Angels Watching Over Me

The huge painting of Christ in Gethsemane fascinated me. I could not turn away from it. I felt its impact throughout my whole body. I felt the comfort of the Savior, but I also felt something else, the comfort of the angel that held the savior in his arms, comforting Christ after he had suffered for the sins of man. For this was not the usual scene of the Savior in Gethsemane. This was an unusual altar piece from a Lutheran Church in Odense, Denmark, painted by Carl Bloch, a Danish artist 1878-79. See http://carlbloch.byu.edu/index.php

This beautiful painting illustrates the scene in Luke 22: 42-43 when Christ is praying in Gethsemane and accepts the sacrifice of the atonement, “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”

As I viewed this tender scene, I thought of the many times an angel has comforted and sustained me in my trials. Sometimes I have felt their influence, and other times only later I have known that they had been with me.

What is the doctrine concerning angels watching over regular members? In Ensign, March 1988, “I Have a Question,” written by Larry E. Dahl, associate professor of Church history and doctrine, Brigham Young University, he discusses guardian angels and ministering angels. He says “the term ‘guardian angel’ is not used in the scriptures.[1]” However, the author does explain that “The scriptures are clear about the role of “ministering angels,” as Mormon testified:” and then lists the various roles of ministering angels including, “—bring comfort, instruction, and warnings to faithful individuals in times of need (see Gen. 16:7; Ex. 23:20–23; Matt. 2:13, 19–20; 1 Ne. 11:14–15:30; Alma 8:14–18).”

“President Joseph F. Smith gave us some insight about angels who minister to those on the earth: ‘When messengers are sent to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, they are not strangers, but from the ranks of our kindred, friends, and fellow-beings and fellow-servants.’[2]

Most of the time I felt the influence of an angel—a spirit who has passed from this life to the next, it has been my mother. My mother died of breast cancer in 1964 when I was 20 years old. I think the times I have felt her spirit it was at the times she would have comforted me if she had been alive.

The first time I felt the influence of my mother was in 1980 when my siblings got together for a family reunion in Utah and all of us (except my youngest brother) went to the Ogden Temple together as a family for the first time. As we waited in the chapel, I felt an uncharacteristic sadness descend on me, and I began to cry. Everyone kept asking me if I was okay, and I kept saying, yes, I was fine. I felt sadness, it was true—but it wasn’t me—I was very happy to be there with everyone. Once we left the chapel and began the temple session, the sadness was gone. My one sister whispered to another (as I was told as we got outside the temple), “Maybe mother is telling Beth that something bad is going to happen to one of us.” That thought had never occurred to me.

However, less than two months later, I was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, the same cancer as my mother had, at the same age as my mother had been diagnosed—36 years of age. As I came out of the anesthesia after my first mastectomy, I saw my mother’s face; but she wasn’t sad or feeling sorry for me. I saw her as she had been when she had been in pain and suffering. I saw her thin lips stretched with pain as she said, “I hurt.” I felt her pain and I thought, “Yes, Mother, I hurt also, but I can be as strong as you. I will make it through this just as you did.” I would open my eyes and see the medical people helping me, but then I would close my eyes and see my mother again, and know she was there with me, strengthening me, and loving me. It is interesting that she would “comfort” me in a way that did not allow me to pity myself, but in a way that strengthened my determination to be like her—strong and overcome the cancer.

>The next time I felt my mother’s spirit was as a young mother. As my younger sisters married and had children, we often turned to each other for advice, but many times I’d wish I had my mother around to ask questions and talk to. When I had my second child, a daughter Athena, 20 months after my first, she was as different as night from day as my first born. Athena was a fussy eater, and would nurse for a minute, wiggle and look around, eventually get back to nursing and wiggle again. She wouldn’t cry; she just wasn’t interested in eating.

Athena was hyperactive, didn’t sleep much and she was never still. Holding her was like holding a pack of monkeys. She was the cutest, adorable little baby, but she drove me crazy. I had imagined a sweet, doll-like daughter to dress up. I dreamed of a daughter who would coo at me, and I had a fidgety, squirming bundle of nerves who was never still. Getting her dressed was a 20-minute gymnastic trick and laying still and cooing was something she may have done in her sleep—if she ever slept. She didn’t nurse well, and when she did, she threw up everything—projectile vomiting. For the first year, I smelled like sour milk and I didn’t dare try to feed her any solid food.

