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02/02/04: So far our trip is going well. We have been suitably hospitalised in Aberdeen, Perth and Glasgow! And are heading through to Edinburgh for more of the same. We would like to thank our friends for their hospitality, including those who picked up our bill in Aberdeen after we made a mad dash out of the resturant without paying! oops! Also Dave and Carla's peedie panda made the trip down the M90 one to remember!! Contrary to popular belief my e-mail address is [email protected]
5/2/4: The eagles have landed! Had a wonderful flight from Madrid to Lima due to the upgrade to business class. Yes we had to endure 12 hours of being waited on hand and foot in the relative luxury of our reclining chairs and personalised video screens.Its a hard life so it is!!So much so that we have been chilling out on our pool roof sipping beers in a mere 80 degrees!Lima is extremely busy.The road from the airport to the hotel was an experience in itself. No road signs, musical horns, 5 year old children washing the cars at every stop and road rage galore! Just going down town to explore. Will keep you all updated. Thanks to all the hits so far keep them coming. Good to hear from you all. Bye noo.
08.02.2004: We have had an enjoyable few days exploring Lima. Yesterday we ventured through to a town called Barranco where we explored a dodgy restraunt -never eat Peruvian pig -it sux big time! However the day wasn´t wasted as we discoved a damm good taverna overlooking the ocean and managed to devour a few cool cervezas. We got Barrancoed! Today we took yet another hairy taxi journey to downtown Lima. We wondered around the main square called ´Playa de Armas´which was beautiful. We also saw the cities palace, government buildings and catherdral. We have just returned from watching the sunset over the south pacific and not to rub it in but gee whiz they´ve got right grand ones over here!
We are heading south tomorrow and heading to a place called Pisco. We have booked a weeks trip down the coast, during which we will visit Pisco - to visit Islas Ballantas, Ica -winery!!!!! yumm, Nasca -plane ride over desert lines and then to Arequipe. All the excursions, accommodation and transport is booked so all in all it should be a relaxing and enjoyable week! Not that the past few days have been stressful by any means! Hope your all well. x
14/02/04-PISCO- After leaving the smog behind in Lima we travelled south to the town of Pisco. Pisco is a small fishing town with not much to see. However we did take a boat trip on the high seas to the Islas Ballestas. The boat trip took about twenty minutes to get there and on the way we passed the Candelabra which is a large symbol etched into the sand by whom know one knows. The island themselves were amazing as they provide a home to thousands of Sea Lions which were basking all around us on the rocks. There was also penguins, BOOBIES, condors, pelicans and other sea faring birds. The island creates a source of income for all the birds as the locals collect there many droppings and commercially use it as fertilizer-No Shit!.
After returning to land we took a trip to the Paracas National Park which is in the desert. Similar to Skara Brae, Paracas held a secret until 1925 when a sand storm revealed burial sites of Paracas people whom existed between 1300 BC until 200 AD, therefore pre Inca. After our hot spell in the desert we headed to a fishing pier where we sampled some freshly caught fish and shared a bottle of Cerveza with a fellow gringo.
ICA- Ica was our next step further down he coast. This really is the heart of the desert. However we got a lovely surprise when our taxi pulled up to our accommodation as there was a pool slap bang in the middle of the complex. We had plans to visit the local museum and trying some sand boarding here, however due to the lack of bottom control we had no alternative to stay pool side but enough on that subject.
NAZCA- The next day we travelled down through the desert for three hours. Our destinayion being Nazca. We had an early start and took a fliight over the Nazca lines- possibly one of the best experiences of our lives. The plane wa a six seater which included the pilot, which alone was an experience! The Nazca lines are huge geometric designs drawn in the desert and are only visible from the air. Some of the designs represent a variety of giant animals such as a 180m lizard, 90m long monkey and a condor with a 130m wingspan. The history of the lines are unknown, however there are many theories. They were only discovered in 1926 when commercial flights started flying over the area. The plane flew over the designs banking hard both left and right for spectacular views and photo opportunities. All in all an amazing experience.
