Australia-New Zealand 1

Australia-New Zealand 9

Oct. 22, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

It’a amazing, that when you are travelling, you can have good days, better days and fabulous days with only the occasion blip. Today, after breakfast, I elected to do a walking day to give my 9 hour, motorcycle bum a rest. I walked down from my hotel to the waterfront, passing through the town. Tauranga is a lovely town, doubling as a beach resort and a large industrial port. The downtown area has the usual amount of shops with a number of them specializing in hiking and sporting equipment. I did a lot of browsing but no purchasing, responding to the sales people that I was only a tourist vacationing.

I found myself at the waterfront overlooking an old railway bridge which took me across the bay. The bridge had a walking lane used by hikers, runners and bicyclists. It was 800 meters long. I walked across and found myself on a road that followed the beach on the other side. I walked for an hour and eventually a car stopped to ask me if I was lost and could she give me a lift. Her mother was in the back seat and was probably about my age. I told her that I was from Canada and that I had just completed a triathlon as she had notice the number tatoued on my arm. She drove me a few kms to the local bus station. She explained to me that she was of Mauri origin. The Mauris are the original settlers here, arriving from Polynesia several hundred years before the white man. Mauri culture is very evident here as many of the villages and mountains are in Mauri language and are unpronounceable and difficult for me to memorize. There are only 5 million people in all of NZ, many of whom are Mauri. On the bus, the stations are announced in Mauri and English. We could take a lesson from them in Quebec. Our native Indian culture is visibly lost in our everyday lives.

The bus took me to Mount Maunganui and the bus driver asked me politely if I was going to hike up the mountain. When I acknowledged that was what I was here to do, he responded ‘that is what I figured.’ I took that as a compliment as I guess that he also had seen my tatous. I had a cappuccino and muffin for lunch and spoke with a young couple from Italy, travelling around and working as cooks. I suggested to the young lady, Noel that they might find work in Whistler as they were quite interested in the fact that I was from Canada.

I asked the waitress about how long it would take me to climb the 300m mountain. She looked at me and suggested that I try the climb tomorrow as I had just consumed 1 muffin and 2 cappuchinos. I started up the mountain and asked a few young people if I could climb up the mountain in 1 hour or so. They politely smiled. There were several paths to take, longer with a gentle slope or shorter but steeper. I took the latter to go up and the former to walk down. On my way back I spoke to a young fellow who lived here and then with an Estonian waiter who is a sea captain. You meet so many people when you travel alone.

All of the pictures below were taken in Tauranga and on Mount Maunganui.

Love,

Brian

Australia-New Zealand 1

Australia-New-Zealand 8,

Oct. 21, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

’Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile.’ I repacked my already stuffed to the brim, suitcases. again. i had to find a place for my new medal and had to really push to close the bag. I called an Uber to take me to my motorcycle rental place across the bridge in a suburb of Auckland. I am getting rather good at ubering and can summon up one all by myself. I arrived at the motorcycle shop and met the man in charge. He explained the workings of the bike to me and gave me some advice of windy roads to take for my next leg of my journey. I rented a Honda 500 Rebel CMX which is rather small and easy to manoeuvre on the hilly narrow roads that I will travel on. The bike came with 2 saddle bags and an over the wheel trunk. I repacked taking only what I would need for the trip. All bikes are geared the same, one down and 4 up. For one second I forgot and started the bike, ready to go in 1 up, second gear. The fellow looked at me and I could see by his face that he was wondering if this was my first time on a bike and should he be really renting it to me.

When ever I get on my bike, I always say to myself, ‘this could be my last ride.’ So far I have been wrong. The bike although small, was not really small. Riding a new bike with the gears on the opposite side as my triumph is always a challenge. They drive on the left side of the road here. My TomTom motorcycle GPS allows me to choose primary, secondary or tertiary roads, hilly, very hilly and very hilly roads, curvy, very curvy and very very curvy roads II had chosen to ride on the latter of all three choices. I started up the engine and wondered to myself if I had not bitten more than I can chew, as usual. 1 hour into the ride, I had gained back my usual over confidence and knew that I could easily master the low cut Honda.