One day in Mineral Wells Texas where we were living, my older toddler son was playing happily and my daughter was going 100 miles per hour. Exhausted, I put her in the playpen, and sat down on the couch and broke down in tears. Suddenly I could see my mother standing across the room by my daughter.

“Oh, Beth, I knew Athena’s special spirit before she came to earth! I knew how difficult it would be for you to understand her,” I felt her voice say.

I jerked my head up and stared at the playpen. There was no one, especially my long-deceased mother, standing by the playpen where my daughter was trying to climb out and I had thought I saw. I was sure I was going crazy. Not only was I a bad mother, now I was crazy, besides. I put my head in my hands and began to cry harder.

With my eyes closed, I saw my mother’s smile—she was almost laughing as she gazed at the baby. “Your daughter is such a special spirit, Beth. She and I were good friends in the pre-existence. When I knew you were going to be her mother, I knew it would be like it was between us—you two would struggle to understand each other because you are both so different in personality, just as we were. When you were little, I often wondered if you were from Mars because we were so unalike. But just as we loved each other, you and Athena will love each other and learn from each other!”I jerked my eyes open and although I couldn’t see my mother with my human eyes, I could feel her love and her laughter. I knew she was there in the room with me, comforting me and playing with my tiny daughter. I cried more, but it wasn’t tears of discouragement, but of happiness and love, as I picked up my squirming daughter. I held her and looked around the room, wondered just where my mother was as Athena kept trying to crawl over my shoulder to reach something behind me, then she would turn around and almost leap out of my arms grasping for something in front of me.

I often felt my mother near me during the years I was raising my children, especially during those times when I became exasperated and felt I couldn’t take it another moment. Then I would remember that day in Mineral Wells, and shut my eyes and know that my mother was not far away, even if I couldn’t see her, helping me.

It was only lately that I realized that the two years that my husband was in Vietnam when I was alone, I am sure my mother was with me, especially the second time when I had the three little ones, and Marlowe the oldest turned three just before the youngest was born. I had often felt so proud of myself for being so self-sufficient and taking care of myself during those difficult years. Whenever my daughters would call and complain about their husbands being gone for a day or two and how they couldn’t take care of their babies for a night alone, I’d pat myself on the back and say, “I was alone for a year with three little ones and NO ONE to help me, and I was fine.”

Recently the thought struck me very forcefully that I hadn’t been alone. I am sure my mother was with me, helping me every day. I remember the day I brought Marc home from the hospital as a new born baby. I had lost a lot of blood and was anemic after Marc’s birth and Aunt Wilma came to visit me. After she left I felt so overwhelmed; I cried and cried wondering how I could take care of my three little ones by myself with no one to help me—no one to spell me when I was tired or sick. I remember kneeling down and praying with all my heart for the Lord to help me so I could do it. The next morning, I felt strong and knew that I could do it. I am sure my mother was with me and helping me with the kids. I know I couldn’t have done it by myself.

Another time I felt the power of spirits was while I was working for the school district in the 2000s after I had acute pericarditis. I had had fluid around my heart, which they drained. Despite massive amounts of prednisone, the fluid reoccurred, and the doctors were planning on draining it again. Then my rheumatologist suggested that I take “hydroxychloroquine” a medication used for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. This medication helped reduce the fluid, but the lining of the heart was still very inflamed and sensitized.

For months I still had episodes when inflammation would occur in the lining around the heart or occasionally around the lungs. When it occurred around the lungs, it was called pleurisy and was extremely painful; when it occurred around the lining of the heart, the doctor called it pericarditis and it was just as painful. I was still very weak from the acute attack, and the lupus, and an inflammation was usually set off when I became too stressed or tired. However, I was still trying to work full time and my youngest son was still in junior high school.

It was during this stressful time, when I felt overcome with life, that I started having the feeling that someone was behind me, especially at school when I was feeling I couldn’t do my job. I sensed that if I could just look over my shoulder or turn fast enough, I could see who was there. I wasn’t frightened of whoever was there; in fact I knew they were there to help me. One day I was at Morgan Elementary School; the lab where I was working was empty and I was frustrated because I was trying to fix some computers. Suddenly I felt that same feeling come over me so strongly. This time I knew it was my Grandmother Hendrickson who was in the room with me. I just stood there with my eyes shut and felt her love wash over me. She felt my pain; she knew how hard it was to keep going when you felt like you just couldn’t go another hour. I wasn’t alone. Another time I felt it was my Grandfather Hendrickson’s spirit there in the school with me; I had never known him as he had passed away long before I was born. But the few times I felt his spirit comfort me as I struggled with the pain and discouragement while working in the school, I felt uplifted. He had worked as a custodian at a school in Brigham City and had arthritis in his knee. I felt that he too, knew my struggle.

