The Big Trip 2024 - Aotearoa New Zealand, 13 Jan 2024 Flightless weka preening on the trail next to the Punakaiki River.

Stacey Campbell

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staceycampbell@yahoo.com

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Aotearoa New Zealand, 13 Jan 2024

Flightless weka preening on the trail next to the Punakaiki River. It was only moderately interested in our proximity, which I gather is completely normal.

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Around the world in 87 days Stops on our big retirement trip:

French Polynesia, 3 Jan 2024 Sunrise approach to Faa'a International Airport on Tahiti.

French Polynesia, 4 Jan 2024 Polynesian settlers brought chickens, dogs, pigs, and rats to Tahiti.

French Polynesia, 4 Jan 2024 Wet season downpour at Belvedere Lookout (Belvédère du Opunohu), Mo'orea.

French Polynesia, 5 Jan 2024 Evening fishermen at Puna'auia, Tahiti.

French Polynesia, 6 Jan 2024 Quick smooch at the Fa'aruma'i Waterfalls.

French Polynesia, 5 Jan 2024 Black sand beach at Puna'auia.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 11 Jan 2024 Wine tasting at Jane Hunter's beautiful winery at Rapaura (Marlborough Region).

Aotearoa New Zealand, 9 Jan 2024 Christchurch was devastated by two earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 .

Aotearoa New Zealand, 13 Jan 2024 Woodchopping competition at the Buller Agricultural and Pastoral Show 2024.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 13 Jan 2024 Crossing the Punakaiki River swing bridge.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 13 Jan 2024 Flightless weka preening on the trail next to the Punakaiki River.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 15 Jan 2024 Driftwood sculpture on the beach at Hokitika.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 14 Jan 2024 We played nine holes at the Hokitika Golf Club.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 15 Jan 2024 This is what is left of Franz Josef Glacier.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 16 Jan 2024 John Oliver's campaign to vote the Australasian crested grebe, a.k.a. Pūteketeke, Bird of the Century was quite the chuckle.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 21 Jan 2024 Key Summit hike, this is the Routeburn Track section.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 21 Jan 2024 Key Summit hike, this is the section above the treeline.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 21 Jan 2024 Milford Sound, Bowen Falls, and Mitre Peak photosphere taken from the Milford Sound Foreshore Walk.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 21 Jan 2024 Lisa returning from her Milford Sound tour on the Milford Mariner.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 26 Jan 2024 Bold Dunedin red-billed gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus), also known as tarāpunga, eyeballing my Kimchi-jjigae (out of frame!).

Aotearoa New Zealand, 26 Jan 2024 New Zealand fur seals/kekeno squabbling in the rock pools at Kaitiki Point.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 27 Jan 2024 Hooker Valley Track lookout over the Hooker Glacier and Aoraki/Mount Cook.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 27 Jan 2024 The Hooker Valley track has three fairly exciting suspension bridges.

Aotearoa New Zealand, 27 Jan 2024 Aoraki/Mount Cook summit finally appeared through the clouds.

Melbourne, 1 Feb 2024 Sunset timelapse from Port Melbourne looking to the City.

Melbourne, 2 Feb 2024 In all my years living in Melbourne I had never visted the Shrine of Remembrance.

Melbourne, 2 Feb 2024 Sunrise hot air ballooning over the CBD.

Melbourne, 2 Feb 2024 Women departing on South Melbourne Life Saving Club's Port to Pier swim.

Melbourne, 5 Feb 2024 Kookaburra keeping an eye on things at Grant's Picnic Ground in the Dandenongs.

Melbourne, 5 Feb 2024 Superb Lyrebird having a scratch just off the Neuman Track in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.

Melbourne, 5 Feb 2024 Walking the Coles Ridge, Welch Track, Paddy Track, Neuman Track, and Lyrebird Walk loop in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.

Wilsons Promontory, Victoria, 8 Feb 2024 View from Pillar Point .

