Destination Unknown 07/08

Rio...and a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2008-01-13T10:51:00.000Z

As I'd been to Rio, and the hostel before arrival was no problem at all. I even managed to confirm Stu & Jacqui's flight for them before heading out to the "Real" onibus.....WOW!!!! Seems Rio got a whole lot busier since before Xmas. It appears Brazilians from all over the country decend on Rio for New Year. I had to bribe the bus driver to let me on, & with a bit of help from a friendly South African (who helpfully spoke Portugese) I was allowed onto the worlds most crammed bus!! (P.s. Thanks Ettienne!!!)

An hour later and I was at the hostel. Not really fancying anything I retreated to the shopping centre until my room was ready. By night fall I had found the hostel bar and already made some good friends - Welsh Mark, German Elke and a lot of Brazilian guys!! After drinking several bottles of local beer, a few Tequilla's and some Capriana's it was off to Lapa.....Wow how busy?!! So many people on the streets drinking, dipping in and out of clubs. This really is a party place. Finished the night off with a trip to the beach and a dip into the sea....at 4am in the morning (I wasn't drunk honest!!!)

My first full day was passed with a trip to see O Cristo Redentor......impressive but it took nearly 3 hours to get up there after queuing for tickets and waiting for the train. It is really impressive though and gives excellent panoramic views of the city. By the time I got back it was beer time at the hostel again followed by a further trip to Lapa...

On the 30th I decided it was about time to go and explore the beaches of Rio. A short walk to Copacabana and then along the front to Ipenema took up most of the day. The heat (up to 40C) was the main obstacle and the trip was littered with frequent stops in the shade!! I went on to meet up with Stu & Jacqui for a few drinks before heading back again. Tonight was a bit different - the hostel organised a trip to a Favela party - a huge night club with Funk music. So many people, it was amazing but certainly not luxurious...... The people are still friendly though even when drunk English people stumble into them!!!

New Year's Eve saw me at the beach again, just having another wander to see what might be on tonight. Then we tried to go up Sugar Loaf mountain but it had already closed for the private party by the time we got there. In this situation there was only 1 thing to do.....beers on the beach with Welsh Mark!! What a fantastic place!!! Back to the hostel to put on our party clothes and then off back to Copacabana beach (after an interesting walk through the Copacabana tunnel....) for the full on party.......

Wow what a party - these Brazilians certainly know how to do things.....I was never more than 5 steps from beer or food on the beach. Everybody was having an amazing time and the 20 minutes of fireworks were spectacular. We actually felt sorry for the people on the 9 cruise ships anchored in the harbour - they were missing out on the real party!! Things wound down at 2.30am ish so we heading to Ipanema beach but with the traffic problems it was finsihed too by the time we got there so we admitted defeat and headed to bed at 5am!!

The next day I met up with Stu and Jacqui again for some midday food before heading up Sugarloaf mountain for sunset. It was in the clouds which some may think is a disappointment - it isn't. It is amazing watching the clouds go by and bits of the city, and Christ the Redeemer briefly appearing....

In true Brazilian style we finished the night in an Irish bar!! Not too late as I have my flight tomorrow.....

My final morning in Rio was occupied with a trip to some favela's with Stu & Jacqui (a guided tour, not alone!!). They really are quite interesting and an organised trip is really quite safe. The guide was explaining to us that mainly these are places where the less priviledged people live, not places where criminals live. They also have their own unspoken rules, so basically you are far less likely to get mugged in a favela than you are on Ipanema beach.

Iguaçu Falls

2007-12-25T22:08:00.000Z

Wow, been so busy!!!

Well a little about Foz do Iguacu first. The hotel I had booked was out of town but inevitably when I got there there had been a mistake with the booking (HostelBookers again.....). They transferred me to another nearby hostel which was in the grounds of the Panaorama Hotel. Bonus!! I can use all of the facilities for free - including their gym and HUGE swimming pool. Looks like I know what I'll be doing on Xmas day then....

As the weather seems good I decided to hope onto the local bus and go into town. Well that wasn't very exciting - Foz town centre is, well, just a regular town centre so back to the hotel....after a trip to the Golden Arches that it.

Woke up on Xmas day hoping for some nice weather but it looked a bit overcast. After a huge breakfast decided instead of wasting the day by the pool (and not really topping up the tan) I'd head down to the Brazilian side of the falls. They are fabulous & it is really well organised. There is a free bus which takes you around the park and a 3km walk which takes you along the falls. You get an excellent panoramic view of the horseshoe part of the falls and can see many of the Argentina falls as well. I then went to the bird park which houses a huge collection of parrots, toucans & other birds I can't identify!! Then it was back to the hotel for some food and a few beers

Boxing day looked a lot more hopeful. Bright blue sky at 8 in the morning made me decide to stay by the pool and get a little bit browner. The day was "wasted" listening to music & generally getting quite burnt.

My final day in Foz took me to Argentina. The trip across the border is managable but a bit tedious. The bus decided not to wait for us whilst we got our Entry stamps at border control so I had to wait (and pay) for the next bus. Then you have to go right into Puerto Iguacu before getting a bus back out again (trickly avoiding thhe over-priced tours). The day through was great....met up with Stu & Jacqui and we have a good old wander around the falls. You get much closer on the Argentina side but the views (in my opinion) are not as impressive.

It was early up the next morning for my flight back to Rio and the big New Year celebrations!!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25820&l=b8cdf&id=621043454

Paraty.....nearly didn't make it!!!

2007-12-25T21:51:00.000Z

Well the trip to Paraty didn't quite go as planned.... I managed to make it to Sao Paulo bus station easily but then it started to go a bit pear shaped. The bus station was packed (not sure why I didn't anticipate that with it being a few days before xmas) but I didn't. After half an hour hunting around I managed to locate the travel company (of which there are hundreds) who went to Paraty. My Portugese isn't to great (improving everyday tho) but I'm sure the guy said that there were no tickets till after Xmas......This left me with a bit opf a dilemma? Did I try to go via somewhere else or just go straight to Rio on a 8 hour bus ride. I decided to go via somewhere else....

