VirtualEasterTour Final Stop: Freycinet tour
How fitting that we end the Virtual Easter Tour in one of the most beautiful parts of Australia, the Freycinet National Park in Tasmania.
Travels Through A Lens
Trips Around the World
Oceania
As we live in Australia, most of our trips are based there. We have also visited New Zealand several times and love that country.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 20: Freycinet sunset
we arrived at Tasmania late in the afternoon, and checked into the Freycinet Lodget just in time to witness an absolutely gorgeous sunset.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 19: Newcastle tour
We did a great tour of Newcastle exploring areas around town and the beach, including a visit to Newcastle Cathedral.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 18: Newcastle sunrise
Of course we are in Newcastle today, and once again just in time to witness an absolutely gorgeous sunrise.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 17: Gold Coast tour
On our Gold Coast tour, we relaxed around the Surfer's Paradise area, and had a chance to admire to skyscrapers.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 16: Gold Coast sunrise
We arrived at the Gold Coast late last night, but just in time to catch this beautiful sunrise over Surfer's Paradise.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 15: Darwin tour
We did a tour around Darwin, mainly around the Waterfront area and the Bicentennial Park but also visiting the World War 2 Oil Tunnels.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 14: Darwin sunrise
We made it to Darwin, and woke up the next morning to catch a glorious sunrise over the waterfront area of the city.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 13: Perth tour
We are doing a quick tour of Perth, with the aid of a time travel machine. We also explored Burswood casino and Swan Bell Park.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 12: Adelaide at Night
We had dinner and wandered around Adelaide at night. The city looks very different, almost like a magical wonderland.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 11: Adelaide tour
We spent the day doing a tour of Adelaide. Adelaide combines a rich heritage with a modern architecture and a beautiful riverbank.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 10: Adelaide Central Market
We spent the morning foraging the eclectic Adelaide Central Market looking for breakfast. It is always buzzing with life and colour.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 9: Melbourne Zoo
Melbourne Zoo (also known as the Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens) is located about 4km north of the city and easily accessible by tram.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 8: Melbourne Architecture
We spent the morning wandering around the streets of Melbourne. The city has amazing architecture and feels like a European city.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 7: Melbourne Street Art
We are checking out the Melbourne street art early in the morning, before the pesky tourists arrive and watching the artists at work.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 6: Canberra tour
We did a quick Canberra tour, starting with the Parliament House, then cycling around Lake Burley Griffin, finishing at the Triangle.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 5: Good Morning Canberra!
Good Morning Canberra! We woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise, so we decided to watch the balloons float across the nation's capital.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 4: Red Cow Farm
Last stop for the day. We spent the afternoon at Red Cow Farm. The 1820’s cottage is surrounded by an abundant Cottage Garden.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 3: Robertson
Robertson is a village nestled above Macquarie Pass and the Illawarra Escarpment. The movie Babe was shot here.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 2: Sea Cliff Bridge
The 665 metre long Sea Cliff Bridge (opened in 2005) is a highlight along the Grand Pacific Drive and the bridge has become an icon.
Virtual Easter Tour
We have decided to go on a Virtual Easter Tour highlighting places we have visited in the past, starting on Good Friday 10 April 2020.
VirtualEasterTour Stop 1: Coalcliff Beach
Coalcliff Beach is not well known except to locals, and located just north of the famous Seacliff Bridge and about 24km from Wollongong.
Tasmania 2018
We returned back to Tasmania on 1-5 May 2018 and mainly visited the Freycinet National Park, the MONA museum, and Hobart.
Tasmania 2018 Day 5: Hobart and Salamanca Market
I wandered down to St. David's Park, then explored Salamanca Market, then wandered though Parliament Square and Franklin Square.
Tasmania 2018 Day 4: Hobart afternoon
We returned back to Hobart and wandered around the city in the afternoon. It was interesting to see what has changed since our last visit.
Tasmania 2018 Day 4: MONA (Exterior, Afternoon)
We made a last tour of MONA exterior in the afternoon before leaving. I particularly liked the Spectrum Chamber connecting to Amarna.
Tasmania 2018 Day 4: MONA (PHAROS)
PHAROS is the new wing of MONA, and built to evoke the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria. It is more a theme park of ideas and installations.
Tasmania 2018 Day 4: MONA (MONANISM)
The general collection in MONA is called MONANISM. It tends to vary over time, but a few pieces really stood out for me.
Tasmania 2018 Day 4: MONA (Cloaca Professional)
Cloaca Professional mimics the human digestive system, through a set of chambers that progressively break down human food into poop.
Tasmania 2018 Day 4: MONA (Hound in the Hunt)
Hound in the Hunt is an exhibition of various paintings at MONA, and the technique for creating them developed by Tim Jenison.
Tasmania 2018 Day 4: MONA (Exterior)
The exterior of MONA, or the Museum of Old and New Art, has a few large scale sculptures and the museum architecture is also interesting.
Tasmania 2018 Day 3: Hobart (night)
We walked around Hobart at night after dinner. We walked along Collins St and then back along Macquarie St.
Tasmania 2018 Day 3: Ibis Styles
Ibis Styles is a brand new budget hotel located in central Hobart, with a modern Asian restaurant called Mr. Good Guy.
Tasmania 2018 Day 3: Callington Mill
Callington Mill is a Lincolnshire tower mill built in 1837, the third oldest windmill in Australia. It has recently been restored.
