Recent travels
We love traveling and have now visited over 75 different countries! You can read the travelogues for our trips to many of these countries by clicking on the links below. Each of the travelogues contains lots of pictures and sometimes there are links to videos we have put on our YouTube channel calros3.
Great Wall of China 2009
Here are the main places we visited over the years:
- 1988. Singapore and Penang, Malaysia. This was Ross's first overseas conference. He was NZ's representative and presented a paper at a UNESCO conference in Penang.
- 1990. Singapore. Ross enjoyed Singapore so much in 1988 that we went there for a holiday in 1990.
- 1992. Australia - We took the whole family for a short break in Sydney.
- 1994. Asia - We went back to Singapore, then on to Hong Kong and a quick 1 day visit to Macau and China. In Australia we visited Adelaide, the Barossa Valley and Whyalla, after one of Ross's conferences.
- 1995. USA - We went on a tour of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyons, Scottsdale, San Diego and Tijuana. This was a wonderful introduction to the USA and its marvelous cities and scenery. The tour was notable because the tour company went bust when we were at the Grand Canyon, but the tour carried on anyway.
- 1996. Australia - We visited Perth and Western Australia, after another conference. USA - We also went on a family trip to Los Angeles to meet with Debbie (who was in Idaho on a scholarship for the year).
- 1997. Australia - We drove from Sydney to Melbourne. There are so many interesting places to explore on this trip. We especially loved Echuca. Next was USA and Canada. This was a Cosmos tour where we visited New York, Boston, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Philadelphia and back to New York. It was wonderful because this was the time of the year when the Fall colours were at their best. In New Zealand we explored around Rotorua as part of Fonomarae.
- 1998. Australia - We had a short visit to Brisbane, and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. In New Zealand we had a long weekend in Queenstown (won as a prize), then had another lovely trip all around the lower South Island. When we returned from this trip we found our house had been flooded!
- 1999. USA - This time we visited Seattle, Vancouver and Idaho, then took a Cosmos tour of Western Canada: Banff, Jasper, Rockies; a, train across to the West coast, then a ship down the inside passage to Vancouver Island, Victoria, and the Butchart gardens. What wonderful scenery in this beautiful part of the world! Back in New Zealand we went on a trip around the West Coast and Upper South Island as part of Ross's work.
- 2000. USA - Ross attended a conference in Dallas, while Kathy visited friends in Kansas City. We then took a Cosmos tour of southern states: Orlando, Savannah, Atlanta, Nashville and Grand Ole Opry, Memphis and Elvis, Natchez, New Orleans, Tampa. In each centre we experienced different styles of music. Back in New Zealand we visited New Plymouth; Christchurch and Banks Peninsula.
- 2001. Australia - We had a lovely time in and around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, including Fraser Island. Next we went to the UK via Singapore: After catching up with family we we went on another Cosmos tour visiting London, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland. This gave a great introduction to the UK and its history. In New Zealand we spent time in the Queenstown area for Fonomarae.
- 2002. USA We had a week in San Francisco. Then in Australia we visited Melbourne and then drove right around Tasmania.
- 2003. Canada and USA We went to Nova Scotia (for Phil and Sarah's wedding), and visited Prince Edward Island, Boston. What amazing scenery!
- 2004. Australia: We had a week in Cairns and Tropical North Queensland. We also drove from Sydney to Brisbane, and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. In New Zealand we visited Northland including Whangarei, Warkworth, Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga.
- 2005. In New Zealand we explored around Hamilton for Fonomarae; and had trips to Fiordland and Queenstown and Napier. Next it was off to the USA (so Kathy could sing with the Kansas City Chorus in Detroit) After the competitions we met in Las Vegas and took a Trafalgar Tour of US national parks: Zion and Bryce Canyon, Salt Lake City, Jackson, Yosemite, Grand Tetons, Billings, Denver, Arches, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley and Grand Canyon. Truly magnificent scenery and history!
- 2006. In Australia we visited the family in Melbourne (twice) and New Zealand explored around Wanganui. In Asia we had a wonderful week in Thailand.
- 2007. We went on a trip to Great Britain, Europe, Israel, Jordan and Egypt. This was our biggest overseas adventure thus far. UK 2007 In Great Britain we explored our family history and were able to meet all living relatives and find graves and houses belonging to our ancestors. See the video Trip around the UK Europe 2007 Next we went on a month long Cosmos Tour around Europe. Fantastic! Then it was on to an Ancient Kingdoms tour of Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Visiting these Bible lands helped make reading the Bible so much more meaningful. Israel 2007 Jordan and Egypt 2007
USA and Canada 2007 We went to America so that Kathy could sing with the Kansas City Chorus in the International Barbershop Competitions. We visited Kansas City, Branson, and then Chicago. We then went to Calgary, Canada for the competitions and also visited Banff and Jasper in the amazing Canadian Rockies. See Part 1. and Part 2.
Vietnam 2009 We had a wonderful trip to Vietnam. See video Vietnam 2009
China 2009 It was fascinating seeing how industrialised China has become. There is some lovely scenery there too!
Sydney to Melbourne October 2009 We drove from Sydney to Melbourne so Ross could lead a workshop at the Girls' Brigade Australia Conference, and so we could visit the family.
