Saturday, July 23, 2011

To Oz!

Hello friends and compatriots, my best wishes from across the equator and the international date line! I am all kinds of upside-down, but as long as I don't try to think about what day it is where and what time, I do all right. Australia is wonderful, this was our sunset last night:

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But I'm getting ahead of myself. Before New South Wales there came a lot of traveling. A few days' worth, in fact, from summer to the tropics (for a brief layover in Rarotonga, then on to Auckland, NZ (and winter) for a day and a night. Thence to Sydney for another night, where we had our crash course (almost literally) in driving on the wrong side of the road. After all that, being firmly ensconced in the Upper Hunter Valley in a little shire called Scone (the horse capital of Australia) is relatively relaxing. Yesterday I did what I came to do in the way of work, so now I'm free to enjoy myself for a few days before making that trip in reverse. But you all don't care about this nonsense, here are some pictures! (I don't have many, work and all, but hopefully now I"ll be able to take more.)

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The airstrip in Raro. Crap picture, but I just thought the whole thing so incongruous I had to snap one off.

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The Cloud, in Auckland. Taken from the hotel room. This structure has something to do with the upcoming Rugby World Cup, hosted this year by New Zealand. And by night:

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Yeah, it's blurry. I'm no brain surgeon.

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Breakfast menu in Auckland. Taken only to prove how incredibly expensive EVERYTHING is down here, NZ especially. Yes, I had that $16 bowl of porridge, and it was darn tasty. We had company for our meal as well:

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(Look! Knitting! It's my Kerrera, finally off the needles!)

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Maritime Museum pics.

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(the yacht that won the first America's Cup for NZ)

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A socked-in Sydney, from the hotel. We spent all our time outside trying dearly not to die, so there are no other pics as yet.

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The man who brought us down, an equine vet who pretty much embodies my childhood idea of James Herriot. Only taller.

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My dad.

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The Research Centre where we had the teambuilding, and dad did his marketing powerpoint thing, after a bevy of technological SNAFUs. But it always works out in the end, eh?

Today we got to play, which for dad meant golf *snicker* while I went horseback riding. I got to see kangaroos and a cockatoo and some green and red parrots, and he got to see kookaburras and ibises and budgies! An all around success. In the next few days I'll be knitting, punctuated by some sightseeing before we head off to Sydney, the opera, and back home. See you all soon!

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