The Best Kind of Time Machine

 There's nothing like a trip down memory lane, than over 50 years of hit music.

And as part of this year's Fringe Festival (see blog from last year), we jumped in the Hot Dub Time Machine for a journey with DJ Tom from 1954 to 2015 on a rooftop overlooking this beautiful city. 

And oh what a ride...

 

Countdown!

Best year ever! Yes that's 1986...

 

 

 And because Oasis is such a group sing-a-long...

I knew all the songs until we got to the 2000's. Apparently the only good music until then was American. But they threw in 5 or 6 songs by Rudimental, Crowded House (who I am learning to appreciate), Robbie Williams and SClub7, hich were so much bigger in Australia and the UK than the U.S of A.

But then, I was back in my zone...

One word. Beyonce!

Oh and T Swift, because you can't REALLY hate her. She's tall :)

I almost want to apologize for not remembering the songs, taking a video, or paying more attention. But on the rare occasion music on a Friday night in Perth isn't doof doof and can take me back to homecoming in Connecticut, basements in Maryland, and the Skyline in South Carolina, you know I will be out on that dance floor breaking a summer starlit sweat.

A Bit of the Kiwi City Life

You may not have heard of Wanganui, Te Anu or Omaru, but if you've heard of New Zealand at all, you probably have heard of at least one of it's biggest cities: Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.

Auckland: population 1,413,700

A waterside hip and trendy city in the north of the north.

Wellington: population 393,600

At the southern end of the north island, this is New Zealand's capital and gateway to the south island. It's also full of A LOT of one way roads.

Christchurch: population 375,200

Christchurch is just a small little city, that used to be known for it's beautiful Cathedral and coastal French suburb. Then 2011 came. The February 22nd earthquake destroyed the city and took 185 lives. It was shocking how almost four years later, the buildings still lay in rubble. Homeowners are still wrestling with insurance companies to get structural damage repaired. The center of the city is a construction zone.

The once iconic Christchurch Cathedral

 Some of the building facades were being held up with stacked shipping containers.

The front of an old building... 

 

The other side of the wall...

But the city maintains their hope.

Building a temporary cardboard cathedral...

And setting up a shopping center of shipping containers...

And bringing a community garden to life

All the while remembering those whose lives were lost...

Australia Day 2015

Happy Australia Day 2015!!!

Do you notice the people finding any shade they can?

I need a hat like that.

2015 Theme? Love this City, because Perth truly is one of the best cities in the world to live

 Flowers!

And the best part? Two minute walk home and not having to deal with this...

NZ in the Rain Part 2

Happy Birthday to me,

Happy Birthday to me,

Rainy kayaking in N. Z.,

Happy Birthday to me.

And I wouldn't have had it any other way.

This is Milford Sound.

The heart of Fiordland (not spelled Fjordland because they were worried the New Zealands would pronounce the "j"). The southwestern corner of New Zealand is almost inaccessible by road because of the fiords carved out by glaciers. Milford sound is the most touristy because you can get there by a road, though a tunnel in a mountain, that is closed for 4 days at a time in the winter because of avalanches.

The best way to see it is on the water. The best way to get on the water is via kayak. I knew that's what I wanted to do for my birthday.

But just like on the morning of our Tongariro crossing, I woke up at 5am to the sound of rain falling. Over the rivers and through the tunnel we winded our way to Milford.

 

 Luckily they had the gear to kit us out in the perfect summer kayaking outfits. Rain jacket, neoprene skirt, fleece jack, wool long underwear (tops and bottoms) and yes Amy, bathing suits underneath it all.

Turns out that despite the inability to see across the sound (actually a fiord but someone named it incorrectly and they couldn't be bothered to rename it) or the tour boats in the channel, rainy days (which are most of the days) are the best way to see Milford Sound. There are only two permanent waterfalls. When it rains, there can be hundreds coming down the granite cliffs, but the majority dry up within two hours after the rain. The granite cliffs are so steep that the forest, clinging on to the moss, falls off in tree avalanches!

The biggest of the waterfalls is Lady Bowen Falls which provides electricity and water that requires no filtering for the village of Milford. And just to put it into perspective, the height of Niagra Falls is 51 meters while the height of Lady Bowen Falls is 162 meters.

(It's much bigger up close!)

 

After three hours paddling around in the fog, it was time to dry off with the little shed's super power gas heater (I need one!) and head back to Te Anu. As we left the park, once again, the fog began to lift.

Due to the constant rain and my lack of waterproof camera, I only got to take limited pictures, but the experience as unforgettable.This is one birthday I will not forget any time soon.

How will I top it next year...?

PS. And back on dry land I was enveloped by a barrage of birthday messages and love to warm me up and thaw me out. A million thanks to all my friends and family from snow covered 40 degree Fahrenheit New England to sweltering 40 degree Celsius Australia.