Wild about Sydney

We’ve just spent a night at the Zoo with my brother Matt and sister-in-law Shelley. Surprisingly, the experience was truly superb. I’ve lived in Sydney for more than 35 years. As a result, there aren’t many genuinely new experiences for us locals to enjoy.

Last November, Garry and I attended a Christmas Party hosted in the Dalang Ballroom, an event space at Taronga Zoo overlooking Sydney Harbour. We discovered that the Zoo boasts an upmarket boutique hotel and restaurant with the same view, called The Wilderness Retreat and Me Gai restaurant.

Guests attending the Christmas event were offered a 30 percent discount for a mid-week stay. On a whim, I decided to book a package for ourselves and our kiwi guests. I’m so glad I did. Our package included an overnight hotel room with harbour views, meals at Me Gai restaurant (offering the same stunning view) and private guided tours of several Australian animal enclosures. Our package also included free parking and two days of unlimited access to the Zoo.

We kicked off our two-day extravaganza with lunch at the Boatshed on Balmoral Beach. We secured an outdoor table looking directly out over the local marina dock. It’s been decades since I visited this beach. This visit involved a business lunch at the much-acclaimed Bathers Pavilion more than 25 years ago. 

The weather was perfect for our visit. Before lunch, we took time out to walk the promenade along the beach, including a visit to Rocky Point Island, a small outcrop accessible via an old turn-of-the-last-century arched bridge. I'd definitely do the Boathouse again.

It was then on to the Retreat for check-in. The reception and central lounge caught us all by surprise. This communal space offers floor-to-ceiling views across Sydney Harbour as you enjoy a leisurely cocktail or two. We then enjoyed a private tour of the Australian wildlife sanctuary that wraps around the complex, before venturing into the Zoo proper to see the koalas and other native animals do their thing.

 

We finish our day with champagne and nibbles in the treetops suite that Garry and I booked, followed by dinner at Me Gai. As sunset approached, one of the hotel staff invited us up to the top-floor event space to experience uninterrupted views of the harbour aglow in the crimson light. It was truly magnificent, as was the nightlight view, which we subsequently enjoyed over dinner.

The following morning, we rose early for a private tour of the Australian native bird aviary and nearby marsupial enclosures. Highlights included my first sighting of a Regent Honeyeater bird, the rock wallabies bounding across the aviary rock face and watching a kangaroo joey suckling on its mother. The bird sighting was special in part because Garry’s parents have lived in an apartment on Regent Honeyeater Grove for the last five years.

We then enjoyed breakfast at Me Gai, which offered another stunning view of Sydney Harbour by day. The remainder of our stay was spent exploring Taronga Zoo before venturing back across the harbour mid-afternoon. Matt and Shelley were also lucky enough to pull back their curtains that morning and be greeted by a koala quietly contemplating them in a tree outside.

Honestly, the overnight experience exceeded every expectation. The views were iconic, and the atmosphere at The Retreat was relaxing to say the least. By the time we arrived home, I felt like we’d had a week off. Who knew such a memorable outing existed right on our doorstep?

Bangkok countdown

We're counting down to our next business trip. Eight days from now we're off to Thailand. We're visiting one of our largest suppliers and reviewing their factory near Bangkok. The last time we inspected their operation was 2016. 

I was seriously ill during our trip nine years ago. While we enjoyed an awesome view of the Chao Phraya River from our hotel room (see the photo posted), sadly, I spent much of my time in bed with a fever and chest infection. When we arrived back in Sydney, I took to my bed and slept for almost three days.

Hopefully we'll have better luck this time despite the tragic aftermath of this week's earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar. However, before we fly, my brother and sister-in-law are dropping by for a week. We have lots of fun activities planned for Matt and Shelley. Watch this space.

Dual citizenship

This morning, my calendar popped up with an anniversary reminder. It's 32 years since I became a dual citizen. Living in Australia and becoming an Australian citizen was never the grand plan for my life. Instead, thanks to a fortuitous set of circumstances, I came to live here.

Back then, becoming an Australian citizen was a relatively simple exercise, at least for New Zealanders. I completed an application, paid a relatively modest fee and attended a brief screening interview. A few months later, I received a letter advising that my application was approved. I duly attended a citizenship ceremony in the Hornsby Council Chambers and officially became an Australian on 29 March 1993.