Eventually I recovered from my pericarditis and the attacks became further and further apart. Soon, the feeling that someone was behind me and the sense I had of my Grandmother and Grandfather’s spirit being near was gone.

There are many accounts of angels assisting people on earth; the pioneers of the Martin Willey Handcart Company felt the angels were pushing their handcarts when they were too weak to do so. There was the account of the Cokeville, Wyoming school where an armed couple took more than 160 teachers and children hostage 25 years ago and blew up the school. A recent account in the Deseret News http://www.mormontimes.com/article/20817/Cokeville-miracle-marking-25-years mentions just one account of the children who saw angels in the school that day, “Glenna Walker’s children saw a ‘beautiful lady’ who told them to go near the window right before the explosion. When looking at a picture in a locket later, one of the children identified the lady as Walker’s deceased mother.”

My sister Coleen died a number of years ago. When she was in the final stages of her life, her husband Lloyd would sit at her side and talk to her about things. Coleen told him stories about our Mother and her last days and how close Coleen felt to her then. Lloyd asked Coleen if she thought mom had been there when they were raising their children. Coleen said she was sure Mother had been there. Lloyd asked how Coleen knew. Coleen said, “Because Mother is sitting in the corner nodding her head yes!”

---

[1] (Dahl 1988)

[2] (Smith 1970, 435-36)

Dahl, Larry E. ""I Have a Question" Is there any truth to the idea that we have guardian angels who watch over and protect us?" Ensign, March 1988.

Smith, Joseph F. Gospel Doctrine. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1970.

Mother's Day Memories of Funny Things My Children Did

On this Mother’s Day, I am enjoying hearing about my newest one-year-old grandson in Chicago and all the fun things he does. It made me think of all the reasons I became a mother so many years ago. The one reason I NEVER THOUGHT about back then when I was trying to survive each day, was to gather the material to create a humorous booklet of all the funny things little children say and do. At the time my children’s antics may not have seemed very funny, but looking back now, they seem more hilarious.

My older children were approximately 18 months apart, so there were things they did that did not seem funny at the time. Most I have tried to block out, but unfortunately I have remembered some. My husband was in Vietnam when the third one was born, so for that year when I had one three-years-old, one 18-month–old and a new born, I was outnumbered and overwhelmed.

Marlowe, my oldest, was such a very curious child I am surprised he never became a scientist. He was always trying to find out what would happen to his siblings when he did things to him. Once he tried to put his sister into a dryer when he was three and she was 18-months-old, but he couldn’t get the dryer door shut, before I discovered them.

Marlowe was a good big brother, though. We lived in an upstairs apartment the year Ed was gone, and the washer and dryer were in the basement of the apartment next door. Marlowe had learned to open doors, so I had a flip lock on the outside door to the cement stairs going outside so the children couldn’t get out if I had to run downstairs for a minute. One day all of the children were asleep so I didn’t flip the lock as I ran down to the washer to change the wash. When I returned, Marlowe was dragging baby Marc by his feet down the cement stairs by his feet, hitting his head on every step.

“Mama, Marc woke up so I was bringing him to you,” he said. My heart stopped as I grabbed the baby, but he was okay.

One time when I had put three-year-old Marlowe in his room for doing something he shouldn't have, Marlowe was very mad! He knew I never wore shoes around the house so he slipped out of his room, found some tacks and spread them on the floor of his room. Then, hiding under his bed, he acted like he was hurt and screamed, “Help.” I came running of course, and stepped all over the tacks with my bare feet. It wasn’t nearly as funny as he thought it would be--for a long time afterwards!

Athena, my middle child, was hyperactive, and drove me crazy. She ran and somersaulted everywhere; I seldom saw her walk. She was very independent, and wouldn’t let anyone do anything for her, but insisted she alone could brush her hair, wash her face, pick out her clothes, get dressed, etc., etc. But she was so athletic that you never knew when she would somersault off the top of the couch in front of you like a clown, and “ta da” surprise you! It could be very funny. (It is no wonder she later became such a good gymnast.)

She loved to climb and get into everything—there wasn’t anything she couldn’t climb over. One day she wanted to get out of her crib and I didn't get her out as fast as she thought I should. So she decided to climb out herself--right over the rail. However, as she climbed over the top, she let go and fell straight backwards. She hit her head on the floor, and gave herself a concussion. But did that stop her? No, she was right back the very next day, trying to climb over the crib rails, or up onto the top bunk.

