Kiwi Country (and more)!

Back in February, my wonderful parents flew to Korea to meet up with us on our way to New Zealand. I know I was excited to have visitors in S. Korea! Whether they were excited to be in Korea or not, we were all a bit more excited about our upcoming adventure in NZ.

Dad & Mom at the arrivals gate in the Incheon
International Airport

Mom and Dad got to see a little bit of the base, our little townhouse, and meet our kitty Roki before taking off a couple days later to arrive at our first destination: Sydney.

Dad enjoying looking at some local "birds" :)

The 4 of us on our way to Australia

We arrived in Aussieland and we had about 12 hours in Sydney before boarding a flight to Christchurch, NZ; so we made the most of it. We took a cab to Circular Quay (pronounced "key") and walked around for a few hours checking out the Sydney Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, and some of the local shops and markets. Did I mention we love Australia? It was great! We hopped on the ferry to Manly Beach and saw all the sights from the water as well. Unfortunately the weather was a bit sketchy, but we didn't have to worry about sunburns ;) We enjoyed our few hours in Sydney but soon had to make our way back to the airport to board our flight to NZ.

View from the Harbor Bridge

Panoramic of the Harbor

Hotel and the Opera house

We made it to Christchurch shortly after midnight and we were all spent after our excursion in Sydney. We promptly checked in to our rooms for the evening and fell asleep. In the morning, we hopped in the rental car and began our New Zealand adventure! Our first stop was Lake Tekapo at Mt. Hay - a local sheep station. Dad thoroughly enjoyed seeing a working sheep station in NZ and meeting the owners. The place was beautiful and quiet - as most of NZ is so we would discover.

NZ beauty along our drive

Our little "cottage" at Lake Tekapo

"Most photographed church" on Lake Tekapo - lovely!

Tim making friends with the sheep in the front yard

The next morning we made our way to our next destination and stopped at Mt. Cook on the way. What a magnificent peak! The view of it was breathtaking as it came in to our sights. Beautiful but very windy! We went to a viewing area and nearly got blown over, but it was worth it to see the majesty of Mt. Cook.

On our way to Mt. Cook

Windy!

Family photo during a break in the extreme gusts

We eventually arrived in Te Anau and settled in to our little cottage to rest up for our journey to the Milford Sound the next morning. Our excellent driver, Tim, did a superb job getting us to the Sound despite somewhat drizzly weather. Nonetheless, we heard that 90 percent of the time, the weather was cloudy and drizzly so we booked a boat tour of the Sound. It was incredible to tour around the Sound and see all the seals.

Sheep all over the place!

Another group shot before entering Milford Sound

Milford Sound

On our boat tour

If you look in the lower left of this photo
you'll see a little baby seal! He was super
cute :)

Sleepy seals

The kea birds that tried to get in our car to steal our food!

After Te Anau and the Sound, we traveled to Queenstown and the Speargrass Rise B & B. The location was absolutely gorgeous - the house sat up on a hill overlooking what looked like golden fields of wheat. Our hosts were quite hospitable and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. One of our days was spent exploring Queenstown's downtown area which included the Luge and Fergburger - home of the humongous and delicious burger. The Luge was extremely fun! The four of us raced every run.
  

View along the drive

Lift to the Luge!

Racing down the hill on the Luge

Delicious -and gigantic- Fergburger!

After a couple days and nights in the lovely Queenstown, we made our way to Lake Hawea but stopped at a couple wineries on the way to experience wine country in NZ. We arrived at Stonycroft, our vacation cottage on Lake Hawea, and enjoyed the beach, the fruit trees in the yard, the hiking nearby, a nice lady with some adorable puppies, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. 

Winery stop at Perrigrine

We loved Stonycroft and Lake Hawea

Hiking by Lake Hawea

Next on the itinerary was Perivale Farm Cottage where we got to see a functioning dairy farm, drink milk literally straight from the cow, watch some sheep without cropped tails (what?!), see some local birds, and then check out the glaciers! We thought maybe we would try out a heli-hike on the Franz Josef glacier but opted to hike up as close as possible to the Fox glacier. The hike was beautiful and we got to be close up to a glacier without risking our lives ;) Once again, the beauty of NZ was astounding.

Fresh milk anyone?

In front of Fox glacier

Climbing rocks near the glacier

Greymouth was our next stop. The beach! Unfortunately, the weather was a bit chilly, windy and rainy to go for a dip but we enjoyed our seaside cottage and the view. We enjoyed "fush and chups" (fish and chips) more than once but we got more than enough for our money of the local dish in Greymouth. The rain fortunately only lasted until after dinner so we got to see an exquisite sunset while we played a rousing game of dominoes.

Fush & Chups!