...the somewhere else turned out to be Ubatuba. A 6 hour bus ride (which shoudl have only taken 3) later and I was in a place for which I had no map, no information and certainly no idea where the bus when from. A bit more Portugese later and I had foudn the bus station and even successfully got the ticket to Paraty!! A few hours wait, another hour on the bus and a 5 minute walk say me installed in my quaint room at Paraty B&B.

Turned out that the B&B was owned by Ross who is from Norwich - moved to Paraty 12 years ago. Nice bloke, told me about the place and what to see. As teh sun was shining I went for a short walk into The Historic Town. The entire centre of Paraty is chained off and is designated a Histporic Centre. There are 4 churches (Igreja de N Sa do Rosario e S Benedito, Igreja Martiz, Igreja de Santa Rita & Capela de N Sra das Dores) of which I visited all, and some lovely colonial architecture with cobbled streets. There is also a beautful river and sea and some lovely beaches on the surrounding island - unfortuately I didn't get time to visit....I finished off the day with a walk up to the old fort with lovely views of the surrounding area before heading back to the B&B to rest my weary feet.

The night time passed with some gorgeous crepes and a puppet show. Puppet show??? Yes an adult one at that. It weas really good, the puppets are so life like and it is made up of 7 different scenes all telling a different story including childbirth and suicide. Check it out at www.ecparaty.org.br

Anyway some more pics too: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25815&l=73da3&id=621043454

Sao Paulo....safely!!!

2007-12-21T12:21:00.000Z

Well off again after a bit of a freezing time in Watford. Just for those of you who don't know Louise has stayed behind for personal reasons while I continue on alone.....

The first thing that I need to do is say a HUGE thank-you to Zsolt for sorting out my flights for me. The Air France flight I was booked on got first delayed and then cancelled and he stuck around and made sure that I got on the next one. Fantasic customer service!!!

The flight to Paris was OK, then onto the Sao Paulo flight which was 2 hours late leaving - although this time I thing de-icing the aircraft was actually neccessary!! The flight was fine, got chatting to a Brazillian bloke who lives in Sao Paulo who gave me some pointers to ensure I remained with my wallet, camera etc.

Arrived quite early and was a bit worried by the coldness and monsoon type rains. Collected my luggage and realised that I had already been had...Every conceivably part of my bag had been opened and rifled though....never mind - Although I will say to the person who did it I truly hope you enjoy my sh*it christmas cracker nail clippers and rubbish torch. Nothing of value is missing so I walk away both lucky and educated :o)

Managed to get the airport bus from the airport to the city. 30km which took an hour and a half, traffic was terrible - probably made worse by the rain. The Metro was mastered like a pro and even found the hotel (Formula 1) with ease. After a little nap I decided to brave the rain and go for a walk around. This idea lasted as long as it took me to cross the river, sorry road, buy a bottle of water and have a cheesburger. Back to the room for a shower and to try and dry my shoes, socks and jeans. I stayed in for the rest of the night watching Dungeons and Dragons in Portugese!!

Yesterday morning (20/12) I managed to rise early, eat and head off on a walking tour. Starting at Praça de Republica and then heading down to Edifico Italia - a 1960s skyscraper. Then onto the Copan Building which is the largest reinforced concrete structure in Brazil. Apparently done by a famous Brazilian architect.....when the pics go up you'll understand why I wasn't that impressed!!! It was then a short walk to Memory Hill and Piques Pyramid. It is here that there was a spring which supplied water to the city's residents and cattle. It was gone now tho.... The Municipal Theatre (apparently with near perfect acoustics), Tea Overpass and Shopping Light were a short walk further. Shopping Light used to be the headquarters of English Lighting Company in SP. It is actually quite a nice building!! Over the Tea Overpass you can see into the Anhangabau Valley and also the Santa Ifigena Overpass - the latter was built to connect the downtown area to that where the city's elite live. The tour finished with the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Sao Bento Monastry.
I then headed down to MASP - the art gallery which is supposed to be pretty impressive with a huge collection of the Masters. It was closed due to techncial problems - strange that happens on the day which it is free to the public......So instead I had a walk down to Parque Do Ibirapieraand relaxed whilst practicing my Portugese.

So what do I think of Sao Paulo? I came here with a mixed opinion - the guide book says its okay, people on the other hand have stories of muggings and a city which isn't that great. I have found it quite interesting. The architecture is a mix of colonial buildings and 1960s concrete. It can be quite an impressive mix at times and demonstrates how the city has developed without much planning thought. The people seem friendly and I didn't feel any more scared than I did in Vietnam or even times in London. It is pretty much on par with Madrid for crime I would say and as long as you take the neccessary precautions you are really not likely to get into any trouble.......Just remember to padlock your rucksack!!!!

Off to Paraty on the bus now.....that is if I manage to locate the bus station.....

P.s. Pictures of Sao Paulo are available here -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25359&l=77f55&id=621043454

Cambodia goes here...

2007-12-21T12:20:00.000Z

Haven't had a chance to do cambodia yet but watch this space....

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!

2007-12-07T05:24:00.000Z

Breaking News......We're off to Cambodia after all!!!

Just secured return tickets from Bangkok departing 8th Dec returning
11th Dec!! So it looks like we will be getting to see Angkor Wat in
2007!!!

Up, Up, Up and down....@ 120mph!!

2007-12-07T01:14:00.000Z

Ok, I was obviously drugged when I was convinced to jump from an airplane at 12,000 feet. Then I was subjected to some Hard-Sell and convinced that going the full hog and jumping at 15,000 feet with 60 seconds free fall was a far better experience....hmmmm.

Anyway on the morning of 28th November 2007 the weather was perfect. Hardly a cloud in the sky, nice and warm and as clear as a whistle. We went to Nzone in Queenstown and were prepared with a rather scary video which did more to encourage fears than eliminate them. A short bus ride to the jump site and we were all standing around drinking coffee making nervous small talk as we watched the group before us glide gracefully to the ground for expert landings. It all looked so simple and the weather was so gorgeous we were looking forward to the magnificent views at 15,000ft.

