real experience of a Finnish cold winter day...

Then we flew to Australia, saying hello (for ever?) to New Zealand, where we really had a great time.

Merry Christmas!

From Te Anau

309 Road and Whangapoua

Our host in Coromandel (at Jacaranda Lodge) is called Robin. She's a nice lady, very talkative, and likes cooking. She prepares amazing breakfasts, where everything is really fresh (coming from her garden) and homemade (she even bakes the bread and makes muesli and cereals!).
Today, following her suggestion, we drove to road 309 and visited the waterworks park (very funny place with different kind of water machines built using objects from everyday life, including a WC), some nice falls and a kauri forest. Kauri is the typical tree in New Zealand, and has a very large trunk.
In the afternoon we lied on the wonderful beach of Whangapoua, where I was shocked by the beautiful combinations of colors (sea, sand, rocks).

Honey Moon - Third Stop: Coromandel

Drove to the Coromandel Peninsula, on a spectacular road which offered us unforgettable views.
Coromandel is a small pretty town: we took a ride on the Driving Creek Railway, ate smoked fish and mussels and visited some small shops.
I am amazed how big mussels are in New Zealand: so big that I feel a bit uncomfortable eating them.

Waiheke

Wonderful island just in front of Auckland. We took a nice walk from the ferry harbour to the beautiful Palm Beach, where we ate strawberries and apricots; afterwards we visited the Cablebay vineyard, where we tasted 7 different wines.

Honey Moon - Second stop: Auckland

Finally we are in New Zealand.
At the immigration check point the customs opened all my bags to make sure my shoes were clean... They care a lot about their ecosystem, and don't want people to import insects and bacteria.
Auckland is a nice city, and we are staying in a beautiful bed and breakfast.

Honey Moon - First stop: Hong Kong

On the way to New Zealand Cathay made us stay in Hong Kong. So, even if very tired and sleepy, we decided to take a tour in the city.

W-Day

Back to blogging. The last months were very busy for me, with all the arrangements for "The" day, the new house and so on. Now, maybe thanks to the wonderful and relaxing landscapes of New Zealand, I find some time to realize what happened...

"The" day went perfectly: we got the grace of nice weather, in days in which the rain is flooding Rome, and everything went as planned. Having all our relatives, many friends (also from abroad) was an extreme joy for us, and even though we missed some people, we felt they were with us with their thoughts.

No pictures yet, but I'll post some later.