4 February 2018
Auckland’s War Memorial Museum is a monumental structure with excellent collections of New Zealand history and natural science. In just a few hours, it gave us a good entry level understanding of the original Maori inhabitants, European settlement, ANZAC military history, and native animals. All of which we hope to learn more about as we travel.
4 February 2018
Auckland Sky Tower is the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere and provides great 360 degree views of the city. It dominates the skyline and can seen from almost anywhere in the city center. It is lit in different color schemes each night depending on the time of year. The tower is well worth the time for any first time visitor.
2 – 6 February 2018
Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and the first stop on our tour. Located on the North Island, nearly 1 out of 3 New Zealand’s 4.8 million residents live in Auckland. The city is often mistaken as the country’s capital, however that is located about 400 miles (644 km) to the south in Wellington.
The ‘City of Sails’ city center is adjacent to several wharfs. They are hubs of transportation, tourism, and entertainment. We got a hotel in town so we could explore the city by foot, train, and ferry.
Civic Theatre
University of Auckland
Auckland Domain
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
2 February 2018
New Zealand has been high on our travel wish list so when we decided to move to Australia for a year, we quickly added time to explore the island nation. We chose February because it should be less crowded – summer holidays just ended – and the weather should be good. The weather forecast for the next few weeks however is dominated by rain so we will see how that works out.
Before planning and researching our trip, I was under the common misconception that New Zealander’s nickname, “Kiwis”, came from kiwifruit, of which they are one of the world’s leading exporters. It actually comes from the Kiwi, a flightless bird that is New Zealand’s national symbol. There is one on the dollar coin. Souvenoir shops sell kiwi everything and anything.
We have always had a great impression of New Zealand as they are an ally and good friend to the United States. Having lived in Australia for almost 7 months we have been getting much more news and information about our Kiwi friends. Australians and New Zealandars are strong allies and friendly rivals. The two nations have a lot in common but each have a distint identity. From my vantage point, their relationship is similar to that between the United States and Canada. We hope to learn more about this in our upcoming travels.
Sport is one way their interconnection and rivalry are expressed. New Zealand has professional sports teams in Australian leagues, including NRL (rugby league), BBL (cricket), NBL (basketball), and A-League (soccer), and their national teams play each other in test matches on a regular basis. We were fortunate to see the All Blacks rugby team play in Brisbane this past October and experience the rivalry first hand.
We are excited to explore this great land and see it for ourselves.
1 February 2018
In our last full day in Melbourne, we decided to explore some of the surrounding areas. We drove clockwise around the perimeter of Port Phillip Bay taking the ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff. Instead of driving back through Geelong, we took a detour west to Torquay where we started our Great Ocean Road trip two weeks prior. We took some time to visit the town and do some shopping. The last time we were in town, we spent time at the Surfing Museum but got behind schedule and had to leave sooner than we wanted.
6 – 31 January 2018
Melbourne has a reputation for art of all kinds including some prominent street art. Well done street art has become a tourist attraction in itself. While it does not always appeal to me, it does add color to an otherwise bland urban landscape. We enjoyed seeing some of the areas dedicated to this kind of art. Hosier Lane, the most famous area in the CBD, is not alone. AC/DC Lane was our favorite. Unfortunately, graffiti style art is only a small portion of the graffiti found in the city and its suburbs.
Graffiti is so prevalent throughout that it must be accepted at some level by the people of Melbourne. As a first time visitor I must say it makes an immediate impression. It was disappointing.
There is a rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne in their effort to be seen as the preeminent Australian city. They are almost equal in size. Sydney is similar to a North American city. Melbourne is more European. Sydney has the Opera House. Melbourne has the Australian Open. Sydney has better beaches. Melbourne has better sports teams. Sydney has more sunny days. Melbourne gets less rain. Ask an Australian and they seem to be divided as to which is better. Both cities are fantastic, but if Melbourne ever wants to be recognized as the country’s leading city it needs to clean up its act.
An endless stream of graffiti throughout the city gives the impression Melbourne is dirty and unsafe. It is so rampant visitors can only conclude the community doesn’t care or the local government has lost control. Either way it cripples the city’s curb appeal. Australia has so many beautiful places to visit and most of them have not been defaced with illegible tags by talentless thugs.
Street Art including Hosier and AC/DC Lanes
Malcom Young Tribute in AC/DC Lane
Endless Graffiti cannot be avoided throughout the City
15 – 28 January 2018
Our reason for visiting Melbourne in January was the Australian Open. We have been to the US Open and Wimbledon so the AO was an obvious next stop on our way to seeing all four major championships. Normally living in the Northern Hemisphere and half a world away, the AO is only major played during our winter and it gets the least airplay due to the time difference. Of the four destinations, it is hard to beat the history and bright lights of New York, London, and Paris but Melbourne might host the best event.
Melbourne’s tennis facilites are modern, easily accessible from public transportation, walkable from the city center, and tickets can be secured on-line. The Australian Open might not have the same presige as the other three but it might be the easiest and most pleasant one for international visitors… if you can bear the flight to get here.
27 January 2018
The Immigration Museum is located in the Old Customs House on Flinders Street. Initially we might not have been interested but it was highly recommended by a friend. I’m glad we went. Much of Australia’s history is tied to its immigrants. The museum helped fill in the blanks for some of bits of history we have picked up along our travels. We learned about British influence on Australian culture, role of Chinese immigrants, race issues, and policies to increase population to provide a better national defense. This might be my favorite museum we visited in Australia. It is definitely worth an hour or two of your time.
24 January 2018
The Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens is well done but not extraordinary. They had a nice collection of animals and the kids had a great time. It’s on the train line so getting there was easy.
After our first 7 months of travel, Australia Zoo north of Brisbane is still one of our favorite places.
10 – 15 January 2018
Carlton Gardens are located on the northeast corner of Melbourne’s CBD. It is the home of the Royal Exhibition Building and the Melbourne Museum. The Royal Exhibition Building was completed in 1880 to host the Melbourne International Exhibition. It is still used today for special events. It is one of the most impressive buildings in Melbourne.
The Melbourne Museum, opening in 2001, is an equally impressive modern building housing natural and cultural history exhibits. The kids were particularly intrigued by their impressive collection of dinosaur skeletons. The Imax theatre is also located here.
The Carlton Gardens also includes various gardens, a playground, and plenty of green space. This was one of our favorite places in the city.
American Family Travels 
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