We had a fantastic time on this trip! It is really the best we have taken, basically because of the people. Yvonne, our trip leader was absolutely super; we all just loved her. And the group was the best we’ve ever been a part of (hard to believe when you consider China!). Everyone not only got along, they all had a great sense of humor. This always helps! By the time we left, we were really good pals and Yvonne was more than just our leader, she was a dear friend. It was very difficult to say good-bye.

And then there were the Aussies and the Kiwis, who are all quite friendly---much friendlier than Americans, I think. It really makes for a wonderful vacation!

First stop: Sydney. I’ve heard it referred to as “one of the most beautiful cities in the world”. This estimation is fairly accurate. Sydney reminded me a lot of Vancouver. The first day we were there was sunny and fine---perfect for great pictures! While in Sydney we did a tour each morning, then had afternoons and evenings free. We spent this time with Sheila and Philip, two Sydneysiders we had met while traveling in Peru. It was great to see them again and we were really impressed with their city. Not only is it gorgeous, you can drive an hour from the city and be in the wilderness. Great place!

From there we flew directly to Hobart, in Tasmania. We stayed in town but spent most of our time out and about in the national parks. It was at Bonorong that we met a wonderful koala named Clancy. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Not only was he awake and active, we could pet him and take 10,000 pictures, which I did! He was really dear.

It was in Tasmania that we had dinner at the home of some residents. These people live just outside Hobart and eight of us were to have dinner at each of two homes. Our group of 16 was initially rather confusing, as there were FOUR Gene/Jeans---TWO of which were married to each other. We didn’t really know one another very well yet, and, to make things a little less confusing for the hosts as well, Yvonne (our leader) put two Gene/Jeans in each group. So, in our group were Gene and Jean Ware. We drove up to the house, began to get out of the bus, and Richard, our host, came out to meet us. Then: “Hello! I’m Jean Ware.” Followed by: “ Hello, I’m Gene Ware.” Then it was my turn and I couldn’t help myself; I said, “Hello, I’m Jean Ware.” The look on Poor Richard’s face was priceless---totally helpless. Will the real Jean/Gene Ware please stand up! We all howled, and the evening was off to a great start. We really enjoyed ourselves that evening; our hosts were great people!

We really loved our short stay in Tasmania. It would really be nice to go back and spend more time in the outdoors there.

Then to Melbourne, which is also lovely, and a short drive through Adelaide, then down to the coast to catch the ferry for Kangaroo Island. We didn’t get there until evening, at which time we were pretty exhausted from a long day of traveling. The next day was dynamite! In addition to all the natural beauty, we saw kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, sea lions, and those fantastic pelicans! What a day!

The pelicans are extraordinary. What a show they put on and it’s all for free. A local resident comes down to the harbor each evening at 5 pm to feed them. Of course the pelicans are accustomed to this so, when we arrived shortly before 5, they were all assembled, swimming back and forth impatiently. Soon the guy appeared, wearing waders, and carrying a pail full of fish. After lecturing us for a few minutes, he waded right into the water with the gluttonous creatures and began to feed them. What a show. There was flying and yelping and grabbing and scratching all over the place! Pure bedlam! I was taking pictures as fast as I could breathe! It was wild! I got some great shots! And what beautiful birds they are! It was thrilling to witness this whole feast!

As if that were not enough for one day, we went out that night to spot  kangaroos in the bush and then on to watch the fairy penguins in town.

We flew out of Kangaroo Island early the next morning in two 8-seater planes. What fun! The only trouble was that we had to tell our weight. This has been an increasingly sore subject with me since the food in Oz was much better than I had anticipated. Somehow I expected English overcooked; it wasn’t that way at all. I was impressed. Good ice cream as well. What’s not to like about that!

Now for the Ghan train (from Adelaide to Alice Springs). This story could get very LONG (as if it isn’t already!). I was rather looking forward to this adventure as I Had never slept in a berth on a train. I’d slept sitting up on those trains in Europe in the 60s, but never in a real sleeping compartment. I was expecting to meet Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis!

By the time we boarded this train, we were all pretty good friends and had some good jokes and laughs going. So what fun when we realized we had an entire first class sleeping car to ourselves! And it was right next to the club car! We were like a bunch of kids at a slumber party, checking out our digs, sticking our heads out the door, taking pictures, acting all kinds of silly, etc. (I was the youngest member of this group, save Yvonne, so these were not exactly teenagers!) We then adjourned to the club car, where we met up with the three members of our group who were not in our car, as they had singles. We talked and laughed until dinner; then we talked and laughed, and carried on some more. Finally, we went to bed.