So many fush and chups ;)

Front porch of our seaside cottage 

Gorgeous sunset after the rain

Our last stop on the magnificent trip to New Zealand was another coastal town called Kaikoura. The drive to the seaside town was a few hours away and across the island so we enjoyed a lovely scenic drive through the country. Tim, as our expert driver, did not disappoint and we arrived at our "holiday house" in no time. Once settled a bit, we went to the Peninsula Walkway to see some seals on the rocks. We enjoyed a quiet evening at the house while Tim and I rested up for an early morning of swimming with dolphins! In the morning, we made our way to the Dolphin Swim Encounter where we soon got on a bus to drive to a boat which we boarded and went out to sea to find some dolphins. We wore our wetsuits in anticipation of what was to come and we were definitely not disappointed! We ended up swimming with around 500 dolphins after jumping in the water a few times. We were told that the dolphins were social and curious so we should swim and hum to attract them. Once they came up to us, we were told to make eye contact and follow them as we swam in circles. It was an amazing experience! Possibly my favorite part of the trip, although picking one event as my favorite is impossible. Thankful for such an incredible opportunity!

Dolphins!

So many swam with our boat and us

Ready for our swim

Tim brought the GoPro!

Dolphins, dolphins, dolphins! 

What an amazing experience! :D

After making our exit from NZ through Christchurch, we had another layover in Sydney. We were all pretty exhausted by that time, but Tim and I decided to make an attempt at going to Bondi Beach in the few hours before our next flight. The beach was beautiful and it was a nice last stop before going back to South Korea. 

Such a wonderful experience and we are so thankful for all that we got to see and do. Thanks for reading, and hopefully we will have another adventure soon!

Much love,

Nicki

Indonesia: Under the Sea to the Top of a Mountain

Now to continue our journey from Australia!

Once we boarded our plane in Perth, we made the few hours journey to Bali, Indonesia. When we arrived, we stepped out into the open air and it immediately felt like the tropics; plus we were greeted with a plumeria flower to tuck behind my ear! 

The Bali airport was BEAUTIFUL!

We took a cab from the airport to our hotel at Kuta Beach in Bali. Along the way we saw some interesting things on the road - and the roads were very full of people, scooters, and cars!

We got a kick out of this one.
Apparently it means "Beware!" or "Caution!"

It's hard to tell, but there is a family of 4 on this scooter.
Nothing like a family vehicle ;)

The back of this van said "Party Bus"; pretty full party!

Scooter parking lot

The sun was just setting as we checked into our hotel and made our way to our room for the next two evenings. Even though we didn't make it across the street to the beach to see sunset that first night, we could see through the trees that it was gorgeous. The hotel was also very beautiful and we enjoyed a wonderful couple of evenings while staying in Bali. The morning after we arrived in Bali we departed around 7am to go to another part of the island to scuba dive around the USAT Liberty! The start was early but very worth the early wake up call!

Foyer of our hotel in Bali

The design was different every day in the entryway

View from our balcony

Tropical - and tasty! - drinks to
enjoy near the beach

We did catch sunset on the beach on night 2

Tim ate ribs at The Feast at the Sheraton...

...and then we walked about 10 steps next door so I
could enjoy fish and chips at Negra Luna!

Tim taking in the view before we scuba dive

The beach was black sand and rocks

All suited up to dive!

I've never seen a starfish before while in the ocean
but this time I saw at least 3!

Stingray trying to hide from us

The current was strong so we held on to the sunken ship

Wow, it was fascinating!

Swimming around the USAT Liberty

Seahorse!

We found Nemo...again! ;)

Entering the ship

Inside the USAT Liberty.

Tim checking out the ship

They are hard to see but there are garden eels
behind me in the sand

We saw some BIG fish!

More of Tim's awesome photography

Smiles under water

And a smooch!

On day 3 we met up with our tour guide, Esnawan, who showed us some amazing things over the next few days! Along the way, we did a lot of driving and we saw a glimpse of all the beauty of Indonesia.

The fields were lovely

Tim and Esnawan: two photographers finding the perfect shot

Traffic!

Even the roads were pretty

Many houses had exquisite gates

Coconut shells used, essentially, as bowls or plates

Harvesting

We headed towards Java so we had to take a ferry from the island of Bali to East Java. It was evening when we arrived so we turned in early because the next day we were hiking Mount Ijen, and we had to wake up at 12:30am to make it before sunrise to see the Blue Flame. We had no idea what that meant but it was well worth getting up at 12:30am, driving for 2 hours, hiking for about 2 more and wearing a gas mask for a good part of it so as to not breathe in sulfur smoke. It was amazing! The Blue Flame is only visible when the sky is dark so that is why we had to get up so early; it's actually the result of the sulphur being burned, and the fire is entirely blue. Sulphur is mined within Mt. Ijen and that is where the flames were. There are men who hike up the mountain, down into the space where the sulphur is, cut up the unburned sulphur with an iron rod - because once it is burned, it is no good - pick up the pieces, load them in baskets and haul them out of the crater and then back down the mountain to be weighed. Quite a process and quite difficult! We saw one man carry 90 kg of sulphur on his shoulders!