So after half an hour standing around we (Louise, I and a girl called Gabby) got called forward to get ready. I was introduced to Volken & Louise to Chris who were to be our saviours, sorry tandem sky-divers. The suits are well cool, lovely fit and the harness really gets you in the right places if you're a bloke but better safe than sorry :o)

After a quick briefing about banana positions, holding onto harness (and not the plane) and not closing your eyes (yeah, right as if!!) we were bundled into a rather small plane. This was the bit which hit me - it was so small - 9 of us crammed in there (3 jumpers, 3 people with parachutes & 3 cameramen) and so noisy. Take-off was cool, the scenery on the way up was interesting but simply couldn't take away my fear of jumping from a perfectly good (if slightly small) aircraft. It didn't really hit me until 12,000 feet when Gabby jumped....The noise and wind when the door opened and then watching 3 people exit an airplane in the air and feeling the plane jump as their weight left it is such a strange experience. The door then closed and we had to wait for the plane to climb another 3,000ft.....

By this time I was so nervous I hadn't even noticed that I had been attached to my tandem-man and was now sat pretty much in his crotch.....We were given oxygen to eliminate any altitude symptoms (tho secretly I think this is a drug to make people jump) and then the red light came on. I couldn't think of jumping, I was just pushed towards the open door being willed by my cameraman. The green light meant that I had to hang my legs over the edge of the plane and grab my harness (must remember not to grab the plane). A pose for some photos (no, I didn't smile) and then OH SH*T...

The first 10 seconds I can't remember - anything could have happened. I think my eyes were closed (the DVD will reveal whether they were) but I was "awoken" by my cameraman telling me to let go of the harness. I then looked down - yeah, not a good idea. I hope the DVD caught what I said.... I then came to grips with my situation - being that I was paying this camerman $219 so I should really do something funny for his pics and forget about my rapidly accelerating arse and the ground.

The next 50 seconds (or to put it another way, the next 10,000ft) passed rather quickly.....and then the jolt from the parachute opening slowed us down rapidly. It was about now my fear of heights kicked in - I was probably white as a sheet as we glided down for the next 5 minutes to the jump site (still grabbing the harness!!). My landing was a bit funny (again that'll be on the DVD) so should provide some amusement.

I think Louise enjoyed it a bit more than me. When she landed it was a hail of questions "Did you see Mount Cook?", "Did you see Lake Wakatipu?" to which I could only respond, "You mean you actually looked around?!!!"

All in all it was a worth-while experience. The comedy value of the DVD alone is going to be worth the cost and we would recommend it to anyone. Especially if you are scared of heights and/or flying. Would we do it again? Louise thinks so, I on the other hand am not too sure - unless the plane is burning of course....

Queenstown & Getting a bit wet.....

2007-12-07T00:50:00.001Z

Our first full morning in Queenstown was spent sorting out some adventurous activities. We won't spoil the surprise just yet......

On the afternoon the first of our activities was the White Water Rafting on the Shotover River. Nothing tame here (Dean refused to do the girly grade 3 rafting and opted for the hardcore and cold grade 5 rapids over 2 hours of rafting). Once we had been dressed up nicely in our 5mm wetsuits, provided with life-vests, helmets and rain jackets we were herded onto a mini-bus and driven up one of the most treacherous roads in New Zealand. Skippers Canyon is off limits to all rental vehicles and is a single track gravel road alongside a cliff face which in places falls off over 200m. Dean had the window seat and it was pretty scary. The origins of the road lead back to the gold mining times of the area....

Once arriving safely at the river bank we were teamed up into our rafts and provided with our oars. The next 2 hours were filled with some rather cold, wet and at times thrilling moments. Dean got wettest but that's his fault for sitting at the front :o) Louise opted for First Class at the back - also where no-one could see she wasn't doing any rowing! A good time was had by all and we arrived back at base all intact and ready for a warn shower, cup of coffee and a sausage roll!!

That night we celebrated like it was 1999..... Firstly with sausage & mash, then to the Minus 5 bar in Queenstown and then ended the night in The World Bar drinking teapots of cocktails. The reason for our celebration was our fear of the next day's activities.........

New Zealand - Christchurch Milford Sound

2007-12-07T00:23:00.000Z

From Tasmania we had an early morning flight back to Melbourne and then onto Christchurch later in the day. We managed to secure a campervan rental for our time in New Zealand and were looking forward to travelling under our own steam again.....

We arrived in Christchurch in the early hours of the morning and made our way to Charlie B's Backpackers who thankfully had a 24hr porter. A few hours sleep and we were off to Freedom / Tui Campers to collect our home for the next 13 days. "Home" turned out to be an old long wheel base hightop Transit van with toilet / Shower, gas hob, fridge and even a microwave. Air Conditioning was provided in the form of opening windows........

We were soon on our way (if at a rather sedate pace) towards Mount Cook. We stopped at a few places on the way including The Church of the Good Shepherd where you get beautiful views over Lake Tekapo towards Mount Cook. Our first campsite adventure was in Twizel where we managed to cook and enjoy our first night in the van.

Mount Cook was a short drive in the morning for an invigorating walk into Hooker Valley over-looked by the peaks of Mount Cook (plus several more...). Back at the car park Louise found a duckling in distress and we spent sometime looking for its wayward family. Once located Louise bravely picked up the duckling (in a plastic bag to protect from human scent of course) and tried to reunite it with its parents and siblings. The following scene was hilarious as Louise hadn't banked on father duck not being too impressed at one of his babies being carried about by a giant human and he launched a frenzied attack much to Dean's amusement!! But don't worry, apart from being a bit shaken, Louise was fine and all 7 ducklings, mam & daddy (minus a few feathers) waddled off into the distance.

Back on the road again we managed the mammoth drive to Queenstown that afternoon (4 hours - 250kms) and got ourselves onto a modern but rather commercial site. This was only an over-night stop (more Queenstown later) and the next morning we vistied Queenstown briefly to explore the extreme sport options available to brave people and then we were on the road again towards Milford Sound.