God!  Not a wink did I sleep all night. Clackety-clack! I felt like I was going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, so much was I rolling around!

And I was stuck in that damn top bunk---impossible to get to any sort of sleeping pill. At one point, as I was attempting to climb down (on some sort of Tarzan ladder), I got a horrible cramp in my leg, slid down screaming obscenities as I heard a rrrrip! My wonderful silk Chinese caftan!

Finally it was morning, we were both in a bitchy mood---to say the least---and the steward came with our coffee. Now what the hell do you DO with it! Nowhere to sit, the one little table is blocked by the ladder. Clickety-clack! Get me the hell out of here! I fled to the club car where I found some others from the group. None of them had slept either and we began rolling on the floor with laughter as we told our sleepless tales. We were all so damn miserable, but it was hysterical! Enter Yvonne, smiling. We saw her at the other end of the car and made a quick promise to one another to hide our displeasure. When she asked us how we’d slept, we said how wonderful it was and went on and on. And then we laughed hysterically! It seems that not even our steward had slept a wink that night. Our car was at the very end, there were 25 cars instead of the normal 15, and we were suffering from whiplash (for lack of a better word…)

From then on, when we wanted to laugh, all we had to do was mention the Ghan Train!

This took us to Alice Springs, where we did two particularly interesting things. We visited the School of the Air and the Royal Flying doctors. It’s really incredible how remote some parts of the Outback are!

And then, at 4:15 the next morning, we arose to go ballooning. I needed this after no sleep the night before. Oh well. The ballooning was good; great photo ops. But I was sort of disappointed that it was not going to be anywhere near Ayers Rock, as I had thought. It was fun anyway, and I did get some good shots.

Then we took off on the long drive for Uluru. On the way, we stopped at a Cattle Station, were showed around and had lunch with the owners. It was absolutely fascinating! I had expected these people to be old hillbillies. Not so! They were a young, well-educated couple in their thirties with two children, about 8 and 10. Their children use School of the Air. We saw their classroom, talked about how this worked and the fact that they will have to go to boarding school in Adelaide after primary school. It’s an incredible way to live and must often be quite lonely. Computers and e-mail have to be a godsend to these people!

By late afternoon, we reached Ayers Rock. It IS impressive! Tried to get to bed early because Yvonne was waking us at 5 am to walk around the Rock! God, will I EVER get any sleep?? I thought I should just skip this, but thought better of it. There might be some good pictures. There were. How fantastic to see the early morning sun illuminate that rock! One member of our group, a 64-year-old retired psychiatrist, climbed it! We thought HE needed his head examined! (He later bungee-jumped from the original bungee bridge in NZ!  He tells me he is very staid and conservative at home. God! Besides, you get a discount if you’re over 60. $180 is the normal price; $80 if you’re over 60. Alas, not a bargain for me! This is why I didn’t do it. Hah!)

Hot, hot, hot! Now to Cairns, Cape Tribulation, the Great Barrier Reef. Awesome! We spent our last two nights in Cairns in a “boutique hotel” in which we had a suite with a washer and dryer. This was a godsend, as we now had to get ready for New Zealand. We were increasingly eager to visit, simply because we all liked Yvonne so much and she’s a Kiwi.

NZ is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous!  And the people there are as friendly and outgoing as are the Aussies. We only visited the South Island, were only there for 7 days. This was just en extension to the Oz Tour, but what dynamite! Christchurch is lovely, very European. Queenstown is stunning with its lakes and snow-capped mountains. (Incredibly, it turned cold and snowed on the peaks just as we got there.) We spent a day in the fiords of Doubtful Sound, again beautiful, but with doubtful weather.

And we ATE! In general, I thought the food here WAS overcooked English. Not very good at all. But their hokey-pokey ice cream and their Pavlovas are to die for! Yvonne introduced us to both; by this time we were all stuffing ourselves shamelessly. We had cookies on the bus, ice cream at the stops, and Pavlova after meals. Oh, and the Easter Bunny brought us all chocolate eggs and bunnies. There really IS an Easter Bunny! (Her name is Yvonne!)

We ate and we laughed! On more than one day my stomach muscles were sore from laughing. What a great time!

So it was with a few tears that we left Yvonne in the Auckland airport on the interminable 3^rd day of April. We dragged ourselves to LA, where we said our good-byes, and went our separate ways. We all have great impressions and terrific memories of the Land Down Under!