Day 11 Wednesday, March 19

Today we fly from Christchurch, N.Z. (which is on the South Island) to Auckland, N.Z. (which is on the North Island).  There we will switch to the International Terminal for a larger plane, for our flight to Melbourne, Australia. 

After arriving in Auckland we board this colorful shuttle bus that will take us to the International Terminal,

...and oh boy, was it crowded....we just joined in the fray, grabbing hold wherever we could!

...then we said a sad goodbye to Lillian and George...

...once again, New Zealand Air took good care of us, serving this delicious lunch on our flight from Auckland to Melbourne.

Arriving in the Victorian city of Melbourne, a city of 4 million people, renowned for its lovely parks and gardens, with busy downtown streets....

 ...with parking right down the middle of the streets...

We arrive at the Citadines Apart'hotel on Bourke, which is located right amid the hustle and bustle of the big city, for a three-night stay. 

 We have a small kitchenette in our room....

 BooBoo loves the five-star treatment we are getting!

Our tour director, Jeremy, offers to take us on a short walking tour of the area around our hotel to sort of acquaint us with our surroundings.

 Good to know there is a police presence....

 The grand train station near the river....

 ...sign inside the station, which we could all identify with since we walked all the way here...

 ...quite beautiful at night along the river...

 ...our intrepid group who walked all the way to the river!

On the way back to our hotel, we stopped for pizza.....

 ...and Mary and Rosemary walked by and snapped his photo of us...

...so I turned around and snapped this photo of them!  Such great gals!

 Looks like they have been shopping!

Tomorrow we head to Mornington Peninsula for a long day of incredible sights that will culminate with the world-famous little penguin parade!