Modern Vespa

We took cruise ships for both of our down under trips. Sure beats jet lag. Let us busy Judy and other island and not as forensics as you might think.

No need fo stress on speed limits in NZ... fines are far cheaper then Australia, plus in Australia they will fine you for being 3km over the speed limit!

last time i was in NZ I got pulled up going p 124km/h in 100km/h zone & it was something like $180 nzd ($not much usd), then 118km/h by a speed camera a few minutes later... that was in a 6-berth campervan! Lucky i had slowed down before he caught me

And we don't have cops hiding in bushes like in OZ!

Far fewer speed and red light cameras than OZ, UK and Italy too.

Here we are!

Well, we were happily guided about town by these gents, schooled on NZ topics such as the proper selection, preparation, and enjoyment of Vegemite, as well as hving some great insider info for the rest of our journey!

Which one is Znomit?

Neither but I do recognize them.

Yes...enquiring minds want to know!

Y'all look in fine form. Don't you think it's time to add a little sunburn though?

Innocents abroad... fell in with thieves, ruffians and reprobates who tried to poison them...

Meh, Warren should be used to that already. Feel sorry for Susan though.

Meh, the sun is bad for your skin.

Look at how yer squinting -- see, that's gonna cause wrinkles, dude.

Bet yer already missing some of this awesome mid-January Northern Hemisphere drear, ain't ye, up here where our skin is all a natural, healthy, UV-free, pasty gray.

[/quote]


We use the left over half to generally dominate the world, go to the moon, invent the internet etc.[/quote]

HA! I think if you look it up an Englishman invented the 'WWW' system you are using to view this website AND an Australian the WiFi your computer is using to connect to it and the .com.au, .org.tv etc structure of URL's ......

It's not all snakes and crocs down here you know

PaulS

I thought they were the same island.

Just kidding! Been to Sydney 5 times. Stayed in the Circular Quay area of the CBD. Marvelous place, friendly people, scooters and V-8 powered utes everywhere. Heaven.

See the Blue Mountains if you can. Not close to Melbourne, I know, but worth a day trip.

It's not all snakes and crocs down here you know

PaulS[/quote]

Uh, yeah, but only cuz all the horrific poisonous spiders keep the snake and croc pops in check.

Went here today.

Pretty close to my place, a short ride through great roads to get there.

Blue Mountains are more than a day trip from Melbourne. Hit the wineries in the Yarra Valley wineries instead.. There are so many great roads to ride on in NZ. You may have heard me whimpering as we drove them in a rented Toyota after the scoot my husband rented broke down so we had to switch the Honda scooters for a Toyota car. The gracious gentlemen in the photo with wmak were brilliant at helping us sort things out. Nothing like a bit of local knowledge and good will to make great memories.

We had a great time in Matamata, still a bit jet lagged, at Hobbiton, but we're all back to normal now.
We had a great time in Rotorua, saw redwoods, geysers, a Maori Haka, and had some really good beer. Flying out to Wellington now.

Wondering how you were getting on... Great that you're enjoying yourselves!

When I read you were going to Auckland, intending to visit both islands,
I foolishly assumed that to meant North Island and South Island.

I didn't think you were considering West Island in your trip...

Well they were once part of the Colony of New South Wales but we asked them in 1899 and they didn't want to join us as the new country of Australia so we cast them adrift into the South Pacific in 1901....

At one stage people thought they would join and Western Australia might not I think.

Supposedly they could join us anytime they like as the constitution allows for it.

We still love them though we have a bit of a US/ Canada, England/Scotland rivalry

Paul S
Sunny Australia

OK, are you two still with us?

Haven't been eaten by something... tuatara got you? Or been snuffled by a weta?

Still here, just been busy. Heading out to Invercargill in a few minutes, Stewart Island as well. We rode the train to Kaikoura, then Christchurch.

I'm jealous that you got to ride the train. When we were there in October they still hadn't resumed passenger service.

It almost look like Hawaii. You know a little bit like their terrain. I would be jealous too.

I haven't been to Hawaii yet, but NZ is so scenic, I hope HI is as nice. We drove to Te Anau yesterday, going on a boat on Milford Sound tomorrow. Stretch Ape on Stewart Is.

If y'all are following this thread and thinking about a trip to NZ, do it! We took an overnight boat up Milford Sound, and it was almost indescribable.

Oops, wrong pic, lol. This is one of the thousands of waterfalls enhanced by an overnight rain.

Milford Sound is quite spectacular... and has a spectacular mean annual rainfall of 6,412 mm (252 inches).

If you get a chance check out the Walter Peak electric farm scooters back country tour. https://www.realjourneys.co.nz/en/experiences/biking/walter-peak-electric-farm-bikes/

Did that today on your general recommendation a while back. Rode the Tss Earnslaw over, the bike was a hoot!

So pleased you are enjoying our country. We sometimes fall into the problem of taking it for granted, but there's plenty of spectacular scenery to be enjoyed and adventure tourism to enjoy. A trip on the Shotover Jet in Queenstown is almost mandatory for overseas visitors seeing as the Hamilton Jet unit was invented here.

You obviously were being guided by Australians... kiwis ONLY eat MARMITE! The other one is revolting

Beautiful to see your pictures. Thanks for sharing, it is a balmy 23F here.
I watched the series "Outrageous Fortune" from NZ, that is a cross between "Curb your enthusiasm" & "Jerry Spring" on steroids.
NZ seems like a beautiful place & you are enjoying, keep them pictures coming.
How does it feel to be riding on the other side of the road for you?

If he made it this far, he'l be fine.

No worries, everyone seems to just get out of my way, and they also shout and wave, sometimes with all their fingers, lol.

You may want to touch base with the Vespa Club of Melbourne if time permits....

http://vespaclubmelbourne.com.au/

I will check that out, Mud. Spent a wonderful day exploring around the base of Mt Cook, in Christchurch now, flying to Melbourne on Thursday. En Zed has been amazing. Beautiful scenery, friendly people, good beer. We'll definitely plan to come back!