TLCTravels

We wanted to explore Brisbane in Style: Where Urban Luxury meets natural wonder. We wanted to escape to Brisbane, Australia's rising lifestyle capital, blends sophisticated city living with eco-adventures along the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. We flew into the Brisbane airport and took an Uber to the Point hotel on Kangaroo Point. It was like an island that was a waterway away from downtown Brisbane. We walked down to the Holman Street ferry terminal and waited for the free ferry. We learned there are CityCats and KittyCats. There are two types of CityCats, one paid and one free. The free ones have a red banner or sign in the window. From the water, Brisbane has a beautiful skyline with modern skyscrapers and interesting buildings. Streets are clean and people are friendly. We hopped off the free CityCat at South Point and explored the area. We could see lots of South Bank investment properties popping up, especially all the Southpoint Brisbane apartments for sale. After looking ...

Step inside the magic: Weta Workshop Unleashed is Auckland's ultimate film experience. This behind-the-scenes experience offers a thrilling dive into Oscar-winning special effects, sci-fi creatures and creative storytelling. Before going to Auckland, New Zealand, we have never heard of Weta Workshops . It was only after watching a youtube video on Weta did we know it was the creative services and talented team behind the creation of the creatures in the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit movies. We love the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit movies and it is always fun to see how movie making works, especially when it comes to the monsters and creatures that appeared in these movies. We didn't go to the tour but we went to the Weta Workshop store which was in the same in complex as the Auckland Tower. The store had props from the movies. See if you recognize any of these characters. One of the Orcs (above). Bert the Troll (below) Gollum statue. Gollum from both the Lord of the Ring...

When we were planning our trip to Australia, Cindy said she wanted to hold a koala bear and I said I wanted to feed a kangaroo. This post is about getting close to a kangaroo. The first kangaroo we saw and got close to, was a baby kangaroo at the Sydney Zoo. She was so gentle and cute but I didn't have any food to give her.  After petting one, I felt pretty comfortable with them. I took out my camera and kneeled down to their height. I was trying to get a closeup picture of a male kangaroo that was standing about four feet in front of me. As the kangaroo was coming in focus, it stepped forward and startled me. I fell backwards and ended up on my butt. I broke my fall by reaching out but I wounded my hand on the gravel. The zookeeper came over to check on me and asked if the kangaroo had attacked me. I said no, it was my fault. She wanted me to drop by the front desk and visit First Aid before leaving. I signed a disclaimer declaring my fault. I did not want them to think it was the...

Some people reading my blog may wonder why my posts are so short. The reason is because each post is an experience to me rather than a travel journal entry.  When we visited Sydney, Australia, we sailed in on a cruise ship. It was part of the World Segment cruise from Los Angeles, CA to Sydney, Australia on the Island Princess. Sailing in to Sydney was magical. I remembered going upstairs on deck before sunrise to watch the sail in. The sun wasn't up yet but quarter of the ship were. People started showing up on deck with their binoculars, cameras, smartphones and video cameras.  It was still dark when we were sailing in. We could see the city lights of Sydney as the city was waking up. As we approached the city, the sky was lighting up and the skyline was appearing. Soon, north Sydney was visible on the right side of the ship. We could glimpses of light and houses perched on hillsides. The downtown core appeared in front of the ship.  Off to the right side, the Harbour B...

Picton was one of the smallest port we had ever visited but it was more than quaint. When we looked outside our port window, we saw piles and piles of logs. These logs were stacked up high and there were plenty of them.  A shuttle was provided to take us into town. The explanation of the logs were that these logs were going to be sent to China to be used to create toothpicks, chopsticks and matches. That was surprising to hear.  After being dropped off, we walked along the shoreline until we found this bridge that spanned the marina. This was the Coathanger bridge. Originally built in 1907 as the Victoria Domain bridge, it was replaced in 1950 as the Coathanger bridge.  The Picton marina was peaceful and really fun to walk through. It was hard to imagine the population was only 7,990 and with us visiting, the population was close to 10,000 for the day. We kept walking along the shoreline, occasionally glancing into the water because the water was so clear. On one glance, ...

When we sailed into Auckland, New Zealand, we had plans to take the hop on, hop off bus to see the sights. One of the stops we took was at Mount Eden. The bus did not take us to the summit so we had to hike up the rest of the way to get to the top.  Mt. Eden is a dormant volcano. Its last eruption was only 600 years ago and it is part of the Auckland Volcanic Field. It goes by a different name, Maungawhau and stands 196 metres above sea level. In Auckland, it is the highest point in Auckland and you can see for miles from the top. A large grassy crater is evident that the mountain is a volcano. There is also a well preserved crater with a depth of 50 metres at the summit. Beautiful view of the city. Downtown Auckland shows the Sky Tower which we plan on visiting. This is the tower that was used for New Years Eve fireworks. We didn't get to explore the Mount Eden suburb but we heard it was an affluent, residential area that had trendy shops, Asian eateries, bookshops and vintage clo...

We loved visiting New Zealand in February 2024. When we visited Auckland, NZ, we took a hop on, hop off bus and toured the city on our own. One of the stops was the Domain Winter Garden. Lotus pads. Pitcher plant - these plants eat mosquitos.

What does the Last Samurai movie starring Tom Cruise have to do with New Plymouth, New Zealand? Instead of it being filmed in Japan, the movie was filmed in the Taranaki region because Mt Fuji resembles Egmont or Mount Taranaki. See the filming locations of Last Samurai . We walked and toured the Pukehura Park which is 128 acres of garden, playground, outdoor theatre, water features, forest and a zoo. We saw the oldest tree in the park, a 2,000 year old tree known as the puriri tree. Aside from the Last Samurai movie, a lot of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed in New Zealand. If you're interested in seeing some of the props used in the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit movies, be sure to check out our post in Auckland. Near the shoreline, is the Wind Wand, a 48m tall structure that moves with the wind. Made of fiberglass, this kinetic art is part of New Plymouth. Interesting sculpture from the walkway. When I went to taking a picture of it, two persons decided...