Melbourne, 9 Feb 2024 Dinner in Edithvale with Tam and Antony, great evening!

Melbourne, 10 Feb 2024 Gathering of the great-grandchildren of Sarah Elizabeth Howlett and Charles Ellis .

Warrnambool, 12 Feb 2024 Emu snarfing berries on the Last Volcano Loop track at the Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve .

Warrnambool, 12 Feb 2024 Weekly Ludwig family zoom call at a picnic table in the Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve.

Mount Gambier, South Australia, 15 Feb 2024 Blue Lake/Warwar is a large crater lake located in a dormant volcanic maar.

Victor Harbor, 16 Feb 2024 Big splash on the southern side of Granite Island.

Adelaide, 19 Feb 2024 Weekly Ludwig family chat on the balcony of the beautiful Largs Pier Hotel .

Eden Valley, South Australia, 19 Feb 2024 Fiona's antique store .

Halls Gap, 23 Feb 2024 Cool change and sunset timelapse at Halls Haven Holiday Units.

Grampians National Park, 23 Feb 2024 The Pinnacle on a windy and cold day, Halls Gap in the background.

Malaysia, 28 Feb 2024 I haven't set foot in Kuala Lumpur in 40 years.

Malaysia, 29 Feb 2024 Kuala Lumpur was given over to cars some time in the last 40 years.

Malaysia, 4 Mar 2024 George Town became a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 7 July 2008.

Saigon, 6 Mar 2024 View from the 20th floor of our accommodation looking over the Bến Nghé canal to Hồ Chí Minh City District 1.

Saigon, 8 Mar 2024 State Bank of Vietnam building from the old Cầu Móng (bridge).

Ho Chi Minh City, 10 Mar 2024 Công viên Tao Đàn, a peaceful and empty park in the middle of Saigon.

Hội An and Đà Nẵng, 14 Mar 2024 Exploring Ngũ Hành Sơn, aka the Marble Mountain.

Hội An and Đà Nẵng, 14 Mar 2024 Many temples at the top of Ngũ Hành Sơn (Marble Mountain).

Hội An and Đà Nẵng, 14 Mar 2024 The elevator down from Ngũ Hành Sơn (Marble Mountain).

Hội An, 16 Mar 2024 Wandering around the rice fields just outside town.

Hà Nội, 17 Mar 2024 What the line looks like when the bánh mì stand across the street has been discovered by youtubers and misc influencers.

Hà Nội, 18 Mar 2024 St Joseph's Cathedral in the Old Quarter.

Hà Nội, 19 Mar 2024 Ladies posing for an awesome portrait at Hồ Hoàn Kiếm.

Hà Nội, 20 Mar 2024 Hoàn Kiếm Lake at night.

Hà Nội, 19 Mar 2024 Scooter and motorbike traffic on Hàng Bông Street in the Old Quarter.

Vietnam, 21 Mar 2024 Getting paddled around the Tràng An Scenic Landscape Complex.

Vietnam, 22 Mar 2024 Up and down the steps at Hang Múa.

Taiwan, 25 Mar 2024 Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall changing of the guard.

Taiwan, 25 Mar 2024 At Liberty Square in Taipei, the last of the cherry blossoms for this year.

Taiwan, 26 Mar 2024 Dinner of bao, takoyaki, and strawberry mochi at Linjiang Street Tourist Night Market (通化街夜市).

Taiwan, 27 Mar 2024 On our way to ordering a large serving of fish swim bladder with garlic and greens at Lobster Live Seafood (龍蝦厝活海鮮) in Tamsui.

Taiwan, 28 Mar 2024 Red eared slider turtles basking in the big pond in Daan Forest Park.

Taiwan, 28 Mar 2024 Little Egrets in breeding plumage attempting to make some more Little Egrets in Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園).

Taipei, 27 Mar 2024 Taipei's spectacular MRT rail system can get busy, but passenger flow on/off trains is efficent and fast.

