Glowworms and Goodbyes

We spent last weekend enjoying the last of our visitors for a couple of months. Gladys was in town after her tour of New Zealand, and mom and dad arrived back from their excursion on the south island to spend their last weekend in New Zealand. On Friday, after Gladys and I took in a Les Mills fitness class (FYI - this is the home of the Les Mills...Body Pump is part of the national identity here!), we loaded up the Subaru and went to the Auckland War Museum. It's an impressive structure atop one of the volcanic peaks that dot the Auckland skyline. After a nice lunch in the cafe, we took in the Maori cultural performance, complete with haka. I was worried that Georgia would freak out during the performance (especially since we are in full-on stranger anxiety now), but she loved every minute. That night, Gladys kindly babysat the little lady so we could go out to eat for dad's birthday - we found a great haunt in Ponsonby with some good eats. We'll be back.

Auckland Museum - a great way to spend a rainy day

Mom, especially, got really into the Maori cultural performance

Saturday was the highlight of the weekend. We rented an 8 passenger van (referred to here as a "people mover"), and tackled the 2.5 hour drive to Waitomo to visit the famous limestone caves. There are more that 300 mapped caves in this region, and some of them house the famous glowworms which are numerous and light of the ceiling of the caves like a mesh of thousands of tiny white lights. It is magical, and so too is the structure of the caves themselves. They are surprisingly large with very high ceilings and intricate limestone structures, and some of them have rivers and waterfalls coursing through them. We visited two of the caves - the Glow-worm Cave, and Ruakuri Cave which has special Maori cultural significance as traditional burial site.

In Ruakuri Cave

Check out these stalactites

All good things must come to an end, and so they did on Sunday. Gladys left early in the morning, and after enjoying a beautiful 'winter' day in Auckland, we delivered K and S to the airport on Sunday afternoon for their flight to San Fran. Five weeks went quickly, but it was great visit. Luckily, Scott had much of last week off so it was a great way for us to ease into a more routine life in Auckland, now just the three of us again.

Farewell brunch in St. Heliers

All Blacks

On Thursday, Georgie and I joined mom and dad on a bus tour of Auckland city. We decided to do the full circuit and not the hop on, hop off version, so we bussed it in to Auckland, had a nice lunch in the city, and then hopped on the tour bus for a relaxing and informative 1 hour tour of the hot spots in Auckland. Georgia loved it. We were sitting on the upper tier at the front of the bus, so she was able to bounce on our knees, bang on the hand rail in front of her, and loved her unobstructed views out the windows. In my opinion, the city (downtown proper) doesn't have the same character and sophistication that Melbourne does, but there are lots of areas we have yet to explore, so I think my first impressions may change.

Touring Auckland on the double decker bus

At the waterfront (with Georgie snoozing) - world class racing sailboats behind us

Two exciting things happened on Saturday - (1) we received tickets through Scott's work to watch the famous All Blacks rugby team play South Africa , and (2) we found a great babysitter in the neighbourhood - woo hoo! Pip is a 21 year old recent Uni graduate who has a lot of nannying experience, is lovely, and best of all, lives next door! She came over to watch the little lady (mom and dad are on their 6 day excursion of the south island) while Scott and I went to the All Blacks game.

All Blacks fans

It was a neat experience. Rugby is the most popular sport in New Zealand, and the fans may be even more dedicated and obsessed (ie. fanatical) than the Melbourne footy fans are, so watching the crowd was as fun as watching the game. The best part for us was seeing the team perform their world famous Haka (traditional Maori war dance) at the beginning of the match. It is one of the most intimidating displays I have ever seen - definitely worth a You Tube search of 'All Blacks Haka' if you haven't seen it before. The crowd was rewarded with a substantial victory over SA - 33 to 12 - the country celebrated! Scott and I celebrated this, and also knowing that we have someone we trust to hang out with G when we want to get out of the house past 6pm. Everyone was a winner.

Pre-game Haka...I'm obsessed with it

Auckland, Week One

We made it! Another move, another 'new home', another country. It has all gone relatively smoothly. We arrived in our new place after a long day of traveling, and instantly felt good about it. The couple whose house we are renting greeted us with a glass of wine, a cozy fire burning, and a full dinner they made for us. The house is roomy (4 bedrooms - visitors welcome!) and very comfortable. It even has a pool - fun for when the weather warms up. The community is very family friendly with great walking paths and a play centre near by. The town of St. Heliers is beautifully situated on the beach and though small and quaint, has almost everything we will need on a day to day basis.