While checking out the blue flame within Mt. Ijen, the sun rose and we could actually see how difficult the path was that the workers use. We didn't even have any loads on our backs and it was challenging to keep my footing! We made our way back out of the crater and hiked along the rim to be able to see the crater lake. The view was breathtaking! And at a scenic spot, Esnawan made us hot coffee with his portable camp stove. It was great!

View on the ferry to Java

Our hotel in Java

Literally an open air bathroom!

Blue Flame and sulfur

This was a moment when the sulphur
smoke was not blowing on us

The next moment was a different story

Here our trail guide (not Esnawan) poured liquid
sulphur so we could see it harden before our eyes

A worker cutting sulphur as it pours
out of the pipes and hardens

Cut it then collect it and put it in the baskets to carry up

The path the workers have to walk to get out of the crater

The sign to the left of us says,
"Visitors are prohibited going down on crater. Dangerous"

Back up top!

View from the rim of crater lake

While eating our breakfast on the rim Tim saw
his packet of salt and it says, "MERICA"

Watching Esnawan make our delicious coffee!

Whoa! Don't fall in, the lake water is acidic

Lovely view

There were many workers hauling sulphur

An extremely tough job!

At least they have a great view

Tim tried it out with the help of our My. Ijen guide

We hiked back down the path and hopped in the car to begin our journey to Sukamade Beach. After a couple hours we met up with the man who would drive us on some rough roads in a "Jeep" to where we would see the sea turtles! At Sukamade Beach we saw the process of how the local people aid in helping the green sea turtles survive from eggs to being released into the ocean to try to survive on their own so that they can grow up and have little green sea turtles of their own on the same beach. Once the eggs are laid on the beach, the mother "camouflages" her eggs by burying them with sand. Once she is finished, she slowly makes her way back to the ocean and in the process she leaves tracks that look a little like off-roading tire tracks! That is helpful for the rangers when they are looking for nests. The rangers locate the eggs and dig them up to protect them until the sea turtles hatch. They have to dig them up to protect the eggs from predators: humans sell the eggs, birds, and many others! The rangers bury the eggs in sand in a contained area until the eggs hatch naturally on their own. The baby sea turtles are then given about 3 weeks to gain strength in order to survive the strenuous journey to and through the sea where they find food. The people release the turtles at dusk when predators are less likely to be present. Also, a female turtle lays her eggs at night by cover of darkness to dissuade predators. All this and the workers still estimate that only 1 out of 100 baby sea turtles actually survive to adulthood!

Tim and I were able to release 25 baby sea turtles at dusk and it was precious! The little green sea turtles are so cute! After doing so, we showered in our fairly primitive bathroom and joined Esnawan for a quick supper before heading to the beach again to look for adult sea turtles laying eggs on the beach. Esnawan, Tim and myself were told to keep quite, not move, and wait for the rangers to let us know if they find any turtles. 

We waited for a good 2 hours or so before we got the signal that a turtle had been located. As we approached the tired mother, she was flip sand behind her in order to cover her freshly laid eggs. She must have already been at it for a while because the eggs were buried a few feet under ground! The mother concluded her "camouflaging" and made her way slowly to the sea once more. We saw several other tracks that night but we only got extremely close to the one turtle. 

We watched as the mother made her way to the ocean, and then we watched as the ranger located her eggs. Tim was given the opportunity to dig out the eggs and I got to count them: 139 eggs in all! Such a neat experience and not one we will soon forget!

Once our work was concluded at the beach, we trekked back to our room and quickly fell asleep after an exhilarating albeit exhausting day.

Rubber tree forest 

Our "Jeep" looked much like this one

Waiting for our driver, Esnawan and Tim
enjoyed a nice cup of coffee

We stopped at a fruit stand and got some fresh and
delicious mangoes and watermelon - yum!

Tim and his typical mango photo ;)

They carry EVERYTHING on scooters!

Checking out the rubber from a rubber tree.
Fascinating stuff!

Mirror-like rice fields

Schoolchildren on a pedicab - now that's carpooling!

Why not attach your food cart to a scooter?
Business on the run

Tim and Esnawan on a break by the "Jeep"

If you look closely, there is a man
climbing the closest palm tree

The fellow threw down coconuts so we could drink fresh
coconut milk and eat the pulp!
Tasty and you can't get any fresher!

Not just off-roading - water too!