After the flight we took a tour further into the desert where we passed the higheest sand dune in the world at 2km wide and 5km long. Here we visited the cemetary of Chauchilla. This site contains twelve six foot tombs which hold bones, skulls, mummies , pottery and fragments of cloth dating back to 1300AD. The mummies here are very well preserved and still ahve their own hair, teeth and some even have their skin. It was quite errie looking at them especially being surrounded by the vast desert. These tombs were not discovered by archioligists, but by grave robbers who were after any valuables contained within. This is supposidly a common occurance which still happens.
AREQUIPA - Last night we took an 8hr bus journey to Arequipa. Today we strolled around the town which is beautiful and has stunning views of the Andes in the background. In particular the famous volcano El Misti. The temperature here has dropped slightly that we have climbed to the altitude of 2325 m.
18/02/2004 - On Tuesday we took a trip to the Canyon de Colcon. This involved a minibus trip over various active volcanoes and reached the altitude of 4800m. Needless to say our heads were a bit dizzy. The bus journey was a bit hairy as the roads were anything but smooth along with drops of 2000m. Along the way we saw llamas, alpaca, flamingos and other various creatures that live at such altitude. To help with the altitude we stopped at a small tourist restuarant where we wre given a mug of coco leaf tea. This was a strange concoction, which ois commonly drank and chewed by the locals, Which is said to give you energy!! Therefore we bought a bag! When we bought the leaves they also gave us a small soft stone which you are supposed to wrap the leaves around to release the properties.
Eventually we reached our overnight destination of Chiva, where we left our bellongings before going on a scenic walk. we ventured up through farmland to an old Inca settlement. The views here were stunning and we met along the way many friendly children whom were more than keen to have their photo taken. After our enjoyable walk we were taken to a natural spring to relax. The water was about 38 degrees. Therefore we naturally accepted the waiter service of a few cool beers. Its a hard life in Peru!!
The next day we set off early at 5am, to the heart of the Colcon Canyon. According to the National Geographic this is the deepeest canyon in the world. On the trip we saw yet more increadible views, teh terrecing of the farmland being one of the most amazing features. We also saw Andean condors which have a wing span of over 3meters. We were very lucky to see about 9 of them, as there are only 30 in the canyon. We also saw them feeding on a dead cow, that had plummeted to its death of the cliff. After this we headed back to Arequipa to collect our backpacks and to catch yet another bus.
19/02/2004 - Last night we took an overnight bus from Arequipa to Cusco. This turned out to be yet another adventure in itself, as the bus broke down about 1am! All in all yestrday we spent 18hrs on a bus - Nice! We have decided to saty in Cusco for a few relaxing days. Cusco itself is quite touristy but has a selection of resturant and local crafts. All at very affordable prices. We are leaving for Macchu Pichu on Monday at 6am, so as you can guess we are very excited. Hope all is well. x
22/02/04 - CUSCO - We had a relaxing few days in Cusco. After our first night in a hostel resembling a stable we moved to a hostal much nicer and was right on the Plaza De Armas. Our bedroom wall was made of Inca stone and was around five hundred years old. Not an everyday occcurence! Today we went horse riding which turned out to be an experience not to be repeated. First of all we have to explain the situation. Today is yet another carnival day all over South America. Therefore people of all ages proceed to throw water at each other including tourists. This is either in the form of water pistol, bomb or bucket. Before taking the bus to the ranch we sheltered in a cafe overlooking innocent gringos being attacked from every angle. Its quite funny to watch however we fong the tables were turned when we arrived at the ranch. We had been slowly walking/trotting when some cars passed us tooting there horns and pelting water bombs at us. Naturally the horses reacted to this and shot of up the hill. Due to our lack of experience you can imagine how this felt. The next three hours of our trip were spent damp and feeling extremely nervous of what was around the next corner. We returned to the square and the comfort of a balcony from where we watched the mayhem continue below which was much more fun.
