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 We learned how to lower ourselves with the rope and harness. That is me on the right.

 Then we lowered ourselves 120 feet down a very black hole into the cave.

 Next  they surprised us as each person did a zip line into total darkness, something they failed to mention beforehand. Just for the joy of hearing us scream. But then we got a snack and drink.

Next we jumped off this platform into cold water, wearing wetsuits and holding an inner tube to our bum. Some people landed right side up, others not so much.

 We did a tummy dive down this slide.

 And walked and walked through the water in the cave. Occasionally it was chest deep.

 We scooted through this narrow opening on our tummy.

 We got more treats before continuing on through the cave.

Yes, we did see glow worms, which appear as bright lights on the top of the cave. But do not make exciting photographs, I guess, as I don’t have any of them. We could not take our cameras.

We all emerged alive and smiling. It was fun, although my feet were numb from the cold water.

This is the Maori welcome dance.

Hotel in Rotorua.

Sculpture in the Maori culture center.

 At Te Puia our Maori guide boiled eggs in the hot pots for us.

 Geyers at Te Puia.

 Eating our hard-boiled eggs.

 A chef boiled dinner for a larger group.

 A traditional Maori structure.

I loved the movie set. We had a two hour tour.

 There is nothing behind the doors, just the hill.

 The poorer Hobbits lived on the lower part of the hill.

 There were several gardeners. This is a wonderful vegetable garden.

 A nice bird house.

 View from Bilbo Baggins’ hobbit hole.

 Bilbo Baggins’ Hobbit hole, Bags End.

 The tree above Bilbo’s hobbit hole is exactly as described in the book and is made from plastic. The cost was $40,000.

 Some young men from the Kiwi bus. They were all fun.

 The Green Dragon Inn from across the pond.

 A mill. Ghandolf rode across this bridge.

 The Green Dragon Inn

 At the Green Dragon Inn you could have a beer or ginger beer, which I had.

 Glacier fed lake.

 Glacier

 The flat top of the mountain is Mt. Cook.

 The moisture drops on the west side of the mountain. The east side is desert-like.

 This was a 45-minute flight.

 The mount in the foreground has an observatory used by the USA and Great Britian as well. I went on a tour in the middle of the night, which was really interesting.

I walked along the harbor to Manley Beach, but could not see the little penguins.

 The green dragon lizard.

 Manley beach.

 Sydney Opera House.

 Luna Park, just over the Harbor Bridge.

 View of the Sydney Opera House from the Harbor Bridge.

 Queen Victoria statute.

 A Chinese garden in the city

 Paddington neighborhood.

 Lovely parks in Sydney.

I took a boat to the start of the hike of the Milford Track.

 This is a remote wilderness hike. I carried a sleeping bag, clothes, rain jacket and a cooking pot in the backpack.

 I am hugging a huge red pine tree.

 This are gets 9 to 15 feet of rain each year.  I was so fortunate to have four sunny days.

 Almost at the summit is a memorial to the explorer, Quintin McKenzie, the Scotsman who discovered the trail.

 Alice is from Lake Como, Italy.

 Sutherlin Falls.

 My new friends from Israel. It was fun to meet so many people from all the world.

 It is 33.5 miles of hiking through gorgeous wilderness.

 At the end, there is a 20 minute boat ride to Milford Sound.

 There was a fictional mystery book and later a movie that was set at Hanging Rock, just outside of Melbourne.

 Across from the entrance we saw kangaroos. These may be raised for meat, which you can buy in the grocery store, or order on a pizza. No, I did not try it.

 Tyler, Baptiste, who is French and studied at the UO, where he met Hannah, from Portland.

 We visited a Wildlife Sanctuary.

 This is Hanging Rock.

 We arranged to meet at Flinders Street Station in Melbourne.