The trip was WONDERFUL! On our third day in NZ, mom was talking to Mary on the phone and Dad took it out of her hand and said "Sell everything and send the money! We're not coming home!"

Queenstown was absolutely wonderful. We could have stayed for months there, just putzing around...The Milford Sound Tour was beautiful ... the town of Te Anau (which is a stop along the way) was really neat. I'd recommend it as well for hikers and Caravaners.

We loved Adelaide, though we weren't really there long enough... the hotel in Cairns was awesome... just off the beach, with kookaburras and parakeets and cockatoos waking us up off our balcony.

We also loved the tour for the Great Barrier Reef. We did some sea kayaking off Green Island and snorkeling off the Reef float. Saw giant clams and stingrays and pink and blue and green and other fluorescent colored fish. Dad and Mom had fun (as we did) battling the surf.

The hotel in Sydney was EXCELLENT. There was a public house (bar) right next door that we went to every evening... Mom and Dad played the slot machines and there was live music and the bartenders remembered our names and drinks. We went to a symphony concert at the Sydney Opera House and Colin and I went down the to Bondi Beach to watch the surfers.

We also took a hot air balloon ride over the Barossa Wine Region. Australia and New Zealand are really the kind of place where you can BREATHE! It was great. Best trip I've ever taken.

You must recommend to others:

• 1) the Hotel in Cairns... The Reef Retreat. Each room has its own full balcony and is a full apartment. Awesome. The service was great. very laid back.

• 2) Any time in and around Queenstown NZ. The airport was tiny. We didn't even have to go through security. (no metal detectors!) We got a fishing guide to take us out on the lake... we didn't catch anything, but the guys were great and it was so relaxing.

• 3) Sydney, Sydney Sydney, especially the hotel . Holiday Inn Old Sydney. It was an outdoor heated rooftop pool that is a stone's throw from the harbour bridge and a view of the opera house that is gorgeous.

• 4) Gamblers paradise. "Pokies" (slot machines) everywhere... and the exchange rate was great. I spent less than $1000 over three weeks, and I was not even trying to be frugal.

• 5) Don't TIP!!! It's included in the price. All the guides I read were sort of vague on this, but believe me, the locals don't tip, unless it's a really nice restaurant and even then maybe only a few bucks. Our bartender friend in Adelaide informed us that servers and bartenders make $21 an hour. The only people that ever tip them are Americans.

• 6) Get certified to dive before you go, because you'll want to go a lot when you get there.

• 7) the 4x4 tour of the rainforest (from Cairns) was boring and I got carsick. Don't recommend it. Everything else was great.

• 8) Let anyone know who gets motion sickness to pick up the herbal remedy at the pharmacy there, not Dramamine. The roads are curvy and I was sick for a lot of the driving. The herbal remedy does not cause drowsiness and worked great.

• 9) NEW ZEALAND! Send more people there, on Air New Zealand... the service was great, friendly and very smooth.

• 10) Tell people: The flight is not at ALL as bad as you think it will be. We were exhausted when we arrived, but we waited to sleep till about 7 p.m. and we were fine the next day. The recovery on the return, however, takes about a week. (Waking up, wide awake, at 4 a.m., etc.)

Thanks,

Elizabeth