23/02/04 - MACCHU PICHU- It was an early start to catch the train this morning. We were on route to Macchu Pichu. We eventually reached KM104 which was our stop to disembark and start our trek. Our group gathered at a small Inca settlement and Marcelo our guide gave us our itenerary and everybody introduced themselves. We set off around 10.30 am and it wasnt long before the humidity hit and our legs began to tremlble walking upwards. The views were stunning as we climbed as we were surrounded by the lush jungle. Also looking down flowed the winding river and above peeked the mountains. After two hours we reached the first major settlement called Huinay Huanya. This in itself was amazing as it is hard to imagine people building in such remote places and generally the infrastructure. Shortly after this site we reached our stop for lunch. People who undertake the four day trek stay here. It has a few dorms and a basic restraunt. After our well deserved rest we had around a two hour walk to reach the Sun Gate of Macchu Pichu. The hardest part was done. Hooray! We found the last part of the walk the most enjoyable, however still challenging at parts. Finally we reached the steps to the Sun Gate. Our legs trembling slightly and heads red and sweaty! It was a very strange feeling seeing Macchu Pichu with our own eyes after reading about it and seeing it on the TV. The weather was perfect and allowed a clear sight of the ruins. We had a well deserved break for decending down to the site itself. We arrived to the site around 6 oclock, by which time the tourist train had left and gave us Macchu Pichu pretty much to ourselves. The size of the site was even bigger than we had imagined. After soaking up the view and taking plently of photos we headed down to the nearby town of Aguas Calientas. We downed our bags and headed for the local spa. We had pictured the same idea as we had so much enjoyed at the Canyon, however on arrival we were met by a dodgy murky pool! After much delibiration whether or not to take the plunge we did, which turned out not to be the greatest of ideas. We returned to our hostal to a good feed. I dont know whether the food was really good or whether it was us that was so hungry. We were soon ready for bed, as yet again it was to be an early start in the morning.
24/02/2004 - MACCHU PICHU - This morning we headed upto Macchu Pichu as early as possible, which was 6am. We were the first group to arrive so when we got there their was know one to be seen. However this was also due to the fact that Macchu Pichu was surrounded by low lying cloud. We were guided around and given the history and myths behind the site. It was very interesting walking around and an experience we would recommend to everyone. It was good to have the site to ourselves as it wasnt too long before the tourist buses arrived and whole place was full off Chinese going photo mad! Yesterday was definately the highlight of the trip and the trek was well worth the hard work.
26/02/2004 - PUNO - ISLAND TOUR - Yesterday we took the bus from Cusco to Puno. It took 7hrs however time passed quite quickly by gazing at the scenery. Puno is quite small with not much in it. The outskirts of the town are particularly grubby. Therefore this morning we set sail for the Uros floating islands. These islands are fascinating, they are all completely made of reeds which float on the Lake. The houses on the islands are also made of reeds, which can be moved if you happen to have a tiff with your neighbour. after spending some time on the island we sailed on to our next destination which was to be our home for the night. When we reached the island we were greated by several smilling faces, whom were to be our parents for the evening!! Our mom Irma led us to our abode which just happened to be the house at the top of the hill! A hike of around 30 mins at excess Peruvian speed. We found this tiring as it was around 3800m above sea level - fun! However we had not arrived long before irma had cooked us up some lunch. This consisted of some soup, tatties and rice and not to mention the squeeqiest cheese in the world. But to give her thanks she has no electricity -so the girl did not too bad! After lunch we headed yet again uphill! Here their was some more Inca ruins, which we had to walk around 3 times clockwise for goodluck. The daft things that we are did it aswell. Im sure the locals have a good laugh at the tourists as they probably made it up one day they were bored! After watching the sunset we headed back down the hill for some more grub made by Irma, by which time her husband and daughter had arrived home. We were quite the happy family! It was not long after tea that we recieved a special surprise. This involved being dressed from head to toe in Peruvian gear. Eriks dress consisted of a poncho and hat, where as i was dressed in around 4 skirts a daft blouse and was wrapped around the waist with a bizzare belt like thing until breathing was a problem. However taking this into account it was hillarious. We then headed down to the local hall where our fellow travellers (about 30 of us) congrigated with our families and danced and drank the night away. Irma and her husband were obviously having a great time, they both had huge smiles every time we bought them a beer. it was an excellent night and everyone had a great time. We eventually staggered back to our house with Irma giggling all the way.