Eventually my husband returned from Vietnam, and we moved to El Paso, Texas where Ed helped me with my three little ones and I wasn’t quite as overwhelmed. But they were still a handful.

Athena was a very good mother to her younger brother, Marc, and took good care of him, even if she got bossy at times. When he was little and get upset when I left him with a babysitter or at the base nursery, Athena would put her arm around him and tell him I’d big right back and she’d take care of him until I would get back.

Marc was very adventurous. Because he thought he was as old as his siblings, he thought he could do everything they could do, and often would get stranded when he couldn’t. Even when he was under a year old, he’d follow them by climbing onto chairs, tables, beds, and couches and usually get off them by himself, too. But if he couldn’t get off them safely, he’d stand and scream until someone helped him off. He loved to explore how things worked and his favorite thing to make work at a year of age was twirling the knobs on the stereo and TV to turn it off and on and adjust the sound, channel, color, etc.

He was just as audacious in his culinary explorations. At eighteen months of age he was out helping Ed work on the car when he drank motor oil and was rushed to the hospital where they x-rayed him and rechecked and rechecked him. They could smell the oil on his breath even two hours later, but they couldn't find any evidence of it in his lungs. Finally they let him go home and I had to wake him every hour to make sure he was all right. No wonder Marc loves mechanics—he has motor oil in his veins.

Right before Marc’s second birthday, he got pneumonia and was so sick that the doctor planned to admit him. However, when we brought him back to the doctor that night to be admitted, he was better, so the doctor decided to let us take him home. Then, just as he was getting better, he drank the whole bottle of erythromycin (antibiotic) the doctor had given him. We rushed him back to the ER where they poured syrup of ipecac and five glasses of water in him, and even gagged him, but he refused to vomit. So they strapped him into a papoose and washed out his stomach; he fought and screamed and raised a ruckus, but they finally got it out—and put tubes in his infected ears at the same time.

When Marlowe was four-years-old, my widowed father remarried, and I took the three children to Utah for his wedding. Soon after we returned to Texas, my visiting teachers were at my house, when Marlowe came running in and pulled me aside to “whisper” (so loud that he could be heard in the street) that the neighbor kids, Tommy and Sue, (fourth graders), were doing “what people get married to do.”

Of course my visiting teachers were embarrassed and I tried to get Marlowe to wait until they left to tell me what the neighbor kids were doing, but he wouldn’t be put off, so I cautiously asked him what Tommy and Sue were doing.

He was very hesitant to tell me, but mumbled, “Oh, you know.”

“No, I don’t know,” I said trying to stay calm.

I tried to excuse myself for a minute to talk to Marlowe, and went in the other room to ask him but I knew the visiting teachers could hear every word.

“Now what were Sue and Tommy doing?” I asked, holding my breath.

“You know, what Grandpa and his new wife got married to do.” I wondered if Marlowe could have overheard something at the wedding, but I persevered.

“No, I don’t know. Tell me what they are doing.”

He hid behind me and whispered as he blushed. “They’re . . . you know . . . KISSING!” I nearly fell over with relief.

Family Gatherings

"In the end, life teaches us what is important, and that is family." -Stephen Covey

I dreamed last night of a family gathering in my youth. There were aunts and

uncles, cousins, my parents and my siblings. We were laughing and talking and I felt such a warmth and love and sense of belonging. I know why I dreamed such a dream; This past week we have had my daughter and son-in-law here from Chicago to seal their adopted son in the temple and have him blessed and given a name in church. All of my children were here for this special occasion, as well as most of their children, many of my siblings, cousins, and other family. In fact during the blessing ceremony, the chapel was completely filled with family and friends.

Family gatherings during special occasions, weddings, christenings, funerals, Thanksgivings, Christmases, Easters, and many other holidays may be a common occurrence, but it is also an important binding experience. It is the glue that holds families together from generation to generation. Someone said, “Families that play together stay together, especially when their play is uplifting and wholesome. Family vacations, holidays, birthday celebrations, and other activities build strong bonds and feelings of self-worth. The phrase “Remember when we…” is sure to bring love and laughter in the years to come.” –Unknown

I remember my family gatherings when I was a child. I recall getting together with my cousins on both sides of my family—I even remember going to stay with my cousin in Brigham City. After my mother died when I was 20 years old, it was her sister, my Aunt Ruth, who was the link to her family, who kept us close to her family. It is because of Aunt Ruth that I am still close to my cousins, Elaine and Cindy, and their brothers, and that I contacted my cousin Jean Hendrickson Fisher when we lived near each other in Omaha, Nebraska. Family is essential to me.

