Dolphin Encounter

...the waters of Kaikoura are inhabited by seals, dolphins and whales ... just to mentioned a few. I couldnt resist the thought of seeing them out there in there natural habitat ... but what i ended up doing was more then checking out ... we were given the opportunity to go swimming with dolphins ... i expected a few, but there turned out to be hundreds if not thousands ... and they came real close ... to check us out (individually) ... we are talking about half an arm length ... and they were swimming around me in a circle, playing with me (like you see in this movie 'Flipper') ... it was an amazing experience. below are some shots from back on the boat (shivering as the water was freezing)...

Kaikoura

... my first stop on the south island. its a beautiful and quiet town on the seaside famous for its abundance of marine life (due to its nutritous waters). Look at the picture below ... i am at the beach, the sun is shining, and there are snow-capped mountains in the background ... how beautiful! ... and look who i found while i was walking along the shore ...

Wellington

the capital of NZ , though tiny compared to other capitals on this planet...i only stayed over here for 2 days, doing things like taking the cable car (picture below) and visiting Te Papa (NZ's best, most famous and probably biggest museum) before finally making my way across the Cook Strait with the ferry (picture below) ...

Taupo Bungy

here in Taupo, I did something I never thought I could possibly do ... check this out:



would you have jumped ? ... I DID !!!

Taupo

beautiful town at the edge of an even more beautiful lake ...

Rotorua

nice, little town ... famous for its spas, its lake, and for the Maori towns (nicely set up for tourists) ...


a not water pond in the background (hence the fog)


me being exposed to Maori cultur

Waitomo Caves

here I did 'Black Water Rafting', also known as cave tubing. the Waitomo Caves are famous for its glowworms who are residing in there. the water being ice cold and the wet-suit i was wearing made me feel really uncomfortable ,.. all i was thinking of was the hot shower that was to follow. (soory no pictures)

Auckland / New Zealand

Sydney

Byron Bay

famous spot for surfing ... so i had to give it a go ...

before we hit the waves ...



in the water ...

Brisbane

... modern city with tall buildings and a lot of traffic ... but little flair (in my opinion). Nethertheless it attracts a lot of backpackers (why? .. i dont know). I turned up at 4 hostels - all fully booked. And those were big ones with plenty of rooms. Tourism is at its high in Australia.


(above are some pictures of Brisbane City Center at night time)

I took the opportunity of visiting Lone Pine - Australia's biggest Koala Sanctuary - to finally see a Koala in real life ... and they had Kangaroo's too - how amazing! and i got really near them. In actual fact, i was able to pet or touch them.



... that was the free stuff ... for 15 dollars on top I was allowed to hold a Koala in hands !!!

        

Fraser Island

Supposedly the biggest sand island in the world. it might well be since there was sand wherever i looked ... I was booked onto a one-day tour, which commenced with a ferry (or barge) transfer onto the island. Once we were on the island, we were taken around by a purposefully built bus (4WD) driven by 'Captain Kangaroo' - our guide for the day - quite a character that guy. He took us to eli Greek first (a freshwater creek that led into the ocean) ...



... then we got a chance to take pictures of the Maheno Shipwreck ... and the pinnacles (or 'colored sands' as they call it) ...



... the highlight (and the grand finale) was a swim in Lake McKenzie ... a freshwater lake right in the middle of the island ...

Airlie Beach

... very small town with only one industry : tourism. hence, it is taken over by backpackers at all times. i stayed in a nice hostel right at the waterfront ... it offered a great view onto the bay. I used the first day to chill out at the lagoon (yes, this town also has a lagoon) ...



and to book my sailing trip to the Whitsundays which took place the next day ... I boarded a catamaran named 'Camira' the next morning ... a really nice boat, a really friendly crew and fantastic food (and drinks) all day long ... the point of being on a catamaran is, that is able to sail if there is enough wind ... which there was at some point .. so we sailed along beautifully heading for Whitehaven Beach ...



... later on we had the chance to go snorkeling (wearing stinger suits) ... after so much exercise i deserved my beer (taken out of a cool box which supply didnt seem to end)

Cairns

... small town, but really touristy and commercial. on the first day i explored Cairns on foot (didnt take too long), then chilled out at the lagoon (a swimming pool on the beach front). on the next day I went to Kuranda taking the Kuranda Scenic Railway (a nice 2 hour train ride)



... the highlight though was a snorkeling trip to the Great Barrier Reef



where I actually went snorkeling ...