28/02/2004 - COPACAPANA, BOLIVIA - Today we took the bus from Puno to Copacaban. This took around 3hrs and on the way we crossed the Bolivian border. this was quite a straight forward procedure of basically getting our passports stamped. When we arrived in Copacabana we met up with some fellow gringos that we had already met on our travels. We all decided to stay together and checked into a very nice hostal. After which we decided to take a strole down to the central square to check the place out. Upon our arrival at the square we were greeted by several brass bands, odd looking people dressed up resembing Elvis and lots of merry Bolivians enjoying several cervezas and the start of their annual carnival. Not even 1 minute had passed at us watching the goings on, before a local chap of the name Raymundo had approached us. Before we knew it several hours had passed and we had recieved several bottles of free beer compliments of Raymundo. Also in these blurry hours we were taken to dance with the locals and generally enjoy the festivities. After a few hours of partying we escaped and for the beach where we thought it would be a good idea to don life jackets and set sail on a pedalo. We drifted around for half an hour and then headed back to dry land and the comfort of a nice restraunt and a bottle of wine. We then headed back to the hostal for a siesta with the good intentions of heading back to the party, however we awoke the next morning with throbbing heads and dry mouths! Dont drink at altitude if you get the chance!! Saying that our first impressions of Bolivia are drunken and fantastic.
29/02/2004-Our fuzzy heads were soon cured with a few hours spent lazing in the hammocks in our garden. In the afternoon we headed up a hill beside the hostal, it was yet another steep climb but the views were well worth it. You could see for miles and miles making the lake look very much like a sea. In the evening we headed out with our drunken buddies for dinner then hit a local bar to celebrate the birth of by now a local legend!! This turned out to be a bit of a major session with beer and cocktails and we partied on till the wee small hours.
02/03/2004 - Isla Del Sol- Yesterday was a bit of a wash out as we all had killer hangovers. We just spent the day doing as little as possible. Today however, we took a trip to the Isla Del Sol. After we arrived on the Islands we were soon adopted by a small boy who would led us to our accomodation for the night. After climbing yet again and passing all the other hostals we arrived at ours. We soon dropped of our bags and headed of for a picnic courtesy of our mates. Here we had a grand feast and a bottle of fine Chilean wine! We stayed and admired the views for a while before heading back the hostal and the safety of another couple bottles of Vino!! Needless to say we all had a very fun night on the island or so we think....
03/03/2004 - We had an early start this morning to reach the pier at the northern part of the Island. It was only on departure of our hostal that we realised that our boat back to the mainland left at four hours earlier than we had actually thought. therefore we had to get a move on. After a few hours of walking we eventually made it down to a beach where we got talking to a local man. We realised from where we were it was another hour and a halfs walk to our destination and the boat left in fourty five mins. However this chap soon had the five of us in his rowing boat and we were making headway into the large swell! The journey turned out very well and the twist to our trip got us to our boat in time.
Were now in La Paz. Will be in touch again soon. Hope all is well with the sober population!!!!!
28/03/04 - WE ARE ALIVE!! LA PAZ, COCHABAMBA; SUCRE; POTOSI - UYUNI TOUR Apologies for the lack of information lately - we have no excuse! Where do we start......... Well we spent a few smoggy days in the capital of Bolivia, La Paz. After which we travelled south through several towns. These were Cochabamba, Sucre and Potosi. They were all very nice, however the main destination we were onroute to was Uyuni. We arrived here after a very nerve racking and bumpy bus journey across the mountains. However the trip was definately worth while. For those of you wondering what on earth is at Uyuni, it is indeed where the great salt plains of Bolivia are. Thousands of years ago when Bolivia was at sea level there was a plate shift which caused an inland lake to be founded. Rather than being at sea level though it was now at 4300m. Eventually the water evaporated and left a 150m deep deposit of salt. This stretches for around 1200 sq miles! From the main town we took a 3 day jeep trip across the Salar de Uyuni. During which the scenery was increadible. The first day was spent crossing the salt plain, which was a very starnge experience - it felt like you were driving on the clouds as the reflection is so great, its hard to tell where the sky stops and the land begins. You also expect it to be very cold outside as the salt looks like ice, however it is anything but that. We also stoppped off at a hotel that is entirely made of salt, that includes even the furniture! On the second day we headed further south, through a complete change of scenery. This consisted of colourful mountains stained by Iron, Sulphur, Manganese and other mineral deposits. We also passed several lagoons made of Boxich(detergant)which were full of Flamingoes and surrounded by other wildlife. On the third day we started early to head for the mountain tops for a view of the sunrise. What we did not know was that we would be taken inside the smoking geysers of a volcano. As we approached we cold see smoke jetting high into the sky from the volcano. We were then dropped off and left to stroll around them. The best description would be to imagine Mars or some other planet. We walked through the smoke avoiding the oozing pools of boiling mud. It was a very strange place/experience indeed, but an excellent one. After this we were taken to a natural spring for a morning dip and our guide cooked us up some tasty scrambelled eggs for breakfast. Unfortunately after this our 3 day tour came to an end and we dropped off at the Chilian border. From here we headed to San Pedro, which is a lovely little town situated at the border. Here we camped for 3 days and generally rested our sore backsides. We also took advantage of the drop in altitude, thus the rise in temperature and survived on b?beques and beer! we also went on an astronomy tour which was very interesting.