My father’s family was closer, both because my father was alive to associate with them, and because they lived nearby. There were cousins near my age that I was friends with, and my father’s family had family reunions. I recall my parents getting together with his cousins and having parties and having fun.

I have tried to replicate extended family gatherings for my own although it was a challenge while we were in the military and far from family for most of the older children’s lives. They did not have a tradition of getting together with cousins or aunts and uncles because there were none close to us. However, since we moved to Utah 21 years ago, we have tried to be very involved with our extended families. That was the reason I was so determined to move back to Utah when we retired.

Maybe because our nuclear family was so isolated in the military, we had to depend on each other so much. Just as our children have supported each other by attending each other’s school activities when they were younger, whether it was sports or theater, they have continued to support each other by attending each others’ weddings, the baptisms of their children, or in the case of the past week, the sealing of baby Aiden to Diana and Jason.

They have also tried to get together with each other at the cabin near Yellowstone Park (that belongs to Athena’s husband’s family), or at our house such as when we got back from California, or at least once a year or two. They do this despite the fact that they are living throughout the country and it involves flying great distances and making sacrifices in time and work.

Our family activities have changed through the years. I remember that years ago when they were mostly young adults, they always used to go to movies after Thanksgiving dinner or at family gatherings.

Then they used to play board games until late in the night long after the “old folks” and “little ones” went to bed. We have often gone bowling. This is something every one of all ages could enjoy.

This past weekend when all were gathered at our house, we played participation games—adults, young adults, teens, children and even little ones. It was quite funny to see us gathered in teams, with older ones helping younger ones play “Taboo” and do the challenge and pass out and pay the penalties. It wasn’t as sophisticated as if it were only adults, but the children enjoyed seeing Papa having his wrists “velcroed to his head,” Uncle Bryan having to play an air guitar every time a bell sounded and 12-year-old Jenni having to quack before she could talk. But hopefully someday they will have their own families and remember what they did when they gathered with their extended family. Then they will tell their children, “When I was your age and went to Grandpa’s house, we . . . ."

The Heritage of Relief Society

There are hundreds of humanitarian, relief and woman’s organizations today to assist people in need of hunger, shelter, disaster relief and much more. One stands apart, as one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the world—the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose organization in 1842 we celebrate in March.

The Relief Society was organized on March 17, 1842, when the Prophet Joseph Smith made the Relief Society an official part of the Church and kingdom of God, and said, “I now turn the key to you in the name of God and this Society shall rejoice and knowledge and intelligence shall flow down from this time—this is the beginning of better days to this Society.” (Minutes, 28 Apr. 1842, p. 40.) The Prophet also promised them in connection with their charitable service, “If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.” (Ibid, p. 38. quoted by Elder Dallin Oaks, “The Relief Society and the Church,” Ensign, May 1992.)


“Relief Society is unique because it was organized after the ‘pattern of the priesthood’ and we operate on a general and local level under the direction of priesthood leaders. We work in partnership with priesthood leaders, who hold keys which give them authority to preside in the name of the Lord,” Sister Julie Beck, general president of the Relief Society. “Ours is an organization that continues to be led today by prophets, seers, and revelators.” (Beck, Julie, “The Purposes of Relief Society, Ensign, Nov. 2010.)

"Led by prophets, seers and revelators.” Led by prophets like Moses, Elijah, and Jacob. Not led by majority rule, by educated individuals, or by ordinary men and women, but “by prophets, seers and revelators.” Can you imagine a more powerful organization? What could an organization like this accomplish? What is its goal?

What is at the heart of the Relief Society? Charity, the pure love of Christ. Relief Society’s motto, “Charity Never Faileth,” is as true today, and beats as strongly in each woman’s heart today as it did in early years. Women are as compassionate today as they were in 1842 when Joseph Smith’s month said in that first Relief Society meeting, “We must cherish [and] watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction that we may all sit down in heaven together.” (Lucy Mack Smith, in Relief Society, Minute Book Mar. 1842–Mar. 1844, entry for Mar. 24, 1842, 18–19. Quoted by President Henry B. Eyring in “The Enduring Legacy of Relief Society,” Ensign, Nov. 2009.)

