My Second Trip to the Land Down Under

This trip to Australia is my second time visiting the land "Down Under" --- two and a half years later. I spent 3 weeks in New Zealand in March 2014 and LOVED IT!  In fact my NZ travel blog is directly below the start of this blog, so feel free to look through it.

On the New Zealand trip I spent the first 2 weeks with a group tour starting in Auckland. The 3rd week I spent on my own in the South Island's city of Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula, where I saw penguins!

What's with the penguins?  Mom was a Kindergarten teacher who acquired a collection of 600+ penguin memorabilia. I inherited her enthusiasm for penguins and a part of her collection. I plan to see penguins on Phillip Island, just south of Melbourne.

People ask me why I didn't combine my trips to New Zealand and Australia.  In my opinion, they deserve at least 3 weeks each. I could have spent more time in New Zealand, and I'm sure I'll say the same about Australia at the end of this trip.