Marlborough NZ

Hi all - All's well with the traveling Jacksons. We're about to leave for Queenstown but we had a marvelous time in wine country and catching a bit of email from the airport internet connection. We had our own villa all to ourselves here with two full bedrooms and baths, a kitchen, BBQ, laundry, etc. It came at the right time for us to refresh all the clothes so we have something to wear on the next part of our journey!

We had great fun visiting the wineries here - it is very hard to leave as we know we can't get many of them in the US yet - some they only sell here at their "cellar doors". The people have been so nice and the food organic, fresh and some of the best we've had in addition to sauvignon blanc and pinot noirs to die for.



David is a practised wrong side of the road driver now after our drive through Picton, Havelock, Nelson and Richmond. We did a full loop - on the way out admiring the amazing Marlborough Sounds - it's stunning beaches, inlets, etc and through the mountains on the way back . It was a very special day!!

Lots and lots of pictures coming when we get back home. I might need two websites!!!! We realize of course that we have much more to see here that we just didn't have time for so if any of you are planning your own NZ adventures, count us in - once we recover from this one!!!

Great Barrier Reef update

Hi all - we are about to leave the idyllic Whitsundays and head to New Zealand. The Beach Club on Hamilton Island was a fabulous five star tropical paradise....starting when they met us at the airport, tagged our bags and whisked us off to our room in a golf cart past the infinity pool overlooking the Bay. Our bags were waiting there of course, as were freshly poured tropical drinks as they showed us around this beautiful place.

It was hard to leave the hotel at all these last three days but we did manage to squeeze in a snorkeling and diving tour out to the Great Barrier Reef. Yours truly was deathly ill on the 2 hour rocking and rolling over the open ocean.....so much so that I opted for the expensive but scenic helicopter back rather than set foot on that boat again. But once at the pontoon, I was able to do some of the most amazing snorkeling - the colors of the reef and the fish were like those pictures you see in books but don't think could possibly be real. David was able to do a guided dive and get up close and personal with several of the sea creatures - captured all on a DVD we'll be bringing home.

My trip back in the helicopter was the best way to see the reef in all it's glory - you can't believe the size of it until you see it from the air. The colors from there were even more spectacular. They felt so sorry for me that I got to sit in the copilot's seat and had an extended trip as we dropped a few others off at other islands on our way back to Hamilton Island. I brought a little white bag with me just in case but there was no need for it -- I loved every second of my personalized tour with the pilot. He flew me over Whitehaven beach, the heart reef, all of the other Whitsunday Islands and many other scenic extras. During the wait for the helicopter, I got to meet some lovely folks from Perth (Western Australia), another honeymoon couple from Boston, and a couple from Canberra. All of us were last minute helicopter bookings because of the traumatizing ride out there.

Now it's off to New Zealand for something completely different!! Wine country touring is highest on our list but we hear the sights are spectacular there as well. More later if there's an internet connection. Otherwise, talk to you all when we get home!!

Wow! What a place!

Hi Everyone - this is the first time we have been able to connect because we are here with my friend David Harden at his lovely B&B The Anchor Light in Port Stephens. I thought I should take the chance to write an update to let you know we're safe and sound and enjoying our wonderful belated honeymoon.

The flight was long - 12 hours from JFK to Tahiti, then a 4 hour layover in the middle of the night, and then an 8 hour flight to Sydney from there. But the seats were fairly comfortable and the food worth waking up for! We left Christmas Day and arrived in Sydney Dec 27th at 8:45am. The service was great on Air Tahiti and we actually did sleep enough to feel almost human when we got here. We did succumb to a long afternoon nap that day but still managed to sleep through the night after a nice dinner at a nearby seafood restaurant. The seafood here is incredible as you might imagine. John Dory and Barramundi are our favorites so far.

Our three days in Sydney were great - our room looked out over the famous opera house and Sydney Harbor Bridge - both of these feature prominently in the New Year's festivities. Whoever gets our room after us will have a bird's eye view of that!! We "took a wander" through the beautiful Rocks and Darling Harbor areas a few times. We booked a tour to the Hunter Valley wine country with the guide all to ourselves because the other family had to reschedule. Mostly we relaxed and enjoyed the view, the food and the wine!

One highlight of the trip was taking a ferry over to the Taronga Zoo where some of the animals have the best views of the Sydney Harbor and skyline. Seeing their native birds, reptiles and animals - particularly the koalas who were uncharacteristically active when we were there (usually they are drugged out on the eucalyptus leaves and sleeping!!) - really lets you know you are not anywhere near home! We saw dingos, kangaroos, bilbys, wombats, tazmanian devils, meerkats, crocodiles, fabulously colored lizards and birds, some really nasty looking snakes (I had to leave quickly when we got to that area!), and many more creatures you can only find here in Australia. We took lots of pictures which we will upload to our blog at some point - maybe later today if we can squeeze it in!!

Yesterday we took a 2.5 hour train ride up the Hawkesbury River and are now here in Port Stephens. It's a small little resort area north of Sydney where David, his partner Alessandra and their families have settled. David is doing great, invites you all to visit, and says warm hellos to Cindy and Debby. We took a walk along the bay last night and will be having New Year's Eve dinner with everyone at Peppers Resort. Today we are planning a hike up the small mountain for panoramic views of the area and perhaps a swim with the bluenose dolphins that swim here. For lunch we might "chuck a few snags on the barbee" (translation: BBQ some sausages)

Tomorrow we leave for the WhitSundays for three days of a beach holiday - snorkeling on the great barrier reef and the fine white sands of the exclusive Whitehaven Beach. On January 4th we're off to New Zealand - Auckland, Marlborough Wine Country, and Queenstown. We return back on January 14th. Hope all is well with you all at home. I don't know when we'll be connected again but we wanted to at least write to give you the update so far. We love and miss you all. Happy New Year!!!!