♪Sign, sign, everywhere a sign♪

Some interesting signs from along the way

Animal relief area.  HAHAHA!!  I pictured a bunch of newspapers put down on the floor

:)

These are from a place called puzzling World.  Great place.

Can you see the ME, YOU?

Love this one!!  TEACH, LEARN

LIGHT, DARK

LOVE, HATE

So helpful!!  :)

Love the speak symbols coming out of his mouth.

same here

This was very helpful to me since they drive on the wrong side of the road. So hard for me to stay left. Goes against everything my kindergarten teacher ever taught me.

Don't ask for :takeout".  It's "Takeaway".

Yield

and definitely don't drink on your skateboard

If you reserve a table they put a sign on it.  other people can sit there but when it's the reserved time you need to get up.

good thing they warned us.

If more people did this, it would be a better world.

I hate pinched fingers!!

Very hospitable!!!

He is a goody isn't he??!!

Nice spelling.  Makes having this ailment seem almost amusing!!

haha!!

Technically not a sign but boulders were signed.  Remind you of something?

I know it is, but somehow, EXPIRY does not seem like a word

Better way to put it than saying "handicapped"?

Good thing there were signs that reminded us to eat. Otherwise we could easily have gone an hour or two without eating.

Jucy is a rental car company so you saw cars and vans with this sign on everywhere.  I dont think i could bring myself to drive around with this!

Very specific!!

Love the one about Grumpy!!

This was at the top of the Sydney Harbor bridge. If you've seen the bridge you know why this is funny.

Apparently this is only optional!!!

Toilets of New Zealand and Australia

Interesting toilets across NZ and Australia.  And don't ask where the bathrooms are.  They look at you funny.  They are "toilets".

Loved the girlie skirt on this one!

apparently tourists need some help to know exactly how to sit (not stand on)  the toilet!  So funny Oh, standing to pee is apparently allowed in the second one!

Public peeing allowed hahaha!!!

pretty!!

This was a regular toilet. shower close by just in case you didn't feel fresh.

very specific directions.  wondering about the food scraps one.  what do some people have in their purses??

I was a little nervous about going into this one but it was lovely!!

toilet sign at the bungee jumping place

 as opposed to what??  Taking it home??

aHigh tech!

interesting way to put it.  couldn't find the handicapped sign i took but it said "Disabled"  not handicapped.  the first one that I saw, I assumed the toilet was out of order.

bouncing baby

Apparently only for natives. Great hair.  Love the boots.

Hahaha!!!

Who knew going to the toilet could be such fun! We are boring int he U.S.!!

Cairns

Cairns

Flew to Cairns. First things first. We ate. The next day we went to the crocodile farm. Jeff and Lou looked for audience participation but got kicked out for trying to climb into a lagoon to wrestle a croc. Dundee Jeff and Lou hung their heads in shame as they were escorted out. It was well into the 90’s every day with high humidity. Each day Jeff and Lou ran for an hour. It was the toughest mile they ever ran! The next day we went in search of the aborigines. We rode the gondola up to a remote area. As we traveled up we contemplated many things, including, whether it was the cable moving or the wheel, if we had enough food in our backpacks in case we got stranded in the car, (Jeff only had two chickens and one cantaloupe in his backpack), if it would be better to jump or climb to the ladder if stranded . Panic set in at every joint on the cable. We’re talking death here. But we had chicken and cantaloupe so we wouldn’t die hungry! Along the way we got off for a look. At one of our stops our guide was Jerome, a native Djabuganydji Baja, the one local aboriginal to be found in the rain forest. His people dated back 40,000 years. Oral hygiene was not his strength. He told us about the rain forest, the people, and a story about how a curse would follow you and your children if you disturbed the land. Since Jeff and Lou left their DNA in several places along the trail, we are all cursed. As usual, Jeff and Lou squared off and competed on who had the best kiwi accent. Oy! At reaching the top we were excited to see an authentic aboriginal village however some sort of migration must have occurred because all that we found were shops and restaurants run by kiwis, not an aboriginal in sight. Maybe it was because of our curse! The ride back down was even more harried. We had already eaten the chicken and cantaloupe!!