Milford Sound (incorrectly named - it is actually a Fiord) is a deep valley back-filled by the Tasman Sea created in the ice age by a glacier. We were up early the next morning to take the first cruise of the day out onto the water and appreciate the morning views, tranquility, some seals and even a penguin!! The drive back from Milford Sound was slow, stopping to enjoy several lookouts, waterfalls and magnificent views along the way and even the odd 2 hours walk :o). We made it back to Queenstown in record time (not bad for a battered Transit van now aptly named "Zippy") and had a few deserved drinks.

Port Arthur & Hobart

2007-12-06T05:04:00.000Z

November 20th, famous for many reasons including MY BIRTHDAY!!! (thanks for all the birthday messages). A slow morning with some nice breakfast saw us setting off late for Port Arthur in south Tasmania.

Port Arthur is quite unique in that the entire area is a conserved penetentiary (or a better word, PRISON!). We spent 3 hours looking around the remaining buildings and did a little boat trip. The place is steeped in history and stories from both the prison guards and convicts - well worthy of a longer visit by anyone planning to go to Tasmania. You could easily spend an entire day there.

We were on our way back to Hobart by early afternoon returning our trusty Hyundai Elantra (with an additional 1350km on the clock) to Rent-for-Less. We then checked into the Wrest Point Hotel (it is my birthday after all) and I was treated to a slap-up meal in the revolving restaurant. The night was finished off in James Bond style in the casino at the roulette table. Not telling if I won or lost......

Our final day in Tasmania passed with us completing a walking tour of Hobart. We managed to take in all of the sights including St David's Cathedral, St David's Park, Constitution Dock, The Town Hall, Theatre and Salamanta Square. Oh yeah and Dean had a haircut - about time too!!

Still Tazzie....Launceston to Richmond

2007-12-06T04:44:00.000Z

Sweet.....after leaving Launceston our first stop was a raspberry farm for an early coffee and Cream Tea. Then onto a cheese factory where we tried all the different cheeses that were available (but didn't buy anything....)

A long drive to Cradle Mountain (stopping in Sheffield - another original name - along the way) then followed. We were lucky to get some dorm accommodation close the Cradle Mountain and did the Dove Lake Walk late in the day. This gives you superb views of the neighbouring Cradle Mountain - bit of a shame that it was cloudy but apparently it is 9 days out of 10 anyway.

The night was rounded off with a log fire in the cabin kitchen and being scared by possibly the worlds largest possums late into the night.

The next morning saw us moving back on towards Launceston via Mole Creek. Straight onto Campbell Town which has bricks laid into the pavement detailing the names, date of arrival, crimes and arrival ships for all of the convicts. Didn't recognise any of the names but the sentences did seem a little harsh!!

Our journey continued through Ross, Oaklands and by Lake Dulverton (not really a lake anymore - it dried up...) and Coalbrooke which has a church designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin - famous for helping to design the current Houses of Parliament, London.

Another winery stop worthy of a mention - Pooley Wines (http://www.pooleywines.com.au/). The cellar door is still run by Margaret who showed us great hospitality and sold us a nice bottle of Pinot Noir. Quite amazing as she is 92 years old!!!

We then completed our drive to Richmond and as it was the eve of Dean's birthday treated ourselves to a nice cottage with spa bath. We finished the night off with a DVD - "Wolf Creek" which is loosely based on some Australian Outback murders......

Tasmania - Hobart to Launceston

2007-12-06T04:23:00.000Z

We arrived into Tasmania, Hobart Airport still with no idea how we were going to get around. It seems also that we picked a bit of a bad time with the Mark Webber Challenge about to happen the very next day.......However we managed to hire a luxurious Hyundai Elantra Automatic. What a wonderful car..... ;o)

Our first stop was Swansea (they were really original when naming their towns), which is a pretty little town and a nice break on the way to Coles Bay. We also stopped at 2 wineries on the way for some "free" tastings of the local tipples - mainly Rieslings & Chardonnays. From there we drove to the first National Park (after being robbed for a National Parks Pass). Freycinet National Park has some lovely walks and we opted for the most famous, a 2 hour walk to Wine Glass Bay beach and back. Pictures when we get home....

We rounded off the day with a drive up to Bicheno where we had decided to spend the night. Before bedtime though we had enough energy left for a penguin trip. The local attraction are the small & cute Fairy Penguins which take a run up the beach into the local shrubbery late every night. They are sweet little things but a bit hard to capture on camera.

From Bicheno the next day we travelled up the coast heading to the Bay of Fires for a leisurely morning beach walk along a beautiful white beach. From there we travelled on to St Columba Falls, one of the highest falls in Tasmania and then onto Derby. We were marooned for accommodation so had to press on to a little village called Branxholm and we stayed in a "traditional" pub and hotel complete with "Mick Dundee" style locals.

Our third morning was started and quickly stopped for Dean to display his mechanical skills. We had been graced by a flat tyre during the night so an unplanned 30 minutes break occurred whilst Dean swore his way through changing it. (A little Thank You to Rent-for-less for removing the owners manual and providing cars with bald spare tyres...). Soon on our way again to Legerwood where they have come magnificent carvings of their war heroes. (http://www.about-australia.com/travel-guides/tasmania/st-helens/attractions/art/legerwood-carved-memorial-trees/).

We then travelled on to Scottsdale to get our flat tyre fixed and vist the local Farmer's Show (a bit random but the logging equipment and tractors had a great deal of appeal!!). The rest of the day included Lilydale Falls and Hollybank Forest before arriving at Launceston late afternoon. We still had time to explore Cateract Gorge before heading to a local curry house for a well deserved curry.

The Red Centre

2007-12-03T23:25:00.000Z

The flight over to Alice Springs from Cairns was pretty amazing - very few clouds in the sky meant that we could see right down to the ground and had a great view of the deserts and the general nothingness surrounding Alice Springs! On arrival we were picked up from the airport by our hostel (wow! star treatment! we didn't get this anywhere else!) which was just home for just the night - we were heading straight out to Uluru (Ayer's Rock) the next day.