K, S, and the Peach in front of our new digs at 16 Evesham Avenue, Glendowie

Millspoons on the beach in St. Heliers

In addition to getting oriented in the area, registering/insuring our car (used 1998 Subaru wagon previously owned by our friends Matt and Rach when they were here last year), buying Georgie furniture, stocking the fridge, setting up a back account, etc. etc. , we squeezed in some time over the first week to do a couple of day trips - one to Matakana to experience their Saturday market. Great food, great vibe, lovely place. We also took a small car ferry to Waiheke Island - a small island 45 minutes (by boat) from Auckland. A neat spot that is a good mix of richie richie and hippie-ville. We visited 3 great wineries and enjoyed some beautiful coastal drives here.

At Mudbrick winery on Waiheke Island

Cheers to the land of some great Pinots

Bye Bye Oz

The last few days in Melbourne were busy ones - packing, cleaning, parties, and saying goodbye to some of the great people we've gotten to know here. We can't believe how quickly the last 6 months have gone. It's been fantastic, but we're excited to move on to the next part of the journey. Despite looking forward to NZ, moving is chaos no matter how you cut it. I also felt a bit sad selling some of Georgia's things and packing up her little world to move on. This, despite the fact that she seems pretty content to be anywhere her family is right now.

A pic of Scott with the guys he worked with in Melbourne at his goodbye party

Our last breakfast at Jerry's - the milk bar (aka coffee shop) around the corner from where we lived

Scott had a busy final few days of work, so we were very thankful to have mom and dad here to help out with the little lady while we got some last minute packing done. K and S had one final Oz adventure - a day on Phillip Island where they visited a koala conservation centre and watched the famous nightly march of the penguins.

Mom and Dad at the Koala Conservation Centre on Philip Island

Georgie's last slide in the park

On Canada Day, we loaded our gear and made our way to the airport. As you can see from the pics, we did not travel lightly so had to order a 'Maxi Taxi' (a large van big enough for lots of gear and several passengers) to get us there. Getting through check in and customs to get to the gate was a fiasco, and would require a blog post of its own to do the story justice, but I'll sum it up by saying that today I am mailing several strongly worded letters that Scott has written (his manifesto, as I call it) to the top executives at Virgin Blue Airlines expressing our "displeasure" with the experience we had. Those of you who know Scott well will appreciate that he enjoys writing a good letter of complaint. I'll keep you posted on what comes of his efforts...

The pack mules with some of our gear in the Melbourne airport

Tropical Queensland

Destination: gorgeous Port Douglas. This is where we spent our second last week in Australia. It is a beautiful part of Oz, and the warm weather was a nice change from the 'winter' temps we've been experiencing in Melbourne (it should be noted that a 'dreadfully cold winter day' in southern Australia means low-mid teen temps...really not that bad by our hearty Canadian standards).

Georgie getting ready to rack up some more frequent flyer miles

The big draw for the five of us was the incredible diversity that can be found on land and at sea in this area. Our goals for this trip were to explore the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforest. The amazing thing about this area is that both of these World Heritage listed natural environments meet side by side at Cape Tribulation in the middle of the Daintree rainforest.

Georgie thought the reef was ok, but her fav part of the trip was splashing in the pool at the hotel

Our trip to the Reef was the highlight for me. We (all 5 of us) left early in the morning to board our diving boat. Georgie was the youngest on the boat by a significant margin, but did incredibly well all day. We visited 3 sites on the outer reef. Mom and dad snorkelled at all three, while Scott and I snorkelled at 2 sites and did a dive at the third. It was an incredible experience, and I think it got me hooked on diving. Among other sea creatures, we saw a turtle, giant clam, massive sea slug, and more varieties of fish and coral than I could begin to count. Scott's highlight (besides the dive) was snorkelling with dad who randomly decided that he would go after a shark they saw. Not often you hear about a human attempting to attack a shark! Luckily both Scotts and the shark made it through the encounter unscathed.

Scott and I meeting a turtle on the reef

The Millers getting ready to dive in

Each couple had a day to explore the Daintree rainforest on a guided tour, while the other pair stayed back to hang out with the little lady. The trip involved a guided hike in the rainforest and boat ride on the Daintree River - we were really hoping to see the interesting (and sometimes vicious) Cassowary bird, but the little (errr, or big) devils stayed true to their nature of being elusive and hard to spot. Nevertheless, there was plenty of interesting flora and fauna to see - BIG spiders, pythons, salt water crocodiles, reptiles, huge bats, etc. etc.

Scott taking a dip in the rainforest

As per usual, the food during our stay was a definite highlight. We were recommended by several Aussies to eat at Nautilus, an open air restaurant in the middle of the rainforest. The food was to die, and the atmosphere even more impressive. No kids allowed here, so Scott and I went on one evening and mom and dad on another. Scott and I splurged and ordered the chef's tasting menu with wine pairing. Truly one of the best dining experiences we've ever had.