The drive out of Auckland was rather boring as I had to go back over the bridge and through the entire city. The city has small towns, attached to each other and go on for 1 hour, not very interesting. Finally, I arrived in the country side. I drove on for several hours through rolling hills and small farms. I arrived at the turning point where I had to decide whether or not to continue on to Tauranga or head north up the peninsula and follow the ‘spectacular road’ that the motor-shop man had described to me. I chose the latter and headed up the peninsula. This was supposed to add 3 hours to my journey. It added another 5 hours but it was really worth while.

The road was narrow, windy, hilly, and curvy to the extreme, perfect for my first day on a new motorcycle in a new country. A real baptism by fire. The road wound along the sea with the mountains often coming right down to the water, The road was often cut out of the mountain. Finally, I arrived at the top of the peninsula and road across to the other side. Here the road cut through the mountain with hair pin turns and switch backs. I road in 2nd or 3rd gear for the most part doing 30-50 k/hr. Many turns were marked 25 k/hr and it was impossible to go faster. Later on the roads were marked at 100 k/hr. I never dared to go over 80.

I arrived in Tauranga, 10 hours later, having stopped only once for lunch and many times to take photos. I usually don’t like to ride a bike after dark or in the rain. I finished my journey in the dark and with a light drizzle. My GPS lady got lost and I drove around Tauranga for 1 hour before finding my hotel. I was ready for a beer.

Love,

Brian

All the photos below were taken on my motor cycle journey, from Auckland up the peninsula and then back down to Tauranga.

Australia-New Zealand 1

Australia-New Zealand 7,

Oct. 20, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Today is an absolutely gorgeous spring day, sunny, blue skies, 20C. I started off the day with a cappuccino and a muffin at Starbucks, very original for my trip in N-Z. It was wash day and miraculously, my hotel has a laundromat in the hotel. If you have read my previous blogs, you will know how much I love laundromats. This one was a little different, consisting of a cupboard and 2 small machines, one on top of the other. I filled the machine with my laundry and returned to my room to catch up on emails.

Pamela, the lady who offered me champagne on the plane here, had advised me to take a day trip to Waiheke Island by ferry boat. I picked up the ferry in Auckland Harbour and floated over to the Island. There were 1 foot waves and the wind was blowing at 15-20 kts with white caps. The view was splendid. There are a few sailboats out and 1 fellow was windsurfing. How I wished that I could be out there, on a sailboat. ‘You can’t always get what you want so be happy with what you got.’

I took a seat on the back of the ferry boat and got a great view of Auckland Harbour. My spirits were high and I was taken back to a time 55 years ago. I was travelling for 1 year and had just finished 2 months of skiing in Austria, Switzerland and Italy. I had dropped off my skies in Germany and was hitchhiking to Greece. I stopped off in Zurich and bought a pair of white Adidas with 3 black stripes. In retrospect they were good walking shoes but not the type that one should have in Israel with 35C to 40C weather. The weather was about the same as today and I had only 7lbs of luggage in my back pack. My pill box weighs more than that now. I was bouncing along in my new shoes without a care in the world. I was eventually planning to go to Israel to work on a kibbutz. For what ever reason, the song ‘my sweet lord’ was in my mind and I was singing the song to myself. That moment in time was a moment that I was the most free in my life. I was never that free before, and I was never as free afterwards and probably will never be that free again. I had no responsibilities except to myself. I had very little money, just enough to get along. Everyday was a new adventure to experience. I wonder if anyone else reading my blog has ever had a similar experience.

Waiheke Island has a similar atmosphere that you find in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, Martha’s Vineyard or the island Brehat in France. Everyone seems to be relaxed and taking it easy. The tourist season has not started and the cafes and bars have only the locals in them. I am sitting in a cafe overlooking the ocean in a small village on the island. The island is famous for its wineries and if I am lucky I will find one open to sample the wine. If not, I will order some wine for supper here.