We had time for a quick explore though - we hired bikes and rode to Anzac Hill - a memorial on a hill where there are the best views of the area - and round the town and by the river (dry as a bone, apparently famed for the boat race which happens once a year and is cancelled if there is actually water in the river as the plan is to cut holes in the bottom of the boat, stick your legs through them and run along the river bed carrying the boat... does that give you an idea of what this place is like??). That was pretty much enough for us though, Alice Springs is known for the large numbers of Aboriginal people who sit in the shade of the trees drinking all day and unfortunately it doesn't make it the most pleasant place to hang around!

Next day we were up bright and early for our pick up and our 5 hour bus ride (yes, really 5 hours!) to Uluru. Our guide, Geoff, was ridiculously enthousiastic so we could do nothing but enjoy his commentary and try to take it all in! First challenge was the camp site and trying to organise 23 people in order to get some lunch. Geoff got us into teams and Louise was elected leader of the Thorny Devils (yes, that is with a 'T' - it's an outback lizard honest ...!) and Dean was a koala (ahhhh!). Lunch was a joint effort and tents were briefly settled into before a walk around the Olgas (large rock formations similar to Uluru but smaller) and sunset at Uluru. Much as sunset was spectacular, and we were lucky with the weather, it seems to be rather a contrived event with all the tour buses congregating in one spot, each one setting up a table with drinks and snacks (cheap boxed wine and crisps and dips was good for us, though some of the other trips had champagne....!). We had our drinks and nibbles, took our photos and went back to camp.

Food was a good ol' Ozzie barbie - we'd not had too many of these since being in Australia so it went down well. Then an early night for all of us - it was an early start again next day - and when I say early, I mean early - 4am wake up call!!

This was so that we could get down to Uluru and walk round it as the sun was rising. We could have gone to the tour bus sunset spot with all the other tour buses but the whole group decided it would be a bit more serene and calming to be walking by the Rock at sunrise rather than clicking cameras next to another couple of hundred people! The climb wasn't open so there was no question of whether we would go up it or not, but in any case the Aboriginal people don't like you to do it so we weren't going to anyway. We stopped in the visitor centre to take in some more info on Uluru and the history and importance for the Aboriginal people before it was time to head off on the bus for another few hours to Kings Canyon.

We had some free time once we got to the spot we were camping at for the night, so we took the opportunity to go quad biking with 5 others from our group. It was a real laugh riding round this huge estate through all the sand and bush and even a pond (actually with some water in - all the girls got stuck in it apart from Louise!!)! We got absolutely filthy! And we were rewarded with some bush tucker cooked in the camp fire afterwards so it was all good.

Another early morning, this time in order to complete the Kings Canyon walk before the heat of the day got too much. It was actually a little cloudy so it was a really pleasant walk - great views, we took loads of photos! Mid morning and we were back in the bus heading for a picnic spot for lunch - we were plagued by flies though and Louise was already covered in bites so we were quite happy to be back in the bus and on our way back to Alice Springs. Having said that we had had a great time with a great bunch of people and we were actually quite sad to wave everyone goodbye :-(

Just enough time to crash out at the hostel for the night before leaving Alice Springs, destination Hobart, Tasmania (via Melbourne)...

Diving the Reef...

2007-11-30T08:07:00.000Z

We only managed to spend a day in Cairns (that's all you need to take in the "sights"!) before we got back out on the Reef again on a boat! Another 3 days 2 nights, this time we were doing our "Advanced Open Water" scuba diving course!

First off we had a couple of "fun" dives - and good thing we did as it took a little time to get back into it again and get our confidence up a bit! But then it was all go as we had to swim through hoops, remain buoyant even when someone gives you a brick to hold, as well as navigate with compasses - all under the water and even in the dark!! There was also some study to do so evenings were spent poring over the text book - no chilling out in the bar for us ... well, actually we took our text books to the bar, but we couldn't drink too much beer as the first morning dive was at 6:30am - that's one way to wake you up!

Our cabins were pretty nice with our own bathroom and food was all provided from a cooked breakfast right through to an evening meal served to us at the table. About as luxurious as it gets for us!

And we passed the course - yey! - and we still had some time to do a couple more "fun" dives. We saw sharks, turtles, and loads of multicoloured fish and coral. Absolutely beautiful and we were really lucky with the weather too as it was blue sky and a perfectly still ocean most of the time!

Back on land and we didn't stop - the next day we took a trip up into the rainforest on a cable car, had a look round a village up there called Kuranda and took the scenic train back; and on our last day in Cairns we took a bus trip up to Cape Tribulation. Unfortunately this was hyped up to be a bit better than it turned out to be - we didn't see a single crocodile on our crocodile cruise and there was no view from the lookouts due to low cloud. We saw a couple of nice beaches and had a lovely home made icecream on the way home so it wasn't all bad! :-)

So we come to the end of the beach coast of Australia and time for some real Australia - we head for the outback... Alice Springs!!

Cruising the Whitsundays

2007-11-24T22:56:00.000Z

So we got to Airlie Beach at 9am the next morning! Not especially refreshed after attempting to sleep on the bus - "no limbs allowed in the aisle" so the bus driver regularly woke us up by making an announcement to tell everyone to stop sticking legs and arms out! Then we couldn't check into the hostel yet - it was too early - so we had to kill a bit of time hanging around the town. It's not a huge place and by 10.30 we'd already seen the sights!

When we finally got into our room (biggest bargain yet - a huge motel type room with ensuite bathroom, fridge, sink and TV all for $35 AUS which is about 16 pounds!) we had a relaxing afternoon watching some TV - you can never get bored of Desperate Housewives! And then all that was left to do was to get ready for our boat trip out to the Whitsunday islands the next day!

8.30am the following morning we were ready at the marina with our small bags of clothes and huge carrier bags full of beer and wine! It's bring your own for 3 days so we stocked up! Our boat was called Waltzing Matilda and was quite exclusive as there were only 16 guests on board + 2 crew. Many of the other boats cram 20 or 30 people on so that was one of the reasons we chose Waltzing Matilda - didn't fancy being packed like sardines on a 24 metre long boat!

The weather was gorgeous - we could lay out and it was hot but with a pleasant breeze. It was relax all the way! Meals were provided - we were cooked for and everything cleared away for us - and all we had to do was enjoy the scenery! We had a few opportunities to do some snorkelling - the Whitsundays are part of the Barrier Reef so the corals and fish were fantastic, and we went to a couple of beaches including Whitehaven beach where there is the most perfect white sand and blue water.