These days, the process takes a year or more, costs a small fortune, and involves a mountain of paperwork, police checks, medical examinations, and other bureaucratic hurdles. I still vividly recall my screening interview at an office in Chatswood. 

I remember sitting in a waiting room filled with people. Most of the applicants that day were of Asian descent. I was one of the only Caucasians in the room. The interviewer emerged from an interview room and called my name, noting I was a New Zealand citizen. She breathed a sigh of relief and predicted a quick meeting. Apparently, I'd get her back on schedule. I was asked about my English proficiency, criminal record, and a few other details I can't recall. My interview then concluded.

A few months later, my friend Michele attended my citizenship ceremony. It seemed apt that she be there, given her pivotal role in helping me settle in Australia. Afterwards, we enjoyed a remarkably unmemorable afternoon tea with local councillors before heading out for a celebration dinner.

My motivation for becoming a dual citizen was relatively straightforward. After living in Australia for 2.5 years, I could see myself settling into a comfortable life. I couldn't imagine returning permanently to New Zealand any time soon. Hence, I didn't want a future Government or legislative change to hinder my ability to live or retire unrestrained in Australia. Once I discovered that I could hold dual citizenship and thus maintain my New Zealand identity, becoming an Australian was an easy decision.

32 years later, I have no regrets. My Australian life has been blessed (just read this blog!). Australia has been good to me.

The 1.9 percent club

I read today that the Antarctic tourism season is drawing to a close for another year. The season typically runs from mid-October to early April. The last season, ending April 2024, saw a record number of visitors. 124,262 people visited the Antarctic, with 80,251 making at least one shore landing, albeit on an offshore island or the continent itself.

These stats made me curious about the year Garry and I visited the white continent. We flew to King George Island and cruised the Antarctic Peninsula in the Summer of 2010-11. Interestingly, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) publishes a report at the end of every season. According to its report, the season we visited recorded 19,065 landings. Another 14,373 passengers cruised in the region without making landfall. Ten per cent of these travellers were Australians.

By the end of the 2010-11 season, it's estimated that around 450,000 tourists had landed in Antarctica since tourism started in the late 1960s. Including the season of our visit, only 304,811 tourists had done so since records began in 1992. Less than 7,000 were visiting annually before 1992, hence the lifetime figure of less than half a million. 

I was surprised to learn that only 531 people participated in air-cruise voyages including Garry and me. Only two vessels were supporting these visitors, Ocean Nova the ship we sailed on, and a smaller 12-passenger motor yacht. Apparently, the year before, only 345 people had arrived in Antarctica this way. As for our vessel, 501 passengers that sailed on her flew across the Drake Passage. This was the first year Antarctica 21, the company we cruised with, flew more than 500 people in a single season. It seems we were very much tourism pioneers.

As an aside, I’ve also read that in the years since our tour, only one other flight has been delayed three days like we were. If I understood the data correctly, this was the group that came after us as they were also delayed three days. Apparently, four flights have been delayed longer. Antarctica 21 has operated 310 flights up to April 2024. This means we were one of only six flights, or 1.9%, that experienced a significant delay. How lucky are we!

Fox Glacier

Here's the third and final retrospective post about the South Island road trip I took in the Summer of 1995. It’s another of my Kodak-era travel adventures. In other words, every image in these posts was scanned from an ageing photo album. You’ll find the first post here, and the second post here.  On 8 January, after three nights in Queenstown, my flatmate, Chris Ogg, and I drove over Haast Pass to Fox Glacier.

The drive through the remote Haast wilderness was wonderful. Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea were at their best. We stopped to admire the view at The Neck lookout and again when crossing the famous Gates of Haast Bridge. That's the bridge below. I still vividly recall the craggy old-growth rainforest lining long stretches of coastal road in a verdant canyon. Our accommodation for the night was a motel at Fox Glacier.

We finished the day by visiting the Fox Glacier terminus. A short 1.5 km walk from the carpark along the river's gravel bed took us to its crumbling icy façade. The ancient slabs of iridescent blue ice were simply mesmerizing. I’ve read that the glacier was advancing a metre a week in 1996, the year after our visit. Sadly, in recent decades, thanks to climate change, it’s retreated almost a kilometre upstream.