Esnawan cut a green pod of the cacao
plant and he told me to chew of the
seeds inside - they tasted a bit like
Sweet Tarts! But biting the seeds was
bitter. I was just meant to love every
part of chocolate ;)

Bathroom!

Baby green sea turtles! So adorable

Be free tiny turtles! And stay alive :)

SO cute!

Baby sea turtle going to the sea at sunset

Tim and Pokey...the last little turtle
 to make it to the sea

Sunset with the turtles

Tub where the newborns gain strength

Momma turtle "camouflaging" her freshly laid eggs

Amazing to be so close!

Going back to the sea to recuperate - tough work!

Back to the sea

Collecting and counting the eggs

Caught sight of this guy on our
way back to camp

Where the turtle eggs sit until they hatch

Example of one of the signs set by where the eggs are placed

Who could resist that face??

Searching for the sea

Our next day in Indonesia, we awoke at 4am again and sat in the car for most of the day while our wonderful guide drove us to Malang. We met up with the Freers at the OMS compound where a school was started way back in the 70's and Tim's mom was one of the first teachers. It was very cool to see the compound, the Freer's home, the school and all that was entailed, and ultimately we were able to worship in the English church service in the late afternoon. We were so blessed by just being there and we were very glad that we made the trip. There's just something amazing about worshiping in a foreign country with people of varying nationalities. We drove by the seminary as well and ate a yummy supper with the Freers. So thankful for that time we spent with them! 

After supper, Esnawan returned from visiting with his family in Malang and we departed for our next adventure in Indonesia. We drove a few more hours to the Lava View Hotel near Mount Bromo where we promptly checked in and fell sleep. Amazing how a day of sitting in a car can tire you out!

A TV on the back of a scooter! Wow

Roads aren't just for cars

Getting a tour of Wesley International School with the Freers

View inside the chapel before English service

With Debbie and Marilyn inside the school

With the Freers in their lovely home

Monday morning we awoke at the early but consistent time of 4am again and got some of our cold-weather gear on to hike up to see Mt. Bromo for sunrise. We slept in as long as we could so we had to hustle a bit to make it to the lookout in order to catch the sun rising. We rode in a bumpy Jeep to the trail and hiked the rest of the way up. Sunrise was breathtaking but oh so fleeting. While enjoying the view, we met another American who had been traveling through Asia for at least four months and he was so happy to hear people speaking in English. Quite a funny concept, isn't it? We also witnessed a Jeep tip over on its trip down the mountain! Everyone was just fine but the Jeep had seen better days. 

We hopped back in the Jeep and drove to the base of Mt. Bromo along with quite a few other people. We had to decide whether to trek up to the staircase in the side of the volcano or ride horses; we chose a horse ride! The small horses got us to the stairs and we precariously made our way to peer into the smoking volcano. Once we saw enough of the inside of the volcano, we walked down the side in the shifty ash and sand back to the waiting horses and guides. We got back in the Jeep and rumbled our way back to our hotel for lunch before checking out and driving to the airport in Surabaya.

Sunrise 

Mt. Bromo at sunrise

Tim showing the locals a photo on his
camera of the Jeep rolled over

The Jeep that rolled over is to the right of the others.
Traffic jam!

Panoramic of the view

Just beautiful

The active volcano is directly behind Mt. Bromo which
is in the foreground and in this photo there is a puff
of smoke out of the volcano

Horse ride! Bromo is on Tim's right and the volcano
we went up to is the gray in front of Tim.

The horses were a little better conditioned than us ;)

Steep staircase and shifty ash!

Inside the volcano

Thank goodness for a railing 

On the rim

Slip sliding our way back down 

A little trippy, wouldn't you say?

Bromo behind us!

Quite a view from horseback!

Back to the Jeep

We made it back!

Last car trip with Esnawan

Chickens!

While waiting in the airport for our flight back to Incheon, Tim decided to try some Kopi Luwak coffee - the coffee that a special breed of cats eat coffee beans then once the beans pass out of the cats they are collected and purified to make coffee. Supposedly it is the best coffee in the world and it's probably the most expensive, too. It is made in Indonesia, though, so Tim was able to try it pretty cheap comparatively. It was a pretty fun moment for him, and he admits that it is the best coffee he's ever had. I tasted it but I am not a coffee connousseir so I wasn't crazy about it.

Tim and his Kopi Luwak cup of coffee

We we sad to be done with vacation but it's always comforting to get back home. Tim got a kick out of me enjoying the seat in the bus on the way home. The seats are so comfy! They recline, have armrests, and a foot rest for each seat. All for only 11,200 Won! A nice end to our long trip :)

In my comfy bus seat

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! Sorry my posts are so long, but I suppose you can skip over things you're not totally interested in. I'll be posting our Christmas/End-of-the-Year letter pretty soon! Enjoy the holiday season and remember to choose joy :)

Much love,

Nicki