We were joined on our bus by a Geologist, Hamish Campbell. He was so knowledgeable about rocks (Greywacke is the official rock of NZ), tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
We drove along the Wellington shoreline, making several stops for Hamish to tell us about features.
Seatoun Wahine Memorial: ferry boats disaster where 51 people died. We found many types of sea shells (Hamish named them all) and sea glass. Hamish reminded us that we couldn't take them out of NZ.
Te Kopahou Reserve: former rock quarry. We saw several fault lines as shown by layers going vertical, horizontal, and diagonal. We had a picnic lunch, overlooking the ocean.
Mount Victoria/Tangi Te Keo: spectacular views of the harbour.
Airport: easy check-in for international flight. Almost all of us had to have our carryon bags hand checked. Mine was due to my big battery pack (not allowed in checked luggage). 2 hours before flight. I had a glass of wine. 3.5 hour flight. I had changed my seat (aisle to window) but had no one in the middle seat. Ate the hot meal, to tide me over.
Baggage, Customs, and Immigration in Sydney took a while for all of us to clear.
Site Coordinator, Jill Bunning met us.
It's raining (lightly) in Sydney and may rain most of the time we're here. I sure hope not.
It took a while to get to the Novotel Sydney Darling Square. Lots of traffic due to Chinese New Years celebrations right by our hotel.
My room faced a busy street and only on the 2nd floor. After dinner, I asked the front desk if I could switch rooms. They had a room on the other side of the building, on the 6th floor. But it had a queen, instead of a king bed. That was fine with me.
Went downstairs for our light dinner and wine. It was just what I needed.
After switching my room, I went out to the street to checkout the Chinese New Years celebrations. There were hundreds of people milling about. It had stopped raining. I ran into some lion dancers, which was fun to watch. I caught a few seconds of the fireworks over Darling Harbour.
Came back to my room and am about to crash. Looking forward to seeing Sydney tomorrow.
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