Cairns

 . . . or "Cans" as the locals pronounce it. Flight #7 and I am here up north in Queensland. It is quite warm and tropical here. I have a very nice room with a balcony, and I have 3 nights here, so I can relax. 

Swimming lagoon near the water-

Because the water looks like this:

And has sharks and jellyfish.

Shopping was in order. My system and my wallet are tired of expensive, starchy foods.

Luckily, Woolworth's grocery is up the street! Later, night market.

Mel-bin

Melbourne is a hoppin' city! Lots of young people, lots to do, and extremely diverse.

I ventured out of the city to see some critters. 

We ended up a couple hours away at Phillips Island. At dusk, hundreds of penguins come ashore to feed their young. It was quite a sight, but no cameras allowed. Tour ended around midnight, shuttle pick up at 3:50am for flight to Cairns. 

Kiwis

 I love New Zealand! The people have been great! So nice, safe, diverse - and there's Starbucks. What more could you want?

I have found New Zealand very much culturally similar to the US. Probably more so than Australia. There's not all the crazy, colorful lingo and slang here. And the accent is easy to understand. It would be so easy to assimilate here. 

Less than 24 hours in Auckland is just not enough. I will have to come back. I had time to see my NZ friends, Linda and Graham. We met in Turkey in 2010. They are the sweetest. They actually live in Christchurch, but happen to be in town for a wedding. It just worked out that we planned to be here at the same time, because Christchurch was not a part of my tour. We walked the harbor area and took a ferry across to Davenport Island.

Headed to the airport for flight #6. Tonight I'll be in Melbourne. 

* Trivia- NZ was the 1st country to allow women to vote. 

*How do you tell an Aussie from a Kiwi? 

Get them to say "Fish & chips"

Aussies say  "feesh & cheeps."

Kiwis say  "fush & chups."

Cheers!