The following morning, we made our way to the local airfield, hoping to score a helicopter flight over the Fox Glacier. Flights had been grounded for several days due to inclement weather, the same conditions we’d encountered in Milford Sound the previous day. I didn’t rate our chances as low-level clouds covered the coast.

However, we were in luck. The tour company told us flights had resumed. The glacier was in a cloud-free valley with perfect flying conditions reported at a higher elevation. We booked the first flight of the day. What a flight it was. We followed the Fox River towards the glacier's terminus, then rose over its craggy ice flows, séracs, and deep crevasses. 

As we climbed, the scene below grew increasingly spectacular. Lingering coastal clouds quickly gave way to a stunning deep blue sky. The first photo above shows our view back down the glacier. Its icy mass descends 2,600 metres from the Southern Alps, flowing almost 13 kilometres towards the coast before finishing near the rainforest just 300 metres above sea level.

Our pilot landed on an icy plateau at the top of the glacier. We spent ten minutes or so walking on the pristine, dazzling white snow, snapping photos and soaking in the alpine scenery. However, we were in for one more treat. As the first flight for several days, the pilot wanted to briefly survey the neighbouring Frans Josef Glacier. We flew north along the alpine ridge and briefly circled the second glacier before returning to base.

From Fox Glacier, we drove up the West Coast as far as Greymouth. Here we took a brief detour so that I could see the house I lived in for the first four years of my life. As we rounded a corner on Freyberg Terrace, it came into view. The two-storey building with its distinctive grey roof was instantly recognizable. It looked exactly as I recalled it in photographs from my childhood. 

The second image of the house below was cleaned up using AI and Photoshop. The original file my aunt shared was very low-resolution. Yes, that's me in the middle. The final image was taken by Hamish when he visited Greymouth last month. It's amazing the house is still standing 60 years later.

We then drove over Arthur Pass to Christchurch where we stopped for the night. Along the way, we stopped again and again to soak in the alpine landscape, which included the dramatic Otira Gorge and its infamous winding road. These days, an impressive 445-metre-long viaduct carries the road up the valley floor. When it opened in 1999 it bypassed the "Zig-Zag", a series of hair-raising hairpin turns that had made this section of road notorious.

My father used to tell stories of how he and Mum successfully navigated these tight turns by driving their modest little Morris Minor in reverse up the then-unpaved gravel road. Incredibly, this car is still in the family, although it's no longer roadworthy. My grandmother bought it from my parents while they were living in Greymouth and kept it until she died in 1997. My cousin Carolyn has it parked in a shed out the back of her home in Christchurch.

Back to our road trip. Auntie Pam hosted us overnight on a makeshift bed on her sunroom floor. We then spent our final day in New Zealand exploring the highlights of Christchurch and the Avon River before making our way to the airport. Before we knew it, we were back in Sydney.

Rivers, rain and rope

Here's the second of three retrospective posts about the road trip Chris Ogg and I took around New Zealand's South Island in January 1995. Our first full day in Queenstown was spent ticking off its popular sights. This was my first time in Queenstown, so I was determined to experience as much as possible. As a result, we took time out to ride the Skyline Gondola, visit the historic township of Arrowtown and cruise Lake Wakatipu on the SS Earnslaw.

We also spent half a day jetboating up the Dart River. It was a truly magnificent experience. Our boat threaded its way from Glenorchy along sinuous river channels weaving through the river’s gravel beds before stopping for a brief scenic walk. We then raced up an increasingly narrow channel framed by truck-sized boulders into the rainforest below Mount Earnslaw. Here we stopped for a second photo opportunity.

I vividly recall how stunning the Southern Alps looked with the last of their winter snow under a vivid blue sky. It’s also the first time I can recall marvelling at the vivid turquoise blue water of New Zealand’s alluvial rivers. Their unique colour comes from fine granite silt particles, or glacial flour, suspended in the water.

The following day, Saturday 7 January, we drove to Milford Sound for the day. Along the way we stopped to admire Lake Te Anau and the Cleddau Valley that leads into the Homer Tunnel. The forecast for the day was for heavy rain. While we were hoping for better weather, the experience was nevertheless spectacular.