IGAUZU WATERFALLS - After leaving San Pedro in the Norht of Chile we headed on an epic bus journey across Argentina to Puerto Igauzu (the waterfalls!)which borders with Brazil. To get here however we had to spend 35 hours on the bus. We had one overnight stop in a place called Salta. However after this we were straight back on the bus! Thats dedication for you! We eventually arrived at the falls and after a well deserved night off rest headed for a full day of sightseeing the next day. Upon arriving at the falls we boarded a bus which gave us an open decked journey throught the jungle. We then boarded a farely nippy speed boat and headed up the river towards the falls. It felt slightly strange going up rapids in a boat but never the less fun. We were then driven underneath some of the smaller falls(275 in total) which proceeded to get us absolutely soaking. We were eventually dropped off and given the freedom of the park to walk around and dry off!! Not being difficult in temps. of 35 degrees! We walked around the falls observing the local wildlife and avoiding the snakes and large lizards. The falls themselves are quite amazing. The sheer size of them and the voulme of water they emit is quite astounding. We ended our day by taking a raft journey down the river spotting camens and monkeys along the way. All in all we had a fantastic day and thought it was definately worth the bus journey!
BUENOS AIRES - After our trip to the falls we took yet another mammoth bus journey to Buenos Aires. This took another 16hrs but we travelled in the swankiest bus known to man kind! Argentinians know how to travel in style - this way of living has not made in to Bolivia to say the least! Anyway we made it to Buenos Aires comfortably and in one piece. We have spent the past 4 days here enjoying ourselves. During which we have explored the city, discovered shopping centres and visited the zoo! Not to forget the many Argentian steaks we have devoured -there damm good! This afternoon we fly down to Rio Gallegos in Patigonia. We will keep you updated with our news from here which will hopefully include fishing for 6 feet trout! Hope you are all well. xx
28/03/04 - BUENOS AIRES/RIO GALLEGOS - This afternoon we took a taxi to the airport to catch our flight to the far south. An easy task you may think, however apparently not in the friendly city of Buenos Aires! After hailing our taxi we chatted away with our friendly driver. Half way there we noticed the metre was looking exceptionally high for the distance we had travelled. When we questioned him he simply assured us on Sunday all taxis cost double! A plausable reason we thought to ourselves and he carried on talking to us about his family! Upon arriving at the terminal we stupidly handed over a small fortune, shook hands and thanked him. Only after he sped away did we realise that we had just been stupid fools for paying that sum. We enquired at the information desk and our thoughts were confirmed. As you can expect we were feeling pretty stupid and annoyed, especially at the fact he had shook our hands. Anyway we headed for check in with our heads hung low. To make matters worse we then discovered that our friendly taxi driver had not only ripped us off but had taken a shine to Carly�s footwear, and had untied them from the rucksack!!! Can you believe it, the ba***rd! To add insult to injury we landed 3hrs later into Rio Gallegos into a sevre change in climate. Infact apparently we had arrived in Caithness!! Rain, wind and extreme cold and to top it off wearing flip flops!!!
29/03/04 - RIO GALLEGOS- Bought new boots and got a bus out of Caithness!! Normal foot temperature resumed.
30/03/04 - EL CALAFATE - Today we headed out on a fishing trip to end all fishing trips. We booked into a day trip to a ranch for a lovely day on the river followed by a sheep shearing demonstration and then onto the best bit, the eating of both the fish and the sheep!! The fishing was excellent both myself and Carly catching a few good Rainbow Trout.
