21 Nov
We went for a run along the beach that morning. They have a trail that follows the beach that goes south from Bondi past other great beaches. The best looking beach was Tamarama. That afternoon, we hit the beach. The weather and waves were good, so I rented a surfboard (9 ft.). I was rusty, but it was fun getting a few waves. Bondi Beach was a great city beach. Much cleaner than the SD and LA beaches I have been to.
22 Nov
After another morning run, we took the bus downtown to hit the tourist spots. We took a tour of the Sydney Opera House. Then we went to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. We finished the day going on a cross harbor ferry. After all of that we headed back to Bondi for dinner. They had happy hour specials (cheap pizzas and $10 steaks) to make the beach side dining more affordable.
23 Nov
We had to get up early to get the bus to the airport for our AM flight to New Zealand. We go into Christchurch in the early afternoon and rented a car. Quickly we were on the road driving north in the south island to the Marlbourgh wine region. For dinner we stopped in Kaikora, a whale watching town. The drive along the coast was spectacular. We found a hostel in Renwick in the heart of the wine region. It was a great hostel, mature and a discount for bike rentals. It was a great place.
24 Nov
It was a gorgeous day, so we rented some bikes. Luckily the hostel had 30 wineries within a 10 km radius…and most didn’t have a tasting fee. The scenery was spectacular. Riding bikes through the vineyards while taking in some mountain views. One place had beer tasting too. The wind kicked up later in the day that inhibited some of the riding, but it was still a good day. We bought 5 bottles of wine. After stopping by a local pub for some grub we went back and had one of the bottles on the hostel’s deck.
25 Nov
We got up early and drove to Abel Tasman National Park. We found a kayak/hiking tour. We entered the park and did a 10 km hike in the morning and were met on the beach with kayaks to kayak back to the park’s parking lot. The weather was good and so was the guide. I even went for a swim in the Tasman Sea…it was a little colder than it looked. We saw lots of birds and great scenery. The trail was extremely we maintained. The NP was worth the early morning drive. We stayed down south in Nelson at a very family oriented hostel.
# posted by Adam @ 9:24 PM