Scandinavia, Russia and Estonia 2010 This was a 16 day Trafalgar tour. We saw lots of interesting countries and really loved the beauty of Norway. Watch our video of this trip here: Trafalgar tour of Scandinavia, Russia and Estonia.
Turkey 2010 This tour was quite demanding but it enabled us to see the main sights of a very historic country. Insights into the world of the early Church were especially valuable. Watch the video here: Tour of Turkey
America 2011 We visited New York, Connecticut (doing family history), Kansas City and Portland (catching up with friends), and then went on a Gaither Gospel Cruise to Alaska. America is a great place to visit!
Rarotonga 2012 This was a lovely island holiday. We thought that we would have plenty of time for reading and relaxing, but we found plenty to do on the tropical island of Rarotonga! See Rarotonga - main sights
Hawaii 2012 We went on a 7 day cruise around the Hawaiian Islands on the "Pride of America". Wonderful!
Norway 2012. We were able to spend time getting to know our newly discovered family in Norway. They looked after us so well! See Life in Norway
Central Europe 2012. On this Cosmos tour we visited Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic. It was great to learn about the history of this area (often tragic), and to see the sights of some magnificent cities. See Cosmos Tour of Central Europe
Abu Dhabi and Dubai 2012. We had a brief stopover in the United Arab Emirates on our way home from Europe. See Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Pacific islands 2013 We went on a cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia, aboard the 'Pacific Pearl', then had a week in gorgeous Fiji.
Hawaii, 2012.
USA and Caribbean 2014. To celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary we went on a 2 week cruise on the 'Carnival Glory' to the eastern and western Caribbean. We also spent a little time in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Miami and Washington DC.
Asia 2015. To celebrate Kathy's 60th birthday we visited Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Panglao Island (Philippines);and then went on a cruise on the "Celebrity Millennium" to Hong Kong; Kaohsiung and Taipeh (Taiwan); Nagasaki (Japan); Busan, Jeju Island and Seoul (South Korea), and Tianjin and Shanghai (China). 6 weeks away!
Pacific Islands 2016. We went on a cruise to Fiji and Tonga aboard the "Pacific Pearl". We were accompanied by our friends from America, LaDonna and Tony Cheatham.
Melbourne to Adelaide 2016. We drove from Melbourne to Adelaide following the Murray River. See Melbourne to Adelaide
Top end of Australia and Bali, 2017. We went on a cruise around the top of Australia on the "Radiance of the Seas". This was to celebrate Ross's 70th birthday. Another wonderful cruise!
Pacific Islands 2017. We went on a cruise to New Caledonia and Vanuatu on the "Sun Princess".
Papua New Guinea 2018. We went on a wonderful cruise to Papua New Guinea on the Pacific Aria. It was fascinating to see the primitive culture; the effect of the Japanese invasion during WW2, and the devastation caused by volcanoes.
New Caledonia 2018. We went on a short cruise on the Pacific Eden to New Caledonia. We had been before but it was nice to explore different parts of New Caledonia.
Samoa 2018. We went on a short holiday to Samoa and really enjoyed the beautiful scenery and laid back Samoan culture. See Samoa - main sights.
Cruising around New Zealand 2019. We went on two amazing cruises around New Zealand - on the Radiance of the Seas, and on the massive Ovation of the Seas. The weather was perfect all the way and the New Zealand scenery was stunning.
World trip 2019. We visited Dubai, then went on a cruise on the MSC Sinfonia from Venice to Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia, Sarande in Albania, Santorini in the Greek Islands and Ancona in Italy. Next we spent a wonderful couple of weeks with our family in Norway. Then it was on to the MSC Musica for a 21 day cruise from the Mediterranean all the way to South America. We started in Marseille in France and visited Genoa in Italy; Barcelona, Cadiz and Tenerife in Spain; Lisbon in Portugal; Recife, Maceio, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina. Fantastic! Read all about this trip here: MSC Sinfonia cruise to Croatia; MSC Musica cruise to South America; Visiting family in Norway.
Tasmania 2020. We took a short cruise from Melbourne to Kangaroo Island and Tasmania on the Pacific Aria. This was the last cruise before the coronavirus scare stopped all cruises. Watch the video for this cruise here: Pacific Aria cruise to Tasmania
Cruise from Australia to New Zealand 2023. We cruised home on the Grand Princess after visiting the family in Melbourne. We visited Eden, Sydney, Picton, Wellington, Napier and Auckland. We discovered cruising home like this is reasonably cost effective (and much more pleasant than flying!). Watch the video for the cruise here: Grand Princess 2023
Cruise to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. In June 2023 we cruised on the Pacific Explorer, visiting Cairns, three ports in Papua New Guinea, and Norfolk Island. A wonderful cruise exploring primitive cultures and amazing WW2 history. Watch the video of the cruise here Pacific Explorer Solomon Sea Islands cruise.
Cruise around NZ November 2023. We cruised around NZ on the Pacific Explorer, visiting Christchurch, Dunedin, Fiordland, and Picton before returning to Auckland. This was a lovely relaxing cruise and our Youtube video was quite different to normal: more musical! Check it out here: Pacific Explorer NZ cruise.
Cruise on the Queen Victoria. February/ March 2024. We cruised is style on Cunard's Queen Victoria. This was our first experience of the traditional style of cruising. Check out our YouTube video for the cruise here. Queen Victoria cruise. Afterwards we flew to Melbourne and spent time with the family.
