New Zealand Sabbatical

Dianne and I are reprising our New Zealand adventure but are starting with a cruise of Australia for 9 days before reporting back to Darfield, NZ for a 5 month assignment. Needless to say, we enjoyed my clinic work and our assorted adventures and expect this second trip will be equally successful.

We flew into Sydney and stayed a night near the famous Opera House. The first picture, taken from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, shows our ship on the right across from the iconic performance venue. We learned it is actually 2 separate buildings: a larger symphony hall and a smaller opera house separated by a narrow open area where Dianne stands in the second picture.

The city keeps the area immaculate and even sends out this special green vehicle in the next picture to clean up old chewing gum from the walkway. The area bustles with fancily clad locals going to events and eating at the outdoor restaurants.

We enjoyed a walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge (pictured below) watching the busy boat traffic thinking the harbor master earns his wages. Some brave individuals walk across the top of the span in harnesses but we didn’t feel compelled to do that just yet. The cruise comes next…