31/03/04 - MORENO GLACIER - Today we headed to the Moreno Glacier. This is the famous Glacier that breaks every 16 or so years causing both spectacular scenes and noises. Unlukily for us this break happened 2 weeks ago but we still got to see minor ice breaks with debris falling. This debris appeared small to us due to the huge scale of the glacier but infact the pieces falling off were still about the size of a house or bigger. We took a boat ride close to the glacier which was incredible and gave you a perception of how high it actually was. The glacier itself is 70m high, 7km wide and about 250km long. Amazing to think its always on the move. Definately worth the trip south.
03/04/04 - Today we fly north to Bariloche. From here we are hoping to cross the border into Chile and head north towards Santiago. Only 10 days to go SA. Will keep you updated. Hope all is well with everybody. xx
06/05/04 - HIY AIY - Hi everyone, sorry for the lack of updates but i hope you are all fine and not missing us too much!! Well since our last update we crossed the border into Chile and travelled up throught the pouring rain to Santiago. We then hired a car and explored the Northern coast of Chile, soaking up the sun on their lovely beaches.
We flew into Auckland on the 15th of April and spent a few days exploring the city. It is a very nice city, particularly around the harbour. We then hired ourselves a campervan and headed North to explore the Bay of Island area. This turned out to be great fun and gave us the flexibility of pulling over at any beaches we discovered to spend the night. And we were spoilt for choice to say the least! We manageds to fit in plently of sightseeing including a trip out into the Bay of Island in a catamaran. We were lucky enough to see some groups of dolphins who were very keen to come and swim around the boat, thus giving us excellent views of them playing and leaping out of the water.
On the way back to Auckland we travelled down the West coast which was equally as beautiful and has a completely different range of scenery including some amazing forest areas.
We then boarded a flight and headed for the skys once more on route to Christchurch in the South Island. At the airport we were met by two familiar faces - Kenny and Anna's. We would like to say it was nice to see them so we will! After staying at their humble abode for a week or so and trying our best to drink Kennys accumulation of bottles of home brew we headed for the city(big town really) and moved into a flat. Thanks go to Kenny, Anna and the family for making our stay a very pleasant one. Our flat consisits of 7 bedrooms housing 10 people in total. There are 3 english folks, 1 scot, 2 french, 1 thai ,1 chilean and us. We are having a house warming on saturday so you are all cordially invited!!
22.06.2004 - Hey folks, firstly i hope your all weel and i apologise for our non existent updates lately! So what have we been upto....... Well after we moved into Christchurch, unfortunately we had to get ourselves jobs! aaaghh! Erik is labouring on a building site and as a perk of the job has to get up before 6am daily - ouch! I'm working for Telecom and dealing with ratty customers whom like to shout abuse at me daily - its great!! :) Well its not that bad, plus we both have the weekends off which is just grand!
Well if truth be told we haven't been upto too much since moving into Christchurch. Our weekends have mostly been taken up with induldging in far too much alcohol and lazing around. However we did manage a long weekend trip upto Nelson which is a 5 hrs drive north of here. We went up with Kenny and Anna to take part in the fun and games of an Irish music festival. There was various sessions in the pubs and Kenny and his mates even indulged us to a few private chooones on the balcony of our hostel.
On an even more exciting note, while in Nelson me and Erik did a sky dive :) We got picked up and driven to the airfield. Not long after we arrived we were taken into the hanger and kitted up in the jumping suit, super sexy hat and goggles. We were given our instructions for jumping oot and then lead to our plane. On our flight there was 3 of us jumping, 2 camera men and 2 tadem jumpers whom were attached to us. The plane itself was tiny and sitting crouched up was strange in itself. There definately no room for any tea ladies! As we were flying up we had increadible views of the Abel Tasmin mountain range which helped slightly to distract us from our nerves. However as soon as our instructors opened the door of the plane its hard to describe the feeling! I had to watch Erik jumped first which increased my nerves - my brain was thinking a)my boyfriend has just jumped out of a plane, and b)i've got to go next!!! however it all happened very quickly so i didnt get long to dwell on the thought. Before i knew it i was hanging on the edge of the plane with my legs dangling waiting for my instructor to jump and push us both out as we were attched to each other. As soon as he jumped we free fell which lasted for 50 seconds. This was the strangest moment as you are falling at an increadible speed, your cheeks are flapping about your ears and your brain is trying to compute the situation. But what an increadible adrenaline rush at first i was screaming due to the initial jump and then i was screaming because i was so excited!!! After the free fall our parachutes opened and we slowly floated back down to land, this part was really relaxing and gave you a really good opportunity to take in the views. Anyhoo i've rambled on about that for long enough, however we did get the whole thing recorded on DVD so can view it for yourselves!