The next day we went on a 2 day sailboat ride. We were a multicultural group of 12 passengers and 3 guides. Simone was a young hot Italian, John, a kiwi, and Jon (pronounced Yon) a Hattie from Germany. Among the guests were 2 young, newby girls from the Netherlands. One was a midwife and one an opthmologist. Great accents. The first thing they did was take away our shoes. We paid good money for those shoes. Luckily they gave them back upon leaving. Whenever you see people on TV on a sailboat, they walk around so easily. We held on for dear life anytime we moved! There weren’t enough seasickness pills on the boat for Jeff and the ginger cookies disappeared after the first hour! First off we were asked to choose between a stinger suit, (jellyfish) or a wet suit. Jeff fought the suit (remember his sense of freedom when getting a massage, same applies here). Lou picked a pretty blue stinger suit. Picture Papa Smurf!  Everyone was invited to dive, even if you weren’t certified. Jeff and Lou however were put on the DL for health reasons and Joanne for being totally terrified. Clare was the only member of our group healthy enough and brave enoughto dive in spite of Jeff’s wheeling and dealing. (“Listen if you ever make it to Christchurch, have I got a burrito for you!”) Flippers, goggles and snorkel were assigned. Walk like a duck. Joanne, a non-swimmer who never puts her head underwater hovered on what looked like Captain Hook’s gang plank contemplating death. John held on saying “Just look at the horizon and think of Armstrong-big step!” he said take your time and go when you are ready and then pushed her in! The snorkeling was totally amazing. It was like swimming in an aquarium. Incredible colors, hundreds of fish, sharks, giant sea turtles, dolphins. At times the coral was so close we could touch it. Touching is a total No-No and could result in total destruction of the reef. Oops!  As Clair got ready to dive, we saw one girl totally panic and come back. When it was Claris turn, she got a little claustrophobic but did dive and we snookered above her. Their air bubbles were silver and made noise when you popped them. At one point they dove below a giant Sea turtle and we swam above for about 10 minutes. The sleeping arrangements were tight. We had two private cabins that were far from private and very hot. You’d think the rocking of the sea would be soothing but not so much. Meals were good. The shower was like being at camp. So many terrific things on this trip but this was a major highpoint!!

Some things we've learned about New Zealand

Some things we’ve learned about New Zealand

They drive on the left see of the road. Never got used to getting in on the left.

Meals at a restaurant all come out at a different time.

At most restaurants you pay for your meal at a counter and pick it up yourself when ready. No waitress.

No tipping.

Minimum wage is $15 an hour. $20 in Australia.

The cost of food is ridiculous. Jeff paid $80 a pound for lobster at a road side stand.

The water really does go down the drain counterclockwise.

Don’t disregard the small brown coin. It’s not a penny it’s a $2 coin.

Roundabouts are popular. Try driving that on the wrong side of that!

There is assigned seating at the movie theatre. You can drink wine/beer in the theatre.

The ocean and lake water is the greenest/ bluest color you’ve ever seen. Almost looks like it’s not real.

Lots of hitchhikers. Not unusual to see young girls hitching alone.

You can smoke everywhere. And they do.

Mike and Mike is on at night.

The Super bowl is on Monday morning.

Toilets have two flushers. One for #1 and one for #2

No ketchup. It’s called tomato sauce and it’s much sweeter than Ketchum and you pay extra for it.

Showers all have glass doors that only cover half of the shower. You soak the rest of the floor.

Don’t ask for napkins (serviettes) or bathrooms (toilets). They will look at you funny.

I like some of their words better and think I’ll continue using them. Lollie. (candy) Good on ya, cheers, no worries.

Packages at the supermarket are all small as opposed to all our supersized packaging

some pis from Sydney. more to come

botanical gardens

club swizzle. Hysterical!

going native!

Sydney opera house

yikes! Apparently the Aussies really don't care about rules!