Mmmmmmmm...K. Miller's fresh sea trout at Nautilus

The flight home was almost as eventful as our activities that week. There was a medical emergency on the plane, so Scott and I offered to help out, but soon realized there really isn't a whole lot anyone can do without medical equipment. And let's be honest, an orthopod and palliative care doc aren't the ideal pair you might hope to be assisting you when you're passing out mid flight! The lady's condition required we divert the plane to land in Brisbane, so what was supposed to be a 3 hour flight turned into a 6 hour + fiasco. It goes without saying we were glad to arrive home that night. Our excitement, however, quickly faded when we realized the temp inside the apartment was lower than outside, and the toilet wasn't working! Ahhhh, 1/4 Hood Street- we are so ready to bid you adieu.

Welcome Nan and Pop!

I've had to abort my weekly blogging since early June, because our internet service has been downgraded by the owner of our apartment (unbeknownst to us...seriously, could he get any more cheap?!) in preparation for our departure from Melbourne. We're now suffering with a dial-up speed connection....PAINFUL! I figured I would try to knock one entry off today while we are packing up - I can leave the computer on for the hours it will take to upload the pics and get some packing done in the meantime.

The Millers looking no worse for the wear after their 24 hour journey.

It's been a great couple of weeks since I wrote last. My parents arrived on Saturday, June 12 - a great birthday gift for me. We were again amazed that Georgia didn't miss a beat with them...no shyness at all and immediately held out her arms for them to hold her. I'm certain we have Skype to thank for this.

Brighton Beach Houses

We spent the first week showing them around St. Kilda and Melbourne. It was fun to re-visit some of the 'must do' places here for Scott and I, because it will be our last time doing these things, at least for 2010. We have visited the penguins at St. Kilda Pier, taken the token beach pics at the Brighton Beach bathing boxes, experienced the footy craze at the MCG (Collingwood vs. Melbourne), enjoyed the free city bus tour, created an Aussie menu (lamb as the main, ofcourse) and shopped for the ingredients at the Queen Victoria Market.

The Peach - now 8 months old, weighing in at a dainty 16 lbs, and FULL of action

On the days where we haven't been out and about, mom and dad have been soaking up their time with G (walks, park trips, swimming pool excursions, general spoiling/attention giving) allowing Scott and I some time to get things organized for our impending move and go on a few 'dates'. The Millers also enjoyed some day trips on their own to explore the surrounding areas: Great Ocean Road, shopping in the city, and march of the penguins on Phillip Island.

K and S at London Bridge on the Great Ocean Road

Footy...finally

Scott's been to 2 footy matches since we arrived, but this weekend marked my first foray into the huge footy culture in Melbourne. Our friend, Kaye, invited me to attend a match on Sunday night - Collingwood (Kaye's a die-hard Magpies fan) vs. the Western Bulldogs. The crowd of 50,000 was enthusiastic to say the least, and the game is fast-paced and very fun to watch. There were a lot of f-bombs dropped (errr, make that screamed) by the dedicated (aka crazed) fans, and I think we came close to witnessing a fight break out. Kaye was a fantastic host and a lot of fun to watch at the game...she knows her footy and feels pretty passionately about it. It was a close game, but Collingwood got their win.

Kaye and I cheering on the Collingwood Magpies at Etihad Stadium

(An aside: I wrote about Kaye back in February, saying that she had special ties to PEI. She is an Australian who has visited PEI 4 times in the past 15 years. She loves it and considers it her second home. The circumstances that introduced her to the province are pretty amazing. Over 15 years ago, one of her daughters, was diagnosed with what was thought to be terminal cancer. Her doctors advised the family to organize her children's wish, anticipating that she had a short time left to live. Her daughter had 3 wishes: Visit Disney World, New York City, and PEI (to see where Anne of Green Gables lived...what else?!). They fell in love with PEI and have gotten to know several people there really well. I'm happy to report, that all these years later, Kaye's daughter is alive, working fulltime and was recently married! I hereby give them both the official designation of IBCs (Islander By Choice).)

Kaye decorating her car in celebration of the big win

On the other end of the cultural spectrum - we visited the Melbourne Museum this weekend to check out the Titanic exhibition. It was well laid out and showcased many artifacts that have been salvaged from the wreck. Despite seeing the movie multiple times and reading about the accident, you don't get a true sense of the tragedy until seeing the personal artifacts and hearing the stories of individuals on the ship. Georgia had a good time banging on the glass cases, with the occasional lunge towards the person standing in front of her. Fortunately she was not escorted out of the exhibit.

Scott and the Peach at the Melbourne Museum

Next up - We're looking forward to K and S Miller (Nana and Papa) arriving on June 12!