As we exited the Homer Tunnel, we were greeted by a sight I’ve never seen before or since. The tunnel opens out into an ancient bowl-shaped glacial valley framed by soaring granite cliffs. The rain was pelting down. All around us the cliff face had been transformed into an endless parade of waterfalls cascading into the valley below. Years later, Garry and I drove through the same location on a sunny day. Not a single fall was visible.

We took a sightseeing cruise through the sound, stopped just short of the heads as a heavy swell was rolling in from the Tasman Sea. Again, everywhere we looked the soaring mountainsides were alive with waterfalls. Sadly, we didn’t see many of the Sound’s stunning mountain peaks. However, the experience of being immersed in a misty and watery landscape was genuinely breathtaking. Incredibly, the weather was dry and warm in Queenstown upon our return.

On Sunday, we departed Queenstown and made our way to the West Coast via Haast Pass. Again, another experience that had been on my bucket list for years. As we drove out of town we passed the AJ Hackett Bungy Centre. This is the world’s original bungy jump site. It operates from an old suspension bridge over the Kawarau Gorge. On a whim I decided to give it a go. Nothing would convince Chris to do the same.

I recently got the video of this jump converted from VHS to MPEG. I’ll eventually load it here. Until then I've saved a handful of screenshots that tell the story. My most vivid memory of my jump was simply the shock I felt upon hearing the wind whistling in my ears. I’d not expected to hear anything and could only recall hearing such a sound while travelling at speed on skis or riding a motorbike. The jump itself was fine. It was just the unexpected sound that did my head in.

Bucket list road trip

In 1995, I took my flatmate, Chris Ogg, on a road trip around the South Island of New Zealand. The trip was a bucket list experience for both of us. Chris was in Australia on a 12-month working holiday visa. I met him shortly after he arrived in 1994, working behind the bar at the local Beresford Hotel. At the time, I was living with a work colleague, Mark, and his partner Vincent. 

Mark had just accepted a transfer to establish and run my company’s new Hong Kong office. As a result, I was on the lookout for a new flatmate. I mentioned this to Chris one evening. He was looking for a permanent place to stay and asked if he could see my flat. He moved in shortly after. 

Chris and I quickly became the best of mates. We cooked our meals together, hung out at the pub with friends, attended dance parties and headed out of town on weekend excursions. Living with him was a year filled with plenty of happy memories.

We flew into Auckland on Monday 2 January. The date was deliberately chosen to give us enough time to recover from an all-night New Year’s Eve Party at the Horden Pavillion. At the time Mum and Dad were still living in Matamata but were holidaying in their second home at the Mount. I’m not entirely sure how we got to the Mount from Auckland. However, I suspect we flew down and were collected by my parents upon arrival.

While on the North Island, we took a day trip to Rotorua to experience its geothermal attractions. This included the famous Pōhutu and Waikite geysers. We also took time out to enjoy the Mount Hot Pools and complete an obligatory circuit around the Mount. However, there’s not much else I can recall from our time with my family.

On 5 January we caught a morning flight directly to Christchurch where we collected a rental car. We then spent six days making a circuit around the lower South Island. Our road trip began with a drive to Queenstown where we based ourselves for three nights. 

We stopped at Lake Tekapo to see the Church of the Good Shepherd. I was delighted to find the chapel open. We stepped inside to experience its famous panoramic window directly behind the altar. Another bucket list item was completed. Sadly, tourists are no longer welcome inside, or at least that was our experience in 2023. 

We then took a brief detour to visit the massive Benmore Dam. As an infrastructure geek, the dam had long been on my bucket list. It’s New Zealand’s largest dam and is home to the nation’s second-largest hydro station. Incredibly, the entire structure is built from clay and gravel. I’m not too proud to admit that I loved driving along the dam’s crest, and admiring it from a viewing point on the opposite side. It’s an impressive structure

We had one final sight I'd always wanted to see. As we drove south, we passed along the shores of Lake Dunstan and through Cromwell's relocated main street. Lake Dunstan is a manmade lake formed by the Clyde High Dam, which opened in 1993. 

As a child I recall my parents taking us up the Cromwell Gorge in the 1970s, and seeing apricot orchards spread along its frost-free valley floor. All of this disappeared, along with lower-lying districts in the township of Cromwell when the lake was filled. I'd never returned to see the final result until this road trip.

Follow this link for our day trip to Milford Sound, plus my first and only bungy jump.