A pretty chilled out time all in all. We were on the boat with some nice people from all over - some Germans, some Swedish, Canadians, and American and a South African and we all met up again in Airlie Beach once we were off the boat for a few drinks! It had been an experience sleeping on a boat but was good to get back on dry land again. We were wobbling for a few hours after we got off the boat but not sure if that was due to still having sea legs or just the drink....!

We had a few hours to wander round Airlie again the next day before our bus left. Decided not to get on another overnighter, this one left at 2pm and got us into Cairns at 1am....!

Cool dingos! It's Fraser Island!

2007-11-08T08:23:00.000Z

Hervey Bay was purely a stop off in order to go on a trip to Fraser Island so we arrived there early evening, grabbed something to eat and already it was time for bed. Funny how doing nothing still makes you tired!

We got picked up early the next morning and taken to the port where we took the ferry over to Fraser Island - basically an island consisting completely of sand. Well, at least that's how it started off - they've built hotels and houses there, and there's a few tarmacked roads, but essentially you need to get around in a 4x4 as most roads are sand. We headed straight off in our 4x4 bus with our tour group (the "Cool Dingo" tour!) and our guide who was a ranger called Dave. Dave has lived on the island for nearly 20 years and knows pretty much everything there is to know about Fraser so we were really bombarded with information and stories, but it was all good, and he was a real character! He took us to 2 freshwater lakes where you could go for a swim or just lie back on the sand and enjoy the view. We had a swim in Lake McKenzie which was exceptionally blue and beautiful. We even spotted a couple of turtles under the water, but they were pretty small. And we already managed to see a dingo (Australian kind of wild dog that Fraser Island is particularly known for) on the beach sniffing around people's bags ... we got out of the water and retrieved our belongings quite quickly after this sighting! It was lovely swimming in the freshwater though - no salty skin feeling like when you swim in the ocean!

All meals were included so we had plenty of good Ozzie tucker for dinner (actually it was Mexican night, but hey, we're not fussy!) and despite our best efforts to stay awake (the rest of our group went to bed about 9pm..) had an early night (we managed to stay in the bar until 10pm!!!).

Day 2 of the trip took us to 75 mile beach. The tide was high so we had to hoon it to the top (great Ozzie slang!) without stopping otherwise the bus would have got stuck in the sand. At the top we had a dip in the "Champagne Pools" - not really champagne - we wish! - but very frothy due to the waves breaking on the rocks just behind you. Nearby we climbed up to a lookout over the beach and in the distance there were a few whales even though it was pretty much the end of the whale spotting season. Apparently they could have been mother and calf as they are the slowest ones!

Also along the beach we saw the coloured rocks, Eli Creek and the wreck of the Maheno - a shipwreck right there on the beach! We had taken a few photos that morning with high tide, but it was far more exposed now so we took a whole load more photos!

We also saw what happens when you stop in a place with soggy sand - there were 2 4x4s stuck in the sand on our way back to the accommodation! One of them was from our resort so Dave quickly towed him out. Apparently if you don't get the vehicles out quite quickly they can end up being stuck overnight and it costs a fortune to get them out!! Think that guy owes Dave a favour now!!!

Day 3 we went to Lake Wabby - another swim in a freshwater lake and we saw some catfish in this one. This lake is particularly special as on one side there is just a huge sand dune that slopes down into the lake. We saw another group surfing down the slope into the lake on a body board which looked really cool, but Dave didn't have a body board and apparently the last time he borrowed a body board for his tour group they ended up breaking it so we could only look on in envy!

Walking over the dune, we felt like extras out of Laurence of Arabia! It's pretty hard going, just as well Dave was waiting for us nearby in the bus! The final afternoon we spent at Lake Birrabeen, more secluded and quieter than the other lakes and we had it all to ourselves for a while! Finally the sun gave up on us and it looked like it was going to rain so we headed off back to the resort and the ferry back to Hervey Bay :-(

Just time in our hostel to have a quick shower (to get all the sand off us - again!) and eat before catching the bus again. Not sad about it for a moment as by now the rain had turned into a massive thunderstorm!! Yuch! We were glad we weren't on Fraser Island any more in that!

So an overnight bus .. 13 hours .. to Airlie Beach! :-)

Chilling in Noosa!

2007-11-08T08:10:00.000Z

So we got to Noosa - a cute little place not far up the coast from Brisbane. We headed straight for the beach, which was lovely but pretty crowded. Noosa is particularly known for being an excellent place to surf - you can see why when there is such wind and waves! We stuck it out for a while, but when the sun goes down the wind suddenly gets quite cold!

Following day we went for a walk in Noosa National Park. We were told to look out for koalas in the trees so we were walking along looking up half the time but didn't see any :-( The walk took us along a coastal path so we had some great views of the ocean and walked along a couple of beaches too. Alexandra beach was particularly interesting - swimwear on the beach is purely optional there.....! - so we were kept quite busy looking down at everything that the ocean was washing up onto the beach... including a few jellyfish! Not the dangerous ones fortunately!

The walk brought us out on Sunshine beach where we enjoyed a well deserved beer in the Surf Club! Not quite "Home and Away" but close! A bit more of a sunbathe in the late afternoon and that was about us done in Noosa. The next day we hopped on the bus again, next stop Hervey Bay...

Avoca Beach to Brisbane...

2007-10-26T12:27:00.000+01:00

So we spent the weekend at Dean's cousin's house which is in a tiny place not far from Gosford, north of Sydney. It was lovely to sleep in a comfy bed and eat some home cooked food! We sat around enjoying the sunshine on Saturday, and on Sunday morning dutifully got ourselves out of bed at 5am to watch the rugby... Despite the warm climate we still sat on the sofa under the duvet with a cup of coffee to keep warm (it does get cold here at night, unlike Asia!)! And we were sorely disappointed that our early morning wake-up seemed to be a waste of time... :-(

But we went down to Avoca beach, the local beach, at 9am so the early morning wasn't totally wasted on us! A couple of hours and a dip in the very cold ocean later and we were back relaxing at the house again... we could have stayed for days but Queensland was calling and on Monday morning we reluctantly packed our rucksacks again and headed to the airport!

