Arrival in New Zealand.

After a relatively long flight (ca 5000km, who can believe it?) we arrive in Auckland, city of the sails!

The view from the porch of our B and B is lovely: 

We are tired and feel terribly cold. In Cairns there were 33 degrees, here there are only 15 when we arrive. 

On Tuesday we take the ferry to go to town and visit the Auckland Museum to get an impression of the Maori culture. 

This is the entrance hall. 

We attend a show. 

A Maori house.

Outside the Museum. 

Here are some impressions from the city and the harbour by night. 

View from the ferry. 

Our lovely B and B in Devonport. 

Last days in Australia: Cairns and Atherton Tablelands

From Mission Beach we start in tropical rain and we arrive in Cairns in tropical rain. Very friendly welcomed by Marlies and Bruno, with a nice Swiss accent (because they immigrated from Switzerland more than 20 years a go), we quickly feel at home in our room, with a scenic view over Cairns from our veranda (in case the weather allows views, see the difference between rainy and sunny weather).

Because of the rain we stay in our B and B almost the whole next day. We only go for a short walk to the waterfront. 

This is the lagoon. 

As it is Anzac Day there are a lot of people with uniforms in town. Anzac Day is a very popular day in OZ and Nz, as it reminds us on the many wars soldiers from OZ and NZ participated in. 

We did not know how topical the times of war are in this part of the world. There are a lot of War Memorials in almost every single town here and we saw many children's books illustrating this particular topic. 

The next day the weather is a little bit better and we go on a tour to the Atherton Tablelands.

Unfortunately there has been a mudslide in the mountains so that we can't take the famous train and skywalk. We must go by car. But it is worth it. The tablelands are about 800 to 1000 m above sea level and there are a lot of tiny villages, farms, little lakes and spots to explore. 

The fist stop is in Kuranda where we have German Tucker Bratwurst. 

Then we shop. Strange things to discover:

Echte Kröte!!!!

Krokofüße!!

Kängeruh Hoden!!!! Und Vieles mehr.

Then we visit a coffee plantation!

Now you can read a story about a beautiful tree which can only be told in German:

Honi soît qui mal y ponse! Ein Schelm, wer beim lauten Vorlesen Sexuelles denkt:

Tablelands are beautiful!

Cows in the grass.

Lake Echam. 

We spent our last day in Cairns in the Botanical Gardens!

Live music.

And so on and so on... 

We are very sorry to leave this beautiful, amazing country! Bye bye OZ, NZ is coming!!

Drive further north towards Cairns, with stops in Townsville and Mission Beach

In Townsville we stay in a hotel for the first time on our trip. Great views from the 11th floor over the harbor and the city! 

We spend the afternoon in the Queensland Aquarium and in the turtles hospital. 

In the evening we go down to the waterfront. There is a nice community festival, where whole families spend their Easter Monday together, listening to really good life music. Some impressions:

We finish the day with a walk along a lookout point, the lagoon, beach volleyball, cafes, and lots of people doing the same. It reminds us of a typical Sunday evening walk along Hannover Maschsee...but much warmer, and much more sea.......

The next day we drive to Mission Beach. On the way we have a very nice walk up to Yourama waterfalls, with pretty rock pools. Doro returns halfway, as she feels attacked by mossies. I am proud of the wonderful pictures I can take.

We have coffee 

...and tea on the porch of our B&B where we are warmly welcomed by Sharon and Phil, with Trixi the dog.

Great event in the evening: we spot our first wallabies on a walk, accompanied by Trixi, and have dinner in the purple house, a really funny bar & cafe with trivia night and GERMAN BEER! 

Next morning we look around our B&B, the beach just 100m away. 

Looks pretty, doesn't it? But take care:

There are some other strange signs to be found along the roads:

Cassowaries! Which we saw only on signs, not in nature. What a pity. But the locals assured us, that they really exist.

We did not find any sign saying: Speeding has killed locomotives! We find many of the above signs on the "cane cutter way" leading through numerous areas of sugarcane fields, because during harvesting season, the cane is transported to sugar mills with trains. 

The highlight of our drive ist the Paronella Park. José Paronella, a Spanish immigrant, built a tiny castle with waterfalls, used to produce electricity, in order to illuminate the whole house and gardens. He also created a ballroom, a cinema, a restaurant, a swimming pool and organized festivities and wedding functions. In the ballroom he installed the first disco light by using a ball with hundreds of mosaic mirrors, reflecting blue and pink lights. That all happened in the 1920ies. Unfortunately almost everything was destroyed or damaged by floodings, fire and finally cyclones. In the early 2000es, a tourist who came along discovered the beauty of the place, bought it for 400 thousand  $ and developed it to a tourist attraction. 

The alley of kaori trees, planted as very tiny plants by José, which are abot 80 m tall now and can get 1000 years old! That means that they may be adored even by a generation living in the year 2900 +. Unbelievable.

Remains of the lower buildings.

On the way back we found the following recommendation for ladies in a pub:

Guys, this is indeed a male friendly country.