Hans & Arjan in Australia: Family Time

Mum and Dad flew down again to visit us and of course we planned a lot of things to see and do!

Palm Beach

First trip was a drive to the Northern Beaches and to Barrenjoey lighthouse in Palm Beach. It’s quite a climb from the beach up to the top, but the view is definitely worth it. A trip to that area isn't complete with a visit to the Cooks Larder for a taste of their famous cakes. On the way back we stopped at some of the famous surf beaches, back to Sydney for a nice dinner.

Auckland and Rotorua

Over the Easter long-weekend we took a trip to New Zealand's North Island. We flew into Auckland where we spent 2 nights and then drove down to Rotorua, the heart of geothermal activity and Maori culture.

Auckland isn't complete with a visit to the Sky Tower, which we did not only visit for the views but also to have a nice seafood dinner. The next day took us to the west coast, Muriway Beach and Piha. A whale had even decided to drop by along the coast. On the way back we stopped at the volcano crater Mt. Eden which lies in the city itself.

Sky Tower	Muriwai Beach is the most accessible gannet colony in New Zealand.

LionRock at Piha	Mt Eden

We drove from Auckland to Rotorua via the East Coast town of Waihi Beach passing the towns of Paeroa and the gold mine at Waihi. Around Rotorua there are various volcanic and geothermal sights such as Waimangu Thermal Valley and Whakarewarewa (Te Pui) Geysers. On the dive back to Auckland we stopped at the Waitomo Glowworm caves and the Kiwi House to see a real live Kiwi-bird.

This is where the drink L&P comes from	And this is where the Kiwi fruit comes from.
Gold mining in progress	Kiwi-fruit on the tree.
Bubbling lake
	Bubbling mud
A Geyser
Kiwi-bird	Glow-worm caves at Waitomo
Back to Sydney

Cook

The next weekend in Sydney took us on trip in the footsteps of the early explorers, Botany Bay. On 29 April 1770, Botany Bay was the site of James Cook's first landing of HMS Endeavour on the continent of Australia.