Singapore, 29 Mar 2024 Almost all of the city-state in frame, Changi airport in the foreground.

Singapore, 30 Mar 2024 Drinks with a view at the MO Bar .

Singapore, 30 Mar 2024 Waiting for my reasonably priced and tasty breakfast at Tekka Centre.

Singapore, 30 Mar 2024 Lisa visiting the very popular Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple on Serangoon Road.

En Route from Singapore to Frankfurt, 31 Mar 2024 The Karçal Dağları (Karçal Mountains) on the Turkey/Georgia border area from 40,000 feet.

Elnhausen, Germany, 1 Apr 2024 Lisa taking a look at the Ludwig house in Elnhausen that her father had visited in 1970.

Elnhausen, Germany, 1 Apr 2024 As with most countries that fought in World War II, there are memorials to the fallen in the middle of the town.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 2 Apr 2024 Photosphere from the rear patio of the Hotel Schatten.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 4 Apr 2024 What do you do when you've tested positive for SARS-CoV-2?

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 5 Apr 2024 View from above the town on the hike to Kesselgraben Wasserfall.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 5 Apr 2024 Quick selfie with my authentic Four Seasons Total Landscaping t-shirt at Kesselgraben Wasserfall.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 9 Apr 2024 Timelapse of a cold storm moving in over Waxenstein.

Austria, 11 Apr 2024 The Marko-Feingold-Steg pedestrian bridge in Salzburg is covered in those lovelock things.

Austria, 12 Apr 2024 Erika and Lisa with the Faaker See in the background just outside Villach.

Italy, 13 Apr 2024 The impossibly beautiful view of the Julian Alps from Lago Inferiore di Fusine.

Germany, 14 Apr 2024 Massive protest in Marienplatz against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Germany, 15 Apr 2024 Standing wave surfers at Eisbachwelle near old town München.

France, 17 Apr 2024 Fort Casso on the Maginot Line, a few kilometers from Bitche.

France, 17 Apr 2024 View of Ville de Bitche from the crumbling but still intimidating Citadelle de Bitche .

France, 18 Apr 2024 The overwhelming 16th century cathedral in Metz.

France, 19 Apr 2024 The Douaumont Ossuary and French military cemetery to the north of Verdun.

France, 20 Apr 2024 Canola (rapeseed) crops are widespread around Saint-Quentin.

France, 20 Apr 2024 Entrance to the Templeux-le-Guerard Communal Cemetery Extension .

Netherlands, 21 Apr 2024 This bike parked in Middelburg is typical of Dutch bikes, it features style, durability, comfort, and will be around when we're all long gone.

Netherlands, 22 Apr 2024 We rented ebikes at the Middelburg train station bike shop and rode out to Domburg on the Zeeland coast.

Germany, 23 Apr 2024 Timelapse of river traffic on the Rhine from our room in the Hotel Rheinlust in Boppard.

Germany, 25 Apr 2024 The long walkway between the B and A gates in Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Airport.

Denmark, 26 Apr 2024 The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek art museum has an extensive collection of (perhaps looted, then laundered through European art houses?) artifacts from Ancient Egypt including two mummified bodies on public display.

Denmark, 26 Apr 2024 A man has just stumbled against an exhibit at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek.

Denmark, 27 Apr 2024 This old tug, the Käthe Wessels, is grounded and anchored just off the beach of Amager Strandpark.

Denmark, 27 Apr 2024 Den Blå Planet, the National Aquarium Denmark.

Poland, 28 Apr 2024 We're disembarking from the LOT aircraft from Copenhagen for our 4 hour layover in Warsaw.

Atlantic Ocean, 28 Apr 2024 The somewhat irregularly scheduled LOT 23 (a.k.a LOT 2E ) flight at 37,000' over the west coast of Iceland.

Los Angeles, 2 May 2024 Home, and the garden is in full bloom.