Some of Me Trips

Darren here. Here are some pics to my trips to Geraldton, Darwin and Wellington.

Geraldton is in Western Australia about 250 miles north of Perth on the Indian Ocean. When the canola is in bloom, as it was last week, the fields are lit yellow. Now is part of the 2-month green season. The rest of the year, I'm told, the countryside is red and dusty.   

The color didn't look real.

The purple is a weed that covers wide areas and looks spectacular next to the canola.

This is part of a memorial commemorating the WWII vessel HMAS Sydney that was sunk by a German cruiser in 1941, killing all 645 aboard. The tower is a replica of the bow of the ship. If you look closely, you can see the depth numbers.

View of the Indian Ocean from the HMAS Sydney memorial.

Darwin is in Northern Australia on the Timor Sea not far from Indonesia. The tropical climate keeps Darwin warm all year. It has in intense wet season that is preceded by unrelenting humidity. 

Fishing boat off the Darwin coast in the Timor Sea.

Never seen that before.

Sunset over the Timor Sea

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand situated on the Cooks Straight. It has a compact, good-sized city with epic natural surroundings. Food was amazing. 

Civic Center

Part of the Cook Straight that faces Southeast toward the Pacific Ocean. Cold Antarctic winds and currents come in from the South.

This is in the Wellywood suburb where the LOTR/Hobbit actors live during filming. We had second breakfasts at a restaurant around the corner. Ian Mckellen was not present.

Really great botanic garden

botanic garden

At the WETA cave.

This is the actual suit the guy wore.

So I signed up for a Lord of the Rings tour. Let me start again. I was the only person who signed up for a Lord of the Rings tour. Eight hours, one-on-one, with a highly enthusiastic guide. It was cool to see the filming locations around Wellington and I learned more than I ever wanted to know about LOTR, but it got weird after while. There is something disquieting about a man helping you don rubber elf ears and a plastic sword ahead of a woodland photo shoot. Surely the passers by were as creeped out as I was.     

Kayaks in Wellington harbor near Civic Center.