President Henry B. Eyring, of the First Presidency of the Church said, “There are many benevolent groups of women who do great good. There are many who have overpowering feelings of sympathy for the unfortunate, the sick, and the needy. But this organization is unique and has been from its start . . . This society is composed of women whose feelings of charity spring from hearts changed by qualifying for and by keeping covenants offered only in the Lord’s true Church. Their feelings of charity come from Him through His Atonement. . . . Because of that, they have done and are able to do uncommon things for others and to find joy even when their own unmet needs are great.” (Eyring, President Henry B., “The Enduring Legacy of Relief Society,” Ensign, Nov. 2009.)

In every ward of the Church you will find angels in aprons and angels in worn-out jeans, angels in suits working outside the home, angels with many children, and angels who are unmarried, sisters who reach out to others with charity, thoughtfulness, food, time, help, and kindness. They do not need an assignment as a visiting teacher to reach out to their neighbors; they give rides to therapy; they invite others to join them in activities; they watch each other’s children; they give love as well as food. They are true sisters of heart, not of blood.

They do that which each of us covenant to do when we are baptized; it is that which the Alma asked the people to do at the waters of Mormon in Mosiah 18: 8-9 (Book of Mormon), “bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.” This love, this charity, this compassion, is not something that can be taught in Relief Society lessons; it is taught through sharing love. It is taught sister to sister through each act of charity, each mother to child, each Relief Society generation to generation.

That love, compassion and concern for each other is the heritage of Relief Society. President Eyring said, “You pass the heritage along as you help others receive the gift of charity in their hearts. They will then be able to pass it to others. The history of Relief Society is recorded in words and numbers, but the heritage is passed heart to heart. That is why families are such beneficiaries of Relief Society.” (Eyring, President Henry B., “The Enduring Legacy of Relief Society,” Ensign, Nov. 2009.)

Beck, Julie. “The Purposes of Relief Society". Ensign, Nov 2010.
Eyring, President Henry B. “The Enduring Legacy of Relief Society,”. Ensign, Nov 2009.
Oaks, Elder Dallin. “The Relief Society and the Church". Ensign, May 1992.

Our Adventure to Australia and New Zealand

Part III
Touring on Vacation

:) Comprehensive Guide to Tours: Each hotel we stayed at had a comprehensive booklet of all the tours, and activities in the airport, from the free to the most expensive, with their costs, contacts and all other information. You could take a helicopter flight around the city, climb over the top of the city bridges, deep-sea dive under the ocean, or do a walking tour of the city; it was all available in the book. In Melbourne they even had a Restaurant Tram Tour that visited famous restaurants for a tasting tour. If you had no idea what to do before you went to a country, you could order one of those booklets from each city and plan your own adventures.


:) Great Day Tours—My Thing: The Day Tours we had were very good, and I don’t think you could get the same value by trying to set it up yourself. For example, the Blue Mountains and Australian Wildlife Tour out of Sidney was an all-day bus tour with guided commentary. You were picked up and returned to your hotel and taken on a tour:

• Through the Homebush Bay, site of the 2000 Olympic Games

• Three hours into the Blue Mountains National Park

• A light morning tea and a tour in a township along the way

• A scenic Cliff Drive past the Famous Three Sisters Outcropping and Echo Point

• Have lunch at the Katoomba resort region where we saw an aborigine playing the didgeridoo

• Ride the Railway to the lush hidden valley and explore the rainforest

• Glide out of the valley on the Cableway, taking in the panoramic views of the Jamison Valley.

• Take a ride of the recently unveiled Skyway, a journey 370 meters above the ancient ravines and
dazzling waterfalls

• See the views from Narrowneck and Cahill Lookouts and Megalong Valley

• Visit the Featherdale Wildlife Park where you will get close to cuddly koalas, kangaroos, wombats, dingoes and penguins

• Take Rivercat ride down the Parramatta River



:) Spontaneous Exploring—Ed’s Thing: On the days we didn’t have the guided tours, we had our rail/tram/bus pass and explored the city. This was Ed’s chance to be spontaneous and he really enjoyed it. We took the map and information about the city and explored. We’d suggest one thing we’d like to see; sometimes we’d find it and sometimes we’d find something different that we enjoyed more. We discovered the Chinese Friendship Gardens which I loved, and found so peaceful. We walked all over the Darling Harbour (this is the correct Australian spelling) and got lost several times. We finally found Chinatown and were disappointed with it. I discovered we could walk from our hotel to the Opera House easier than we could take a tram there (Ed begs to differ that it is too long to walk to). We took a Hop-on/Hop-off tour of the City on our own and went to several museums. We enjoyed the celebrations of Chinese New Year and learned how friendly the Australians were to Americans who were trying to find their way around town.




