ANZAC day is observed on April 25th to commemorate all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars." The Day was originally to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. This year marks the 100th anniversary of that first conflict. A service was held at dawn and went throughout the day at the Pukeahu National Memorial Park here in Wellington.
The New Zealand Chamber Choir sings throughout the service
The National War Memorial
New Zealand's PM John Key talks about the Gallipoli campaign: "The communities they came from had counted the cost in the lengthy casualty lists that appeared in their newspapers. The sacrifice seemed to have been in vain, for the under-resourced a poorly- conducted campaign did not have any significant influence on the outcome of the war."
The newly finished Australian memorial at the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park.
The columns are surrounded by gum trees which will grow to about 10 meters high. This memorial is a counterpart to the New Zealand Memorial on the Anzac Parade in Canberra.
Laying of the wreaths
"After Gallipoli , New Zealand had greater confidence in its distinct identity, and a greater pride in the international contribution it could make. The mutual respect earned during fighting formed the basis of the close ties with Australia that continue today."
The last part of the trip brings us back to Wellington, where Bob and Dan stay with us for a few days. Dan wastes no time in assembling his bike and finding the skate park. We walk around Wellington taking pictures and having beer. One night we met up with our friend Ian who is also from Milwaukee but has been living here for a couple years. We showed Bob and Dan a few awesome places to get a beer including Fork & Brewer, The Malthouse, and Basque. Even made a random stop at Boogie Wonderland on their last night where we danced absurdly on the empty light up floor. It was a lot of fun having Bob and Dan visit, especially showing them around the city we've been living in.
The fourth part of our trip takes us from Waitomo to the Bay of Plenty. We decided to camp in a small town called Matata about halfway between Tauranga and Whakatane. During the day we swam and relaxed on the beach.
The night sky in this area was amazing. Unfortunately, for some reason I didn't take any photos of it. The clouds kept rolling in and on the last night we found ourselves waking up in a very wet tent. There was a chance between the downpour to quickly get our camp packed up and back on the road.
Rain continued for pretty much the rest of the trip. We made a brief stop in Rotorua to see some geothermal activity. I would have liked to see more but the weather wasn't cooperating. New Zealand is going into it's rainy season so at least it was expected.
Our next stop was in Waitomo, best known for its caves and glowworms. We signed up for a tour that took us through one of the glowworm caves which was discovered in the late 1800s. Looking at the cave ceiling was interesting, like looking into the sky on a clear night. However, the large multiple tour groups, cramped boat, and tiled floors distracted from the natural spectacle of the cave. Too touristy for my taste.
We sought after some other caves I read about by taking a hike down the Waitomo Walkway. My sources seemed off though, because we mostly found ourselves walking through cow pastures. No caves, but all turned out fine in the end. Bob made some new cow pals and also found some cool places to do yoga. We also spotted some native birds including the New Zealand fantail and the wood pigeon or kererū. Plus the sun was finally out! What more could we ask for?
The first adventure on our road trip was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. We arrived at the carpark too late the night before to make the short hike to the hut. Also, it had been raining heavily all day and night. The hike to the Hut would have been 40 minutes and the total crossing was estimated at six hours.
We ended up staying in our car for the night and planned to start the hike early the next morning. The weather was still acting up the next day and made the crossing too dangerous to do. For one, shuttle service between opposite ends of the crossing were cancelled. Secondly, there was a chance to get stuck in a hail storm on top of an active volcano with no visibility. Instead, we did the first leg of the hike and then made our way, soaking wet, back to the car.
After a crazy week in Melbourne, It took us a day in Wellington to get our bearings and prepare for the road trip. The weather forecast wasn't looking too great so we knew that some of our plans might not work 100 percent. After some breakfast we finally hit the road with our first destination set at the Tongariro National Park. We only stopped along the way for some coffee and to take some pictures.
Aaron's sister Bob is a pretty awesome competitor when it comes to bike racing. She won the Riverwest 24 (a 24 hour bike race in Milwaukee) three times in a row and a number of other races. The Cycle World Messenger Championships was in Melbourne this year, and Bob decided to sign up for it since Aaron and I are so close. One week in Melbourne and a week and a half in New Zealand.
Bob unpacking in their "granny flat" in Melbourne.
A granny flat is a detached section of accommodation
from the house.
Dan wasting no time in putting his bike together.
Watch after some pets for a free place to stay? Absolutely.
We found an amazing person to let us stay in her apartment for our week in Melbourne. She offered when she saw our request on Couchsurfing. Seems she needed someone to look after her pets so it worked out perfectly.
Very noisy budgies
The first night out we met up with our friend of a friend Jaimie. She showed us some awesome places around St. Kilda, a beach side artsy suburb of Melbourne.
Great meal at Claypots in St. Kilda. Jaimie used to work here.
Jaimie and Aaron outside Claypots
CMWC registration night at the Grub Food Van in Fitzroy
A couple members of the Tokyo team. The guy on the right is Tak.
He took a lot of pride in being the most "crazy Japanese man."
Walking to the velodrome
The Brunswick velodrome in Melbourne
The CMWC was a week long competition with
many small competitions each day
Bob's new Melbourne messenger hat
A Russian Orthodox Cathedral on the trail to the Velodrome
Big external light up baby (Brunswick St. in Fitzroy)
Southern Cross Railway Station in Melbourne
Walking along Brighton Beach
Sunset with freight ships on the horizon
The beach huts of Brighton Beach
View of Melbourne from Brighton Beach
Moon rising above the huts.
Tomorrow there will be a total lunar eclipse
Heading back to the city
The Docklands, start and finish point for the race
The starting point
Bob talking to our new Australian friend Josh
Tak and Bob ended up doing their start at the same time.
Tak is yelling, "I am crazy Japanese man!"
Bob at one of the checkpoints.
Shortly after this checkpoint her pedal fell off which led to her disqualification from the race. She said it was a hard race and a very confusing course. Each competitor had a manifest which they had to complete in under 90 minutes. Both Tak and Josh did not make the time frame. The main race is held the next day for all the people that finished in time.
Having a beer after the race
Bob is ready to party
Dan at the finish
Some guy doing a mural at the race start/finish point
Met some BMX guys from all over the world
The crazy race after party in a warehouse.
At some point in the night, everyone piled on a
small roof to watch the lunar eclipse.
Walking around Chinatown
Federation Square in Melbourne
This great museum in Federation Square
Inside ACMI
A display of bats in Federation Square
The cool alleyways near Federation Square
Layers and layers of street art
Hosier Lane
Just having a lovely chat with her mum
Having a beer on our last night in Melbourne at Misty.
My Australian friend Lou in New Zealand used to work here and recommended it.