Tasmania 2018 Day 3: Ross
Ross is a historic and pretty village in the heart of Tasmania. There is a bridge here as well as many historic buildings.
Tasmania 2018 Day 3: Freycinet (Friendly Beaches)
Friendly Beaches is a camping ground famous for beautiful, long, white sand beaches. A boardwalk takes us to the viewing platform.
Tasmania 2018 Day 3: Freycinet (Ranger Creek)
We stopped by at the Freycinet National Park Visitor Centre. There is a boardwalk from the Visitor Centre to the Ranger Creek camping ground.
Tasmania 2018 Day 3: Freycinet Lodge
Today we checked out of the Freycinet Lodge and took a few photos around the Lodge including Richardson's Beach.
Tasmania 2018 Day 2: Freycinet Lodge Dinner
We retired back to the Freycinet Lodge for dinner at Richardson's Bistro. There wasn't much of a sunset, just a gradual fading of the light.
Tasmania 2018 Day 2: Freycinet (Honeymoon Bay)
Honeymoon Bay is situated right next to the Freycinet Lodge and has a huge granite rock that looks like it was thrown there by a baby giant.
Tasmania 2018 Day 2: Freycinet (Cape Tourville)
Cape Tourville has a lighthouse. From the boardwalk we can see The Nuggets, two tiny islands where birds nest.
Tasmania 2018 Day 2: Freycinet (Sleepy Bay)
Sleepy Bay sounds slike something out of an Enid Blyton Famous Five book (no smugglers though). We descended down to Little Gravelly Beach.
Tasmania 2018 Day 2: Freycinet (Wineglass Bay)
We opted to do the Wineglass Bay lookout walk which takes us to a short, fairly steep climb to the saddle between Mt Amos and Mt Mayson.
Tasmania 2018 Day 1: Sunset at Freycinet Lodge
We checked in, and had time to enjoy dinner and the lovely sunset at Freycinet Lodge which was really striking.
Tasmania 2018 Day 1: Devil’s Corner
Devil's Corner has a lookout from which we can view the Moulting Lagoon wetlands, The Hazards and Freycinet Peninsula.
MyAuckland 2017
I was privileged to be part of Lesley Whyte Photography's #MyAuckland VIP Day Tour on Saturday 30 September 2017.
MyAuckland 2017: Day 3
On my last day in Auckland (Day 3), I wandered around High St and Queen St. Sad to be flying back later in the day!
MyAuckland 2017: City at Night
Auckland at night is a strange city at night full of wondrous visions that I never encounter during the day.
MyAuckland 2017: Mt Wellington
Sunset over the volcanic peak of Mt Wellington, overlooking the suburb of Stonefields built on the site of an old quarry.
MyAuckland 2017: Mission Bay
Mission Bay is a seaside suburb on Tamaki Drive with a nice fountain and some shops. Nearby is Bastion Point.
MyAuckland 2017: Wynyard Quarter
Located just to the west of Viaduct Harbour, Wynyard Quarter has been progressively converted for residential apartments.
MyAuckland 2017: Devonport
Devonport is a harbourside suburb on the North Shore of Auckland, and hosts the Naval Base. It has great views of the harbour into the city.
MyAuckland 2017: Riverhead
Had lunch at a place called The Landing at Riverhead, where Lesley spent her childhood. Best steak I have ever eaten - perfectly cooked.
MyAuckland 2017: Muriwai Beach
Muriwai Beach featuring black sand and a gannet colony on a large rock. We were there at low tide and the weather was overcast and rainy.
MyAuckland 2017: Auckland City
From Albert Park, I explored Auckland City, starting from Khartoum Place where there is a memorial to the Women's Suffrage movement.
MyAuckland 2017: Auckland University
Auckland University is located next to Albert Park. It is the largest, most comprehensive and highest-ranked university in New Zealand.
MyAuckland 2017: Albert Park and Art Gallery
Landed in Auckland last night. I had the morning to myself, so decided to explore Albert Park and the Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.
Lord of the Rings (LOTR) Tour of New Zealand 2004
We did a Lord of the Rings Tour of New Zealand in April 2004 as part of Red Carpet Tours and visited many of the film locations.
The “Action Figure” Version of the Lord of the Rings
The "Action Figure" Version of the Lord of the Rings features action figurines re-enacting various scenes from the movies during our tour.
LOTR 2004 Day 11: Queenstown to Auckland
Today is the "optional activities" day of the tour before we flew from Queenstown to Auckland. Some of us went on the Dart River Safari.
LOTR 2004 Day 10: Te Anau to Queenstown
We travelled from Te Anau to Queenstown, stopping by at Deer Park Heights, Arrowtown, Twelve Mile Delta, and Amon Hen.
LOTR 2004 Day 9: Te Anau to Milford Sound & back
Today is a LOTR free day, as we travelled from Te Anau to visit the famous Milford Sound, and then returned back to Te Anau.
LOTR 2004 Day 8: Cromwell to Te Anau
We left Cromwell to head off towards Mavora Lakes. In the afternoon, we arrived at the lakeside town of Te Anau.
LOTR 2004 Day 7: Twizel to Cromwell
We left Twizel for Ben Ohau Station, then a pine forest (Flight to the Ford). We also visited Bonspiel Station and finished up at Cromwell.