I got on a public bus and travelled up the island. The island is surprisingly hilly, with windy narrow roads. It would be a great place to ride a motorcycle but probably very difficult to ride a bike unless you are in really good condition. I got off the bus, half way up the island and walked down to the beach. The waves were rolling in onto the beach and the water looked inviting with many sailboats moored in the distance. 2 ladies were coming out of the water so I asked them about the water temperature. They said it was cold but when I tested it, it was much warmer than Laurentian lake water in June. They informed me that there were no jelly fish or sharks here as the water is too cold.

I took the bus back to the little town and am once again enjoying the view from the terrace of my Italian restaurant. I will take the 930 ferry back to Auckland after dinner. I will pick up my motorcycle tomorrow and head off on the motorcycle part of my journey.

All of the photos below are either taken from aboard the ferry boat from Auckland to Waiheke Island or on the island itself.

Love,

Brian

Australia-TerminNew Zealand 1

Australia-New Zealand 6

Oct. 19, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

Today was a travel day, my last day in Australia and my first day in New Zealand. As usual during this trip, my day was filled with adventure. Each day when I wake up, I never know what new experience the day will bring. I packed last night and woke up early to have a buffet breakfast and get on the shuttle to the airport. The breakfast was supposedly included with the room, but it came with a $20 price tag, an $8 reduction in price. I didn’t mind as the buffet was worth while. We piled into a regular size bus that took us to all 3 terminals. Terminal 1, the international terminal was huge and miles away. I arrived 2 hours early and had no time passing through customs.

I had an hour and a half to spare when I realized that I had purchased an ipad and could collect a tax refund. There was a long line up and I didn’t think that I would get through in time. After a half hour, an agent announced that a TMT online form had to be filled out. I had paid $251 in tax, so I figured that I should give it a try. I think that TMT means ‘too much trouble’ as the form was multiple pages long and required all sorts of secret numbers imbedded in the receipt. I must have looked discouraged as the man next to me offered his assistance. He was able to go through the form with me, filling in the blanks and even getting a required emergency email documentation from Apple. We spoke for a while and he explained that he was originally from India and was an IT expert. He had worked in many countries and had visited Canada many times. We exchanged email addresses and I promised to take him to dinner if he ever comes to Canada. I also gave him my blog site of course.

I had a good seat in the plane, just behind first class with extra leg room. I struck up a conversation with the lady in the seat next to me. She was Australian and had worked for many years in Utah. She was a frequent flyer with Qantas Airlines and was offered multiple glasses of ‘Australian bubbly’ for herself and her ‘guest’. That certainly started the day off well for me. Qantas offers a good meal for airline travellers even on 3 hour short time flights. United Airlines could take a lesson from them in service for clients. United, offers water and chips on 6 hour flights and $30 sandwiches. We exchanged emails addresses and she promised to read my blog. I now have over 10,000 visits and 4000 visitors to my blog site.

I am staying at a 4* downtown hotel which is very convenient. Auckland is a lovely city, very clean and a beautiful waterfront. I walked down Queen St. the main shopping avenue and arrived at the waterfront. There are a lot of sailboats, and big motor boats. You can take a boat tour of the port and go out to 1 of the islands which is supposed to be very pleasant. I will probably do that tomorrow.

The waterfront is quite developed with numerous restaurants and bars. Sunday night is rather quiet. I chose a nice Italian restaurant with white table cloths catering to a middle class, middle age cliental. No matter what country you are in, if you choose an Italian restaurant, you will always eat well.

Love,

Brian

2025-03 Israel

Israel 27,

April 17, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

I started the morning off with 1 cultural event, a visit to Erez Israel Museum. It is a nice museum with many low rise buildings featuring the development of Israel fromprehistoric times to the present day. Over the centuries, following the destruction of the 2nd temple by the Romans and the beginning of the diaspora, there were many invaders of the land. Prior to the Romans, the land was invaded by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Mamyluks, the Greeks, and the Romans to name a few. After the fall of Rome the land was invaded by the Arabs, the Christians and the Turks of the Ottoman Empire. Israel was always a crossroads so many peoples passed through the land. The above list is by no means complete. The final rulers before Israel became a state were the British being given the land by the League of Nations that became known as the Palestine Mandate. I spent 1.5 to 2 hours visiting the museum and as in any museum, one can spend days studying each exhibition.