We have evenually managed to get some of our South America photos on the internet so for those of you that fancy a peek go to the below link
21st September 2004 - LONG TIME NO UPDATE!!!! Hiy aiy all - we hope all is well with everyone and our apologies yet again for our lack of updates on the website. However we have yet again hit the road and will try to keep you all updated from now on.
Weel on Friday 3rd September we both finished work in Christchurch. This was both very exciting and a bit sad. We also moved out of our flat 'The Mexican Cantina' the next day. Afterwards we spend a week lounging about with our two very hospitable hosts The Ritch's! So a big thank you for putting up with us :)
On Sat 11th September we picked up a campervan which is to be our home on wheels for the next three weeks. His name is Herbert and he's a mean machine! We left Christchurch last week and headed south through Omaru to the country's far south city of Dunedin. We then headed west over rolling green valleys to Te Anua on the way to Milford Sound. The trip to Milford Sound was increadible and the journey to get there was an experience in itself. The scenery there is just amazing with massive mountains covered in snow, flowing valleys and also very rough terraine. Once we reached the Sound we were very lucky to have beautiful blue skies. We took a boat trip down the Fjords which was very impressive.
After the trip we headed up towards Queenstown which seems to be the tourist capital of NZ. There is an endless amount of outdoor activities from jetboating, white water rafting to jumping of anything you can imagine from bridges to planes. However we just watched this time after our excitement up in Nelson! After our visit to Queenstown we headed North through Arrowtown in search of the Lord of the Rings locations. Unfortunately when the film was made it was in the agreement that the countryside would be left as the film producers found it, therefore any sets that were made had to be dismanteled immediately after filming. We did get to see where some of the river shots where filmed however apart from that there was not a great deal to see.
We then drove up to Wanaka and visited the humerous Puzzling World. Then headed up the rainy West Coast to the Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers. They were both very impressive but not a patch on the Moreno Glacier that we saw in South America. We then followed the coast further North until turning off at Westport. This took us into the Nelson Lakes National Park. Here we did a spot of gold panning, walked over a swing bridge and ot eaten to death by sandflies!! ouch! The following day we met up with Kenny and Anna in Nelson. We then decided to drive up to the Abel Tasman National Park in search of beautiful places to park our van and pitch the tent. We spent a few days relaxing there before having to say our fond farewells to them both.
We then headed up to the Marlborough Sounds which are just stunning. We had really nice weather and have started to turn our blue skin white!! It is very tropical up there and the blue waters were teaming with beautiful yachts to make us very envious. Today we had to say goodbye to the South Island and took the ferry from Picton across to Wellington the capital of NZ. We are looking forward to exploring around the North before flying to sunny Sydney on October 1st! We must now go sample the North Island beer. Bet its not a patch on the South Island efforts! :)
Anyhoo bye for noo and keep watching for our promised news..... Also we have added our latest photos to the link below so take a look! And yes it is as bonnie as it looks!!!!!
14/10/2004 - Gday folks!! Weel weel we are now in the land of kangaroos and various deadly creatures. Since our last update we travelled around the North Island of NZ and had a great time - or as New Zealanders would say it was sweeeeet as!! We travelled to Wellington, Napier, Lake Taupo, Rotaroa, Tauranga, Waipa and then back to Auckland. Our campervan Herbert served his duties with distinction to the bitter end. We miss our Herbert!!!!
On October 1st we flew to Sydney and spent 2 days in Kingscross which was certainly an eye opener on a Saturday night. Fontanio de Despario is still bubbling away with bitterness for all those at Puddledub! We then moved out to the Eastern suburbs to Coogee to stay with our very hospitible Orcadian hosts Claire MacInnes and Alan Sim. We had a great time in Sydney and managed to fit in plenty of sightseeing, eating and drinking. To name a few we went to the Opera House, The Bridge, Sky Tower, Bondi Beach, Casino and managed to fit in 4 bbqs!! The weather was amazing the whole time we were there and reached 39 degrees the day we left! A new Sydney record for October!