We arrived in Brisbane in the afternoon, and had time to check into our hostel (or prison cell as Dean affectionately called it - it really was just 2 single beds with soft mattresses and a horrendously noisy air conditioning system!) before we went to take in the highlight of Brisbane - the Castlemaine XXXX brewery which was conveniently just down the road! We even got a few free beers which set us up for the evening!

The next day we were up early to catch the rest of Brisbane's sights. We caught a bus to the Lone Pine koala sanctuary where we took a ridiculous number of photos of animals, cuddled a koala and fed extremely tame kangaroos! Cute! Then back in the town centre we had a walk around , taking in the botanical gardens and the river. Feet aching we headed back to the hostel to recover before treating ourselves to a night out with a friend of Louise's, Sue. Experienced a real Aussie pub - rather than a backpacker bar - good stuff!

But not wanting to stay in any place too long it was already time to move on. Next morning we caught the bus to Noosa...

Sydney...via Melbourne :o)

2007-10-24T11:12:00.000+01:00

Well it turned out that getting onto the flight from Bangkok to Sydney was a little harder than expected. It was the end of the school holidays for "New South Wales" so lots of people were returning home from their hols and all of the flights were very full.......In the end we decided to take a flight to Melbourne and try to get to Sydney from there. The flight to Melbourne was ok though we soon discovered that the flights to Sydney from there too were all full. In the end we did the only thing left for us to do....we hired a car and sat down for the next 900kms!!

The drive wasn't too bad although Dean was a little disappointed that his first 25 kangaroo sightings were all definitely dead and most in various stages of decomposition by the side of the Hume Highway.

We arrived in Sydney on Monday lunchtime (after an overnight stop in Yass) and we returned our Mitsubishi 380 to Thrifty and booked into a nearby hostel. We then headed into town and went to see what everyone else sees - The Harbour bridge and the Opera House!! We also went to The Rocks which is where the first settlers to Sydney arrived.

The second day we went to a trip to the Blue Mountains which are blue due to the eucalyptus oil which evaporates from the trees there. We also walked the Giant Staircase, saw The Three Sisters and rode the steepest train in the world. We finished off the trip with a visit to a Roo Sanctuary where Dean saw his first live kangaroo!!

The next day was spent walking around Darling Harbour and visiting the Aquarium which has a vast array of marine life including seals, sharks, sea snakes, rays & of course fish!! And a few turtles too. We then went to the Sydney Motorshow on Dean's orders which was pretty good too - not too busy.

On our fourth day we took a ferry over to Manly and did the Manly Scenic Walk (10km!!). That pretty much knackered us for the rest of the day!!

Our fifth and final day we went to Bondi Beach (something else everybody else does). It is nice there and we sat on the beach for a while before we caught the train to Woo Woo (or was it Woy Woy) on the way to Dean's cousin's house!!

Cambo..err no, Bangkok (again...)

2007-10-12T10:47:00.000+01:00

Well we're in Bangkok again for 4 days.....what happened to Cambodia I hear you all cry (or not!!). Well the weather forecast for Phnom Penh and Siem Reap was looking rather dodgy (wet, hot and humid) and we decided that it probably wouldn't have allowed us to enjoy the country in the way it should be enjoyed. So we decided to head back to the trusty Novotel Siam Square again for a few days relaxing and recharging before heading down to Sydney.

We have spent 3 relaxing days in Bangkok now, a bit of shopping, a bit of lying by the pool and a lot of sleeping......zzzzzz......We are going to try the flights to Sydney tomorrow afternoon (13th Oct).

We are hopeful of being able to return to Cambodia later in the trip, most likely on the way back from New Zealand but watch this space....

....off for a final Thai massage now!!!

Ho Chi Minh City...and some tunnels

2007-10-12T10:15:00.000+01:00

Hello again.....our arrival in HCMC was in rush-hour traffic and a taxi ride put us in the main backpacking area. A quick search turned up The Red Sun Inn which was both clean & affordable so that became base for the next 3 nights.....

The first day included visits to the Botanical Gardens (not much to say about them....), the Reunification Palace which has been used for several things over the years including the presedential palace. It is quite amazing inside, everything is circa 1970s so, as the guidebook describes it, it looks like a set from an old James Bond movie and you expect Ernst Stavro Blofel to be luking around the next corner. Still interesting tho (and air-conditioned too!!). Finally a visit to the Military Museum which houses old and reconstructed American military machines and has a rather anti-American account of the Vietnam War. It is presented in quite a provocative manner and some of the images and accounts are quite emotionally shocking.....

On the second day we went to the Cu Chi tunnels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cu_Chi_Tunnels) for the morning and learnt more about the war and saw how the people of the Cu Chi area defended themselves and managed to remain hidden from the Americans in a series of underground rooms and tunnels. Dean also got to fire an AK-47 gun...yes, they have a public firing range there and encourage people to pay (per bullet) and fire these real guns. Not quite sure what the point of it all is but it was quite fun (if rather loud!!). We relaxed that afternoon and went for some nice western food and beers!!

Our final day was just wandering around for a while, although it was very hot and humid again so we retreated back to the room and packed up our stuff in preperation for another flight to Bangkok......

Nha Trang..on..off..on..

2007-10-07T10:33:00.000+01:00

Well the 8 hour train ride from Hoi An was a bit of an experience....Firstly unlike the Chinese the Vietnamese will put foreigners with tourists in sleeper cabins so we shared with a very nice Vietnemese couple (plus their rice and sweetcorn....). Also the Chinese seem to have bypassed airconditioning and gone straight for "refrigeration".....Honestly - they have strapped lots of Thermo-King units to the top of the train and it maintained what felt like 10C the entire 8 hours. The only time I (Dean) have used my fleece so far....

We were met at the train station by a guy from the hotel who accompanied our taxi to The Perfume Grass Inn. Room was very nice except that it was on the 4th floor (always moaning aren't I!!)