It was 36C at 1:00 so I went off to the beach for a few hours of sun. As usual I swam out to the breakwater and back, a distance of 500 meters. There was a cool breeze making the day pleasant in spite of the heat. The beach was packed with sunbathers. This is a very different population than what I saw in apartment buildings with MDA. There was 20-25 knots of wind with a westerly wind blowing on shore 1-2 ft waves. There were no sailboats out but the water and beach was filled with kite surfers. At one point I counted 50 kite surfers in the water and flying through the air. It is a wonder that there ropes do not cross each other.

The kite is semi circle about 10 ft long and 2 ft wide. One edge is inflated with air. There are 4 strings attached to the kite which lead into 2 strings that attach to a 1.5 ft bar. The surfer holds onto the bar and also has a belt attachment. The surfer holds board is 4 ft long and 1 ft wide with places for one’s feet. 1 person holds onto the kite and eventually lets it fly. His partner holds onto the bar and puts his feet into the attachments on the board. When the string is taught, the surfer just seems to take off on the water. By switching the bar around, he can control the direction of the kite. Some of the surfers can obtain 20-30 feet in the air. One day when I am older, I must try this sport. It really looks like fun.

Love,

Brian

2024 10 Spain

Spain 1,

Oct 15, 2024,

Hi everyone,

The greater part of this post will be a general review of what circumstances brought me here today. For some of my readers, this will be a review that you may wish to skip through briefly. I graduated from Mcgill University in 1970. My marks were above average but not good enough to get me into medical school. Some of my patients reading this blog may not wish to know this fact. In any case, I decided to go on a trip to Europe with my friend Bram. Our first few days in Paris were a bit strange as we didn’t really know what travelling was all about. Eventually we decided to hitch hike to Marseille. Hitching was legal and safe in those days in Europe, everyone did it. We split up for various reasons on the way and met up at the youth hostel in Marseille. The rules for successful hitching were simple: 1. Always hitch with a girl. That provided her with safety. Motorists would easily pick up a couple. 2. 2 guys alone would never get a lift. 3. You could get a lift as a single guy but it could take a little longer.

We stayed in Marseille for a few days, drinking cheap wine and lying on the beach. It was my first taste of meeting youth travellers from all over the world. Youth hostels in those days were cheap, safe and a good method of meeting people and learning the ropes of successful travelling. We decided that hitching was time consuming and that we need ‘wheels’ for the trip. Many kids bought old VW vans if they were travelling in a small groups. They often slept and cooked in the vans. We hitch hiked to Milano and bought 200cc Lambrettas.

I had my first of several motorcycle accidents in France. I was riding alone in the dark and it was raining heavily. I slid off the road on small stones and went over the handle bars. I was not wearing a helmet as it was not obligatory. I was scraped everywhere except for my head. A French teacher came by and took me to his house. He gave me oily salve for my wounds. I stayed with his family for 3 days while he arranged to have my bike fixed. This was the first of many kindness’s that I got from strangers over the year that I travelled.

I met up with Bram several days later. Bram then had his own motorcycle accident, a little more serious as he was taken to a hospital and the bike was destroyed. That put him off on travelling. He went home in 6 weeks and I returned home in 6 years, with 1 year spent travelling, 5 years in a French medical school, French friends whose friendship I have maintained for life and a beautiful French bride.

My time in Spain was a real eye opener. I had never travelled alone in my life and had no experience riding a motorcycle. Necessity is the mother of invention and I learned fast. I was in Spain and Portugal for 2 months. I loved Spain then and am happy to be here now again. My budget then was $3 a day. $1 for gas, $1 for food and $1 for a hotel. I slept out on beaches, parks and often in a ditch on the side of the road. Anything to save money. I road across North Africa and took a ferry to Italy. The bike was stolen in Italy. I hitch hiked for 6 months. I skied for 2 months in Austria, Italy and Switzerland. I hitched through Italy and Greece eventually ending up in Israel. I slept on the beach for 1 month and worked on a kibbutz for 2 months. At the end of the year, I went to France where I stayed for 5 years studying medicine.

My parents and my girlfriend kept my letters, eventually giving them to me and one day I will write my memoires.

Love,

Brian