:) Hop On/Hop Off Buses: These were fun ways to get an overview of the city. Each city we visited had one of these buses, and they were a fun way to explore the city in an inexpensive way. We would complete the whole tour and listen to the commentary, then on the second go-around, we would start hopping off to see things. Each bus had two tours—one of the inner city, and another of the outer area. Each tour took about an hour, so you had to start early to see all you wanted to see. A ticket on these, which you could purchase whenever you got on, was usually around $20.00. The blue stops were easy to see, and they came about every 15 to 20 minutes (a little longer on the outer tours) so you never had to wait too long. You could get a one day or two day ticket.



:) Nature Always Has Surprises: A cyclone hit the north of Australia and we congratulated ourselves on missing it—until we got to Melbourne and the tail end of it hit there and dropped seven inches of rain on us in a couple of hours. It caused flash flooding in the streets and flooded the entryway of the hotel basement restaurant where we were eating. The next day we were on a day tour to Phillip Island to see the Penguin March and we got a first-hand tour of the flooded areas around Melbourne, as we were detoured around them. Then we were disappointed in the official penguin parade because we were rained out (but we had already seen plenty of penguins so it wasn’t too bad).



:) Phones Are Handy; Never Leave Home without Them: We were glad we had the phone then as our daughter had seen the floods on the news and called us to see how we were doing; she was worried sick about us and wondered why we hadn’t emailed. We told her about the cost of the internet, and we hope she understood.

Our Adventure to Australia and New Zealand

Part II

In the Country

We arrived in Australia ready to enjoy it fully. Since we were in an English-speaking country, we didn’t have to learn a foreign language, which was very fortunate. However, we still had to cope with some unexpected difficulties.


:) Throw-away Cell Phone: One of the smartest things we did was to purchase a “throw-away” pre-paid cell phone at the Australia airport when we arrived. For $29.00 American money we bought a cheap, but adequate cell phone with $150.00 worth of minutes; for $29.00 more we got another $150.00 more minutes. I immediately texted our phone number to our children so they could contact us in case of an emergency. This phone was good both in Australia and New Zealand and it was cheaper to call the U. S. than to call a local number in Australia. However, calling a local New Zealand phone number (the airlines to confirm our flight) on this Australian phone number ate up almost all our minutes. But the phone was a lifesaver!!!!


:( GPS doesn’t work: Our GPS could never get a satellite so our purchase of the maps was a total waste!!! But it was a good idea that just didn’t work!

:) Electrical Converters: Electricity voltage is not the same anywhere in the world, so you have to have converters to use any electrical items you might have—laptops, curling irons, ipods, etc. Additionally, every electrical outlet is different (to prevent you from plugging your laptop into a 240 watt outlet and zapping your laptop to death). You could rent converters and adapters from the hotel (some charged you for them, while others only asked for a $20.00 deposited that you got back when you returned it).

But they aren’t that expensive, so I purchased both an adapter, and a converter before I left home, and I’m glad I have my own for future travel. My adapter has outlets for anywhere in the world! My converter had two settings—one higher wattage for curling irons that use a lot of electricity and another for lower wattage for most items. Converters and adapters are one thing you CAN’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT!

:( No Free Internet: The biggest surprise was that our hotels did not have free internet! I guess I was surprised because most hotels in the U. S. have it, but the more expensive the hotel, the more they wanted to charge you for it! From $.76 a minute, to $10.00 for an hour, to $30.00 a day, they seemed to think that only businessmen with an unlimited business account needed an internet account. But if you had to fly from city to city or country to country as we did, it was a necessity.

I ended up paying for it occasionally, but most of the time I took my Ipod touch or laptop to McDonald’s where they had free internet to send an occasional email or Facebook message to let our family and friends know we were alive. I certainly would not want to spend more than 30 minutes to an hour on the internet per day on a holiday, but I feel in this day and age, internet access is a reality, and dark, dingy internet cafes don’t cut it. The hotels had “business centers” but they charged a large fee to use them also. I confirmed my flight and then printed the boarding passes at the airport.

:) Prearranged Shuttles: The best thing the tour agent set up for us was to be picked up at the airport by a shuttle bus and taken to our hotel. That was wonderful, and I would always have that whether I booked through a tour agency or not. It made life so much easier not to worry when you got to the airport—just to hop aboard a scheduled airport shuttle.

