Miles Traveling Teacher

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Tasmania, Australia!

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Ellen

(This is part of a trip report to NZ/AU using 125,000 AA miles and costing $131 to fly business class on Qantas to NZ, returning on Hawaiian Air, with a stop in Honolulu).

The above isn’t a sign you see in the US! Tasmania is a large island off the southern coast of Australia. We started in Hobart, though we didn’t spend much time there. We went to the Salamanca Market, where I bought Uggs and some other Australian stuff, one of which is my favorite hand knit headband I wear when it’s cold at home.

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Here’s a picture of Hobart, the city by the sea…

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The East coast drive to the Bay of Fires was beautiful…we stopped along the way to see “Spiky Bridge” built by convicts in 1843.

And home-made ice cream at Kate’s Berry Farm…

The view from Kate’s Berry Farm…

Swansea, a city on the drive…

We really wanted to go to Bay of Fires, which is famous for its “crystal-clear waters, white sandy beaches and orange lichen-covered granite boulders.” It was a bit of a drive to get there, but well worth it!

It’s one of the most beautiful spots I’ve ever seen!

These photos haven’t been altered in any way, ie, no filter…what you see is what it was!

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We had lovely weather all day and on our drive back to Hobart, AND no problems like the one pictured!

Next up, hiking Cradle Mountain in Tasmania…

Southern Scenic Route, NZ!

Posted on April 5, 2015 by Ellen

(This is part of a trip report to NZ/AU where I flew business class on Qantas using 125,000 AA miles and costing $131! My return was on Hawaiian Air, with a stop in Honolulu).

The Southern Scenic Route (SSR) on the South Island of New Zealand was my very favorite! It’s just SO beautifully scenic, with such variety! We took three days, with lots of stops along the way, and very good maps. We left Milford Sound, going through Te Anau to Invercargill, where we stayed the night. These ferns are all over NZ!

We stopped for short hikes along the way. The SSR has wonderful maps, with scenic spots and walks well marked.

Clifden Suspension Bridge, built in 1898!

Many of the trees are bent and shaped like this along the coast because of the wind…

And finally, the sea…

Monkey Island, you can actually walk out to it depending on the tides.

The teacher in me had to take this photo in Colac Bay, where across the street was the BEST store for yarns! I’ve already made two scarves from NZ wool/silk. Wouldn’t you love to live here?!

The Water Tower in Invercargill, built in 1889 with 300,000 bricks, is no longer open to the public.

We stopped and asked a farmer how many sheep he had…the answer ~ 8,000!

Notice the sheep by the seaside on the far left…

Slope Point…

More lupines…

Curio Bay, an ancient fossil forest, formed 180 million years ago! Yellow eyed penguins live here, but we didn’t see them.

Purakaunui Falls…on this walk, we met some Kiwis who had traveled to Wisconsin!

This is part of the railway station in Dunedin.

Our hotel in Dunedin was very typical of NZ hotels: family-owned, fairly inexpensive, clean, and with a kitchen!

The Moeraki Boulders are large, spherical concrete looking boulders that have been eroded by the waves, and are 60 million years old! Very unusual…

A lavender field…

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This is the Banks Peninsula, about an hour from Christchurch.

Our last night in NZ was spent in the little village of Akaroa, a charming small town.

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A friend told me the man who attends this lighthouse is open to giving tours, but he was gone when we there.

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I hope these unfiltered and unedited photos explain why I loved the Southern Scenic Route! Next, Tasmania, Australia!

Milford Sound…

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Ellen

(This is part of a trip report to NZ/AU, when I used 125,000 AA miles and $131 to fly business on Qantas to NZ, returning on Hawaiian Air, with a stop in Honolulu).

If you have been experiencing slow downloads (or no downloads) of photographs, I am SO sorry! I’ve called WordPress and we have hopefully resolved the problem. Thanks for your patience with this and for reading my blog! What’s a miles traveling blog without photos?! (:

When we drove the very crooked road to Milford Sound, it rained the entire way! We stopped lots to take pictures of the magnificent waterfalls, while we kept our fingers crossed for blue skies the following day, when we were scheduled for our boat ride in the sound.

This is the view outside our back door at the lodge…

We were so glad we stayed at Milford Lodge because it’s very remote and not easy to get to! Most people come for the day via bus.

And the front view, with our hot pink car, which I drove on the wrong side of the road! I did fairly well, just repeatedly turned on the windshield wiper instead of the turn signal!

After the rain, some photos from our walk that evening…

The next day, we went on “Cruise Milford,” a very small boat, which we preferred. And the great thing was, they let us go twice that day for no extra charge!

We were thrilled to have NO rain and clearing blue skies!

Some of the boats that cruise the sound are large, with loads of people. A tour guide in Queenstown told us about this new, smaller one. The captain even let me “steer” for a bit!

Our captain was from South Africa and would get VERY close to the waterfalls…actually backing the boat into the spray! Some people touched the side of the cliff!

Seal rock…

We were fortunate to see both sides of Milford Sound, in the pouring rain and the many waterfalls when we arrived, then with sunny blue skies the next day!

A double rainbow…

Coming up next will be the Southern Scenic Route, my very favorite scenery in all of New Zealand!

Qtown gets A for Adventure!

Posted on March 8, 2015 by Ellen

(This is part of a trip report to NZ/AU, using 125,000 AA miles and $131 to fly business class to NZ and return on Hawaiian Airlines, with a stop in Honolulu.)

We arrived in Queenstown, the adventure and tourist capital of NZ, and stayed in the Crowne Plaza on points, and sorry, no photos from inside – we were too busy having adventures!

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We went on a Dart River tour, which included a bus ride to Glenorchy and visits to movie scenes from the Hobbit films. Here are some photos along the route…

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We went on a “backcountry route” to Paradise, with stops along the way to see the sights. ALL of NZ truly is paradise, it’s one of the most beautifully scenic places I’ve ever been!

They explained how the furniture was built large for the movies, in order to make people look small…this picture proves it works!

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And finally, our river tour on a jet boat in the Mt. Aspiring National Park.

It’s almost impossible to describe the water color…

This is a huge piece of greenstone in the concession area…

Our adventures were pretty mild compared to most Kiwis! We went up the mountain on the Skyline, to get fantastic views of Lake Wakatipu.

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Here are some REAL adventurers!

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One of my meals in Queenstown, I love fish and ate it every chance I got!

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Queenstown was loaded with tourists, many from Asian countries, and there are probably ten or more adventure type tours available, and as you can see, we did the mild ones!

Next is Milford Sound, the Southern Alps!