Saturday, 29 October 2022
Tucson, Arizona

Final Preparations for Flights to Sydney and Australia-New Zealand Cruise 

and Memories of My 1993 Trip

As I gather more stuff for packing and continue my last-minute planning, I reflect back on my previous trip to Australia and New Zealand in January and February 1993--almost 30 years ago. I was on a one-semester leave from VCU (they never use the word, "sabbatical"), and I traveled to various exotic places around the globe while reading British fiction by women writers to add to my class syllabus. A three-week trip "down under" was the first adventure of that semester.

I visited Melbourne, Sydney, and Cairns--all on the eastern side of Australia--and only the lower half and western side of the South Island of New Zealand (the alpine region). This trip will take me to many new ports and locations--farther south (Tasmania) and west (Adelaide) in Australia, and both the North and South Islands of New Zealand--as well as return visits to Melbourne and Sydney.

 

                                                                     

In 1993 I traveled on my own and began the journey with free frequent-flyer flights from Richmond, VA, to Chicago to Hawaii on United Airlines.

                                                                                                                   

I spent four days relaxing in Waikiki, and then flew Qantas Airlines overnight to Melbourne, with a change of planes in Sydney. Having read how beautiful and exciting Sydney was, I decided to spend three days in Melbourne at the start, hoping not to be disappointed by that city if I visited Sydney first. It was a good decision; I enjoyed the quieter charms of Melbourne prior to the excitement of Sydney.

I then flew back to Sydney for four wonderful days--including a performance of The Merry Widow at the Sydney Opera House on my 46th birthday. 

From Sydney I flew Qantas to Cairns, a small Queensland city that is a center for exploring the coral reefs along Australia's northeastern coast as well as its inland lakes and rainforests.

After four days in Cairns, I flew Qantas to Christchurch, changing planes in Sydney again. Christchurch is the largest city on New Zealand's South Island and is probably the most British city outside of the UK itself. 

After two nights in Christchurch I rode a scenic bus route west and south to Queenstown, the primary tourist center for alpine scenery (and the place where bungee jumping was invented), stopping briefly in Mt Cook National Park. 

From Queenstown I joined a land tour to Milford Sound, Te Anau, and other scenic highlights of this part of New Zealand.

After Queenstown, I returned home via multiple airline flights through Auckland, Fiji, and Honolulu--and then by return free flights to Richmond. I did not visit the North Island except to change planes in Auckland.

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I hope you have enjoyed rummaging through my photographic memories of Australia and New Zealand in 1993 (prior to digital cameras). This has all been prelude to let you know that other than Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, and Milford Sound in New Zealand, I will not be re-visiting any familiar places. In New Zealand the cruise will sail up the eastern coasts of both the South and North Islands, stopping at nine ports I have never visited. In Australia, I will be sailing south and west from Sydney, visiting six new ports.

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My next posting will be after I begin my travels, only four days from now.