Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Hong Kong Transit

This post is out of order, we were in Hong Kong before going to New Zealand. But NZ was so fun and busy that Hong Kong got lost in the shuffle.

Hong Kong - what can I say about your transit system except that You Rock!

Not only are your maps and signage close to perfect;

Yes, we are here.

Pick Your Exit

but you've also tapped into a little used transit option.

Escalators.

Central escalator

The Central Escalators run down the hill from 6 am to 10:30, then switches and runs up the hill from 10:30 to midnight. It's about 800 meters of escalators and moving walkways. You can window shop while commuting. You can pick a restaurant or bar.

Last bar on the mid levels escalator!

This was the last bar on the mid levels escalator, so of course we stopped. And watched the escalator commuters go by.

Hong Kong Central Escalator

For anyone who can't get enough of Hong Kong transit, go to flickr.com and type in hktransit under tags for all the great transit photos.

And for those who care more about cats, here you go.

Put That Kitty on a Leash!

Or maybe goldfish?

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Going to the birds in Sydney, Australia

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Who's an adorable parrot who landed on our balcony? This guy.
Who fed him? Me.
Was it a good idea? No.
Did he and his buddies show up every half hour screeching for more food for the entire morning? Yes.

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But still adorable.

Rich and I are in Sydney, staying in a apartment just up from Bronte Beach. Every morning we go to the beach to swim, either in the Bogey Hole, which is protected from the surf by rocks, or in the salt water swimming pool.

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The coast around Sydney is beautiful, thankfully we got out and saw a lot before the rain started. It's been raining for about three days now.

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Australia has had ten years of drought, but this stretch of coast gets more then its fair share of rain. Unfortunately it just runs into the ocean, doing the rest of the state and country no good.

Split to Manley coast walk

We did a great walk from Split to Manley with our friend Mike who was in Australia for work. Sun and lizards, what more could you ask for?

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So what's it like staying in one place for so long? Weird, after so much traveling. We emptied the trash for the first time in 8 months. We had to change the toilet paper roll! We bought groceries for more then just two days worth of eating. We have our weekly transit passes and we figured out the bus system and the train system. It's very nice. I give Rich two more days before he's itching to move again.


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Sunday, April 08, 2007

Seaweed and Sheep

After our friends Mike and Nancy went back to SF Rich and I rented a car to head up north on the South Island. We wanted to hike and visit the wine country. The areas of New Zealand that have only one main road are not the best for bicycle touring so we decided that a car was the way to go. And we wanted to hike. To get to many of the hikes you have to drive up dirt roads and park on or near private farms or ranches.

What Are You Looking At?

These majestic looking sheep were guardians at the trail head of a hike we did up to SawCut gorge. The trail is just a walk up the river, in the river, with an occasional scramble over bigger boulders. The gorge is beautiful and can only be walked through during low water times.

Amazing Sawcut Gorge

Rich went for a chilly swim au natural, I stayed on the river bank taking photos.

Yup, just Rich and the Rocks

New Zealand is just lousy with great walks, hikes, and tramps of varying length, vistas, and weather. One particular favorite was along the shore of the Kaikoura Peninsula. If you walk the shore around low tide you can make it past all the bluffs at water level - you will be sharing the rocks with red beaked gulls and fur seals, both of which will feel threatened if you get too close. The gulls retaliate by dive bombing you, the fur seals retaliate by scaring the pants off you as what you thought was a rock barks and makes a dash for the water.

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The varieties of seaweed along the walk were amazing,

seaweed medley

Seaweed medley

And of course it was New Zealand so there were sheep on this walk as well.

Beach sheep

The sign says it all, watch out for sheep everywhere.

Look Out! Sheep?!?

We're in Australia now, with our bikes, and after five days in Melbourne we're heading off to Victoria's High Country and then to Sydney.