On the first full day in Nha Trang we recovered from the train and headed to the beach which was both cool and windy....A quick look at BBC weather showed that the weather was going to be terrible for the next few days due to the Typhoon which came through Central & North Vietnam and then onto Laos.....A snap decision saw us changing our flights so we got to Ho Chi Ming City (HCMC) the next day.....

Well on our second day (Weds) we hit the beach again on the morning and the weather was just right...not too hot, bit of wind and the beach was quite clean!! BBC weather still reported rain rain rain so we decided to follow our instincts and change the flight back to Saturday!!

Well we are happy to report that the weather was fine for the rest of our time in Nha Trang. Overall it is a nice place, lots of western type pubs & clubs and some good old fashioned food (I even had a good Sunday Roast!!). We didn't see much else of Nha Trang except for the beach so nothing else to report.

Saturday saw us off to the airport for our flight to HCMC.......

Hoi An

2007-10-07T10:29:00.001+01:00

We arrived not so refreshed on the bus and wandered to the hotel which had been recommended to us by the guys in Hue. It was Ok so we decided to stay....It then started to rain again......

The second day in Hoi An was spent seeing the sights (you don't need much more time than that). The Japanese Covered Bridge, Tan Ky House, Phuoc Kien Assembly Hall, Historical Museum & Quong Cong Temple all completed in a few hours!!

We also did some shopping in Hoi An, Louise mainly. Our goods included a suit, 3 skirts, 2 jackets, 3 pairs of shoes & 3 dresses....then we had to post it all home!!

We rounded off the afternoon by hiring a scooter which was quite brave of us...We rode down to the local beach and then got a bit excited with Dean's riding skills and rode around for the next 2 hours. We then ran out of petrol (the fuel guage didn't work in our defense). Then we discovered that the key didn't open the fuel tank.....then it started to rain :o). We had to push it back to the woman, who didn't see us arrive so we handed back the keys with a nod and a smile and scarpered fast!!!

The next day it was raining (getting a bit boring) so we wandered around the shops for a while and then decided the only thing to do was sit in the pub all afternoon....so we did!!!

The final day it seemed very warm in the room. A quick survey revealed the a/c wasn't working, neither the lights or anything else electrical.....the rain had knocked out the power to the whole town. We went for some breakfast and then found another scooter to hire (didn't dare go back to the first place) and headed down to the beach. Unfortunately it was a bit too cold and windy so after a couple of hours we had a ride about on the scooter, booked out train tickets to Nha Trang and headed home to pack (and wait for the electric to return - which it did at 7pm...)

Hue (Hurray...its still raining...)

2007-10-07T10:24:00.000+01:00

We arrived off the plane and dived straight into the closest minibus to take us into town....no time to stand around and be picky as there was a monsoon rainstorm happening....We picked a hotel at random from the guidebook and for once the Rough Guide was on the mark and it turned out to be really nice! We ventured into the cafe next door (serious rain prevented anything else) for a nice dinner and then off to sleep.

Our first full day we were up early and went to the Citadel (which is the Imperial City of the Emperor - a bit like the Forbidden City really....) Then we went for a wander down to the market and then off to find a boat to charter for the river cruise. Our cruise (in the loosest sense of the word) consisted of a long boat, a Vietnemese captain, his daughter (and her table of wooden souvenirs) and 6 plastic chairs and lasted the full 3 hours. It was quite nice out on the "Perfume River" seeing the local people doing their work and a floating fishing village if a little hot for Dean at times. On the evening we had found a nice International Buffet in a local 5* hotel and thought we would treat ourselves....

The next day we just rested up and then caught the bus to Hoi An...an exciting 3 hour journey!!

Hanoi, Vietnam (beep beep...)

2007-09-27T06:32:00.000+01:00

An early morning (propellor plane) flight landed us in Hanoi at 8 in the morning (yawn). Visa etc all checked out Ok and we were cleared to enter the country......we are getting used to the usual fight for taxis and chose a respectable one asking to be taken to hotel we had been recommended . As predicted the taxi driver decided to take us to his mates hotel but with a little persuasion he took us to our desired location. Hotel was nice and we got a huge room right over looking the street....this turned out to be a mistake.....

....the first thing you (beep beep) realise about (honk) Hanoi is that (beeeeep) whenever someone in a car (honk, honk, honk) or scooter is about to do (beep) something dangerous (drive thru a red light, drive up the wrong side of the road, generally swerve across the road to talk to their mates etc) they honk their horn. (BEEEP!!). This means it is impossible to go (honk, honk) more than 2 seconds (beeeeep) without hearing a horn (beep, honk honk, beep) and more usually there are several all sounding at the same time.......So we swapped the room for a cheaper, smaller but 10 times quieter one on the back :o)

We then went for a bit of a wander around Hanoi taking in the lake, the Old Quarter, a local market, a bridge and a very nice french style Catherdal. In the evening we went to a huge festival which was going on around the corner, along one of the main streets. It was apparently the Children's Autumn festival....

On the second day we took a cyclo to the Opera house (a bit slow...) and took a walk around the French Quarter. Then we had a look around an old prision used for both Vietnemese people and finally Americans during the war. We then visited one of the larger lakes in Hanoi and then the B52 memorial (the photogrphs, once up will explain which this was quite a waste of time....)

On the third day we arranged a boat trip ( 2 days, 1 night on the boat) to Halong Bay. Rather excited we were up at 7am ready for the bus at 8 which took us on a nice 3 hour ride to the port....things started to go a bit wonky donkey then..... It was raining, it wasn't just raining the guide was telling us about the approaching tropical typhoon which meant we couldn't stay on the boat but had to stay in a local hotel and we wouln't be going out on the boat the next day....obviously not very hppy about this and after much arguing we got them to feed us, take us around the local bay and then return us to Hanoi. It was quite misty so we didn't see a lot....rather dissapointed. In the end we managed to get the trip fee refunded which was a bonus.

The final day was a bit of a free day which we used to visit "uncle Ho's" house on stilts, Lenin Park, a local market and used the opportunity to get ripped off by some dodgy taxi driver. All to be expected!!!

Then it was off to the airport for an afternoon flight to Hue.....