Traveling Tolins 2

Capital of the Australian state of Victoria, Melbourne has been called the world’s most livable city.  It enjoys a scenic setting on the large bay of Port Phillip.  Soon after Queen Victoria declared it a city of the Crown in 1847, the rush to find gold in its rivers and streams made it one of the world’s largest and wealthiest cities.  Today it is celebrated as the country’s cultural capital of the arts and exudes a rich and lively British flair, from its narrow shopping lanes in the city center to the fanciful Victorian buildings along Collins Street.   A literal slice of England can be found in Fitzroy Gardens, 64 acres of beautifully designed topiary and blooms. Melbourne is a very large metropolis with numerous sky scrapers.   Notice how the tall building to the right appears to be leaning.  It is beginning about half way up.  However, the floors are all level.  Quite an attraction. For our excursion today, we rode our bus an hour to the a

Just as many Americans and Europeans refer to a trans-Atlantic journey as "hopping the pond," Kiwis and Aussies refer to the Tasman Sea voyage between their countries as "crossing the ditch."  The Tasman was named for Dutchman Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first European to set foot on New Zealand and the island of Tasmania in the 1640s.  Sailing to trade spices for the Dutch East India Company, he was also in search of "Beach," a fabled land recorded by Marco Polo to overflow with gold.  Later, British explorer James Cook sailed these waters, famously passing the entrance to Milford Sound, one of New Zealand's most breathtaking inlets, believing it too narrow to lead anywhere. Diane and Larry have become acquainted with a neat couple from Tampa, Florida.  He is retired US Coast Guard.  He suggested to us several weeks ago that the Tasman Sea could be a little rough crossing.  Well, all he suggested is far too true.  Monday the winds were in the 60-80

Dunedin   ( Māori :  Ōtepoti ) is the second-largest city in the  South Island  of  New Zealand , and the principal city of the  Otago  region. Its name comes from  Dùn Èideann , the  Scottish Gaelic  name for  Edinburgh , the capital of  Scotland . The urban area lies on the central-eastern coast of Otago, surrounding the head of  Otago Harbor . The harbor and hills around Dunedin represent the remnants of an extinct volcano. The city suburbs extend out into the surrounding valleys and hills, onto the isthmus of the  Otago Peninsula , and along the shores of the Otago Harbor and the Pacific Ocean. Dunedin was the largest New Zealand city by territorial land area until superseded by Auckland on the creation of the  Auckland Council  in November 2010. Archaeological evidence points to the area having been long inhabited by  Māori  prior to the European arrival. The province of Otago takes its name from the  Ngai Tahu  village of  Otakou  at the mouth of the harbor, that became a wh