WE ARE HOME!!! It is great to finally be home, anyway looking back at the last few days in Auckland all we did was pack and get coffee (no joke!). We got home to all our friends and our new home too! it is great being here but I am sure all of us miss the adventure of the trip a little. To all of you who continued to check my blog when i kinda "forgot" to write it every day (we get pretty busy sometimes you know!) thank you for being faithful readers. One af my favorite things was getting email and comments from you relating to our adventures. So thankyou for all of your contributions!

Bugsly

We've had buckets of fun in Queenstown for these last five days. We started on the first day going lugeing at Skyline Luge. Dad, Michael and I went down the luge track three times each. It was SO much fun with dips, turns and hills all over.

The next day I went to the movies with my Mom and saw "Click" while Dad and Michael went snowboarding. I really liked the movie and it was good to have some time on our own.

The day that we left, we all went back to the luge together and this time, my Mom did it too! We got to go four times and it was just as fun as the first time!

We headed to the airport next to make our way to Wellington.

Bugsly

This morning we got up early and flew to Auckland, New Zealand, got our rental car and drove in a torrential downpour to our friends Jean and Brian’s farm near Hamilton. We arrived in the pouring down rain to their warm and cozy home. They made us very welcome and we had a great time with them. We stayed for 2 nights and enjoyed their company and getting to know about New Zealand from them. We watched an All Blacks Rugby Game and had great fun.

Bugsly

Yesterday we flew from Alice Springs to Brisbane, rented a car and drove to Burleigh Heads about one hour south of Brisbane on the ocean. It was a long day and we had dinner at the Lone Star Grill and Steakhouse and then went to see our first movie since we left home in December, “RV”. We laughed and laughed although it was pretty senseless when you really think about it.

Today we got up early and drove about two hours north to The Australia Zoo, home of Steve Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter”.

We had a wonderful time seeing all of the animals, especially the Koalas, Kangaroos and Wombats. There were some crocodiles in the “Crocoseum” which is like an enormous stadium and pool for the crocs. The trainers are very brave and I don’t think you’ll see me doing that job anytime soon! We saw the crocodiles jump out of the water and took the raw meat hanging from the trainer’s hands. As I say again, you won’t be seeing me doing this job!

The Wombats were my favorite animal at the Zoo. They were the funniest looking and they are like Koalas and Kangaroos because they are marsupials too. We had a wonderful day at The Australia Zoo.

We were tuckered out by the end of the day.

Bugsly

This morning we got up early and caught our flight from Cairns to Ayers Rock. It was completely desolate over the Outback area that we could see from the plane. Dad and I were on the wrong side of the plane, but Mom and Michael could see Ayers Rock from the window. The soil was red everywhere you looked. It was very different from what I am used to.

We drove the only resort in the middle of the desert, and settled into our hotel called Sails in the Desert. Mom and I stopped off at the pool for lunch while Dad and Michael went out to explore. Later in the afternoon we headed to Ayers Rock for to see the sunset.

When we arrived, there were other people there already, but not too many. We enjoyed the beautiful sunset reflected on the Rock, changing the color of it every 15 seconds or so. Ayers Rock known as Uluru to the Aboriginal people, is an important part of their culture and religion. It got dark very fast, so it was time to leave, but it was very beautiful to see it.

We stopped off on the way back at a barbeque where you grill your own food including kangaroo, crocodile, emu, as well as chicken and beef. It was fun to cook and good to eat.

Bugsly

This morning we landed yesterday morning in Cairns, Australia just before sunrise. Time zones are so much fun! We made our way through quarantine where an adorable beagle sniffed every one of our bags for fruits and vegetables. We also passed by a heat sensitve scanner to see if any of us had a fever.

We got to the Trinity Beach Club Holiday Apartments at 6:00 am, and Michael and Mom fell asleep immediately and Dad and I went to find breakfast. Which we did. It was delicious, eggs, hash browns, toast, baked beans, bacon and juice.

We got into our room, which is an apartment with two bedrooms and a kitchen. Lots of space. We had a quiet day and then went exploring in the afternoon. It was beautiful and sunny and the beach and water are wonderful. Warm and blue. We went to bed early because tomorrow we are going to the Great Barrier Reef.

Bugsly

Thursday we traveled all day to Japan. First the flight which was 4 hours, then the subway in Narita, then the express train to Kamakura, then a taxi to the home of Miyako where we are staying in her guesthouse. It was 9:00 pm when we finally got settled.

Dad and Michael went to find food for dinner and were able to get sushi and noodles at the local "Union" grocery store.

On Friday we went to see the Daihatsu Buddha, the giant Buddha in Kamakura. It was HUGE. There were lots of school kids visiting since it's the time of year when kids from Tokyo visit all over Japan on field trips.

After the Buddha, we went to visit Catharine Nagashima who is the daughter of Edrica Huws, the patchwork artist. My Mom was really excited to meet her and see more of her mother's work. We had a great time at tea with her and her grandchildren, Sieffre, Steffan and Ffiona. Michael is going to go to school with Sieffre one day next week. We had fun playing board games together.

After that, we all went to dinner at a place where you cook your own food on a hot plate in the middle of the table. It was delicious! It was a great day and we hope to see them again next week!

Bugsly

Today we woke up at four thirty in the morning (yawn) and set out to board our seven thirty flight. Cmoe Qiu picked us up right on the dot as usual and we were off. We arrived at the airport said goodbye and scurried off to catch our flight in time. There were already people getting off of flights even though it was only five thirty! Our flight prepared for take off as scheduled and we quickly downed our blueberry muffins and drinks from Starbucks. As we landed in Hong Kong airport we once again entered the crowded yet clean and organized hubbub. As we were going through passport control we even had these men with a TV camera come up to us and ask us if we would smile for the camera because they were making a “Corporate Video” I think I will type “Going through passport control with the Levy’s” into Google and see if we are universal movie stars! Afterwards we grabbed our bags (the only ones left on the carousel) and sped through customs. Eventually, we finished with all that airport stuff and moseyed on to the train platform that will take you to the center of Hong Kong. After a fast thirty minute ride we were out of the airport and into a taxi and on our way back to the JW Marriott. Finally, we were back in a hotel room swimming, napping, and lazing about!

Bugsly

Thursday we visited a travel agent that helped us with our Japan Rail Pass. Then we took the MTR to Kowloon on the other side of Victoria Harbour. Kowloon was full of electronics shops. My Dad was in heaven. We went to a small jade shop that we walked by and I picked out a pair of earrings. The woman that helped us assured us that it was good quality jade and that the price was fair.

We then looked for a place to eat and on the way we went through the wedding dress district and saw lots of exotic looks for brides in the windows. After lunch we headed for the Star Ferry to take us back across the harbour.

We stopped by the travel agent on our way back to the hotel and picked up our passes. We had sushi for dinner at the California Sushi Restaurant.

Friday morning we packed for Beijing and said goodbye to Hong Kong for now.

Bugsly

We woke up this morning and took a shuttle bus to Phuket International Airport. We got our flight to Bangkok and one hour later we landed. We got off of the Thai Airline airplane and got on to a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong.

Two and a half hours later, we landed in Hong Kong. Now we are back on track with our original travel plans. The drive into the city from the airport was spectacular. There were high rise apartment buildings like I have never seen before. The bank buildings were lit up in lots of interesting ways. Also there was a really long bridge that was equally amazing.

We got to our hotel, the JW Marriott, and checked out the mall that it is connected to (Pacific Place). We had dinner at a restaurant in the mall, but you have to understand that this is a super-fancy mall. It was a nice restaurant.

We were tired from our long day so we went right to bed after dinner.

Bugsly