Only once did the shuttle fail us and it was at 9:30 pm when we flew into Auckland. There were few shuttles or taxis by the time we cleared customs and baggage. The shuttle we finally convinced to take us on the 40-minute drive to town would only accept New Zealand money (or a premium to use American dollars) so we exchanged money at a high exchange, and paid him. It made us realize how glad we were that we didn’t have to do that on a regular basis.

:( Ask Before You Go: We discovered the hard way that you always ask a cab driver how much it will cost to take you somewhere when you give them the address. They don’t have counters that add up the charges as you travel like most cities have; when you arrive at your destination, they tell you the charge--$90.00 in our case.


:) Use the Local Public Transportation: My husband hates public transportation, and I thought he wouldn’t be caught dead on a tram or a bus, but he adapted right away to it. We found that it was far easier, faster (and cheaper) to get along on the trams than any other way. We bought a five-day public transportation pass for $20.00 and then went everywhere on it. In Sydney and Melbourne there were trams through the inner city that were easy to get on and off, so we rode them until we realized we were lost; then we’d hop off, look at our city map and hop another tram going the right way. Our hotels were downtown so in Sydney we could actually walk everywhere, but Ed would get tired and grab a tram.

Our Adventure to Australia and New Zealand

Part I- Getting Ready to Go

How do you enjoy a vacation? Do you want every moment planned by a tour agent? Do you want to be on your own and explore everything on your own? Do you prefer to travel without an agenda—to be totally spontaneous and decide where you will go each day, and begin the next day where you ended up the night before?


What style a traveler are you? Spontaneous or Super-Scheduled?

Throughout the years as Ed and I have traveled throughout the world, we have compromised in our travel styles. Ed prefers to be totally spontaneous—to travel without plans and see where you end up. That, of course drives me crazy, especially when you have to make reservations in advance at hotels before the end of each day. In addition, I prefer to study and research everywhere we are going so I can understand and appreciate the culture and history of where we will be traveling. Which has been fine with Ed; I have explained the history and culture about where we are when we get there. That way, Ed can be spontaneous and I can be ready for wherever we end up. But to do that, I have to be psychic and know where we will be at the end of the day!

Planning for the Trip:


Our trip to Australia and New Zealand was more planned than Ed preferred. We had reservations in each city, we knew how long we would be there, and we had several planned tours in each city (that was at my insistence). I had studied and read a book, The History of Australia and New Zealand, so I had a very basic understanding of their history. I had a copy of the book on my kindle so I could refer to it whenever I needed. (I also purchased another history when we got into a discussion with another couple about whether Maoris were cannibals as that book claimed). I also had purchased, Aborigines, Dreams and Myths, by William Ramsay Smith, and BLUE LATITUDE, BOLDLY GOING WHERE CAPTAIN COOK HAS GONE BEFORE , by Tony Horiwitz. I also watched the movie Australia, which is very important to understand the aborigine history of the country.


:) Know What You Want to Do before You Go: We had studied the travel guides and asked people what to see and do so we had a list of activities scheduled when we talked to the travel agent, so she set up the tours we asked her to set up. We only had her schedule one or two tours per city (during a week-long stay). That was more than enough for my husband—he wanted to do more exploring on his own, than guided tours.


:)Travel Guides: I bought several travel guides before we went to Australia including Frommer’s Australia and Fodor’s Australia. Frommer’s was by far more helpful, with information on hotels, restaurants, transportation, how to get visa’s and everything you needed to know; Fodor’s told you what to see and that was all. If a person did not want to use a travel agency, you could use Frommer’s and the internet and the activity booklets from the hotels and get along just fine.

:)High Tech Traveling: Ed and I both have a background in technology, so I wanted to go high-tech in my traveling.

• I brought my GPS and downloaded a city-explorer map of Sidney and Melbourne, Australia on my GPS so we could get around with it.

• I carried my ipod touch and my laptop with me.

• As mentioned before, I had a kindle with many books (so I didn’t have to carry a suitcase full of books), and the ability to download any books I needed to understand the history, culture and or anything else I needed to know about Australia and New Zealand.

• I had electricity converters and adapters so I could use my electronic equipment.

• I brought a small bag with all my electronic attachments, plugs, chargers, etc.

:)Cameras: I brought two cameras with me to catch the memories of our trip; one single-reflex camera with a wide-angle lens, standard lens, and a telephoto lens; and a small camera that would fit in my purse that went from wide angle and micro to telephoto. I downloaded the images from them to my laptop each night.

TO BE CONTINUED: Part II: Arriving in Australia