Yesterday we flew into Melbourne and are staying in the heart of the city. We are yet again being spoilt as Hayley has kindly let us stay in her flat for a few days. We are heading along the Great Ocean Road on Saturday and are looking forward to preaching to the 12 apostles. We are then heading up to Ararat to visit a friend of Eriks. Anyhoo hope your all well. Byeeee xxx
11th November - We had a great time staying in Melbourne and thanks again to Hayley and her kind hospitality. We hired a car and drove along the Great Ocean Rd which was beautiful. There is just miles and miles of gorgeous coast line. We were lucky to see some kangaroos and koalas up close and we stopped off at the 12 apostles and had a very close incounter with a great slimy brown snake! uugh! We then headed inland to Ararat to visit Matt an old friend of Eriks. We then got very kindly invited to Doncaster to visit far flung relatives and we got to try some barbequed kangaroo!! It was nice to meet David, Vicki and their family, and yet again our thanks for the kind hospitality.
We then flew to Ayres Rock and had 3 days in the heat of the dessert or is that desert? We watched the sunset and rise over the rock and did the trek around it. Ularu is an amazing sight and the shear size of it is amazing. We also visited The Olgas and took a short walk into the canyon, however it was the top of the day and scortching hot - not to mention the millions of flies that seemed to be very attracted to us.
We then flew to Perth and yet again hired another car. We also managed to bump into some fellow Orcadians in the city, it was there first day of their holiday and the four of us found it a bit freaky. Unfortunately we didnt have time to go for a drink with Jemma and Erland but we'll catch up back home!! We headed North upto Monkey Mia stopping off along the way. Afterall it is 1100 kms! We saw the Pinacles desert which was where Billy Connelly ran around naked on his tour of Australia - not quite the Ring of Brodgar but i'm sure it had the same effect! Erik was going to do the same but he didnt want to put the pinnacles and Billy to shame!!
28.11.2004 - Well we are no longer in Oz but will give you a quick summary of our time there.... After Monkey Mia which was amazing, lots of wildlife and beautiful beaches. To name a few we saw stingrays, turtles, dugons and lots of dolphins, it truly is an amazing place. We then drove back south passing through Freemantle and then further down to Dunsbourgh for a few days. Here we had a flutter on the Melbounre Cup and our horse came first - if only we knew we could have placed some more dollars! The highlight of our trip to Dunsborough was taking a whale watching trip in search of Humpback whales that are migrating south. However on this trip we got an added bonus of coming across 2 Blue whales. They are really rare in this area - well the world for that matter. They were just amazing and absolutely gigantic. We were all very excited along with the captain as it was also his first sighting! After leaving the blue whales we sailed further out to sea and found a group of extremaly playful humpbacks. They were much more inquisitive than the blue whales and put on quite a show for us, including breaching out of the water several times. It was amazing to see them and it almost felt as if they were the ones watching us rather than the othere way around.
We then flew to Darwin and spent a few days melting in the humid heat. Luckily enough there was a pool at our hostel so we spent several hours a day in there. Darwin is a nice city despite the climate and we enjoyed wandering around looking at the local crafts in particular the aboriginal paintings - of which we bought two!!
SINGAPORE - Sadly our time in sunny Oz ended and we flew onwards to a hot and wet Singapore. Singapore is a nice country and an easy starter for our time in Asia. Everyone speaks English and they are very hospitable and friendly towards Westeners. We spent a day walking around the city centre, there are so many shops there - they even had Top Shop and Marks and Spencers!! We also took a day trip to the island of Sentosa, which was too hot for our liking and was also jam packed with tourists and locals.
MALAYSIA - We took the bus from Singapore an across the border in to Malaysia. Our first stop in the country was Melacca. This town was the major trading post for Malaysia and has been owned by several different countries. Therefore it is the most historic city in Malaysia. We then took the bus to Kuala Lupar and spent a couple of days in side a hostel, unfortunately we cant report anything about the city as we couldnt leave the visinity of our hostel toilet!! Yes the Asian food finally caught up with us and it was not a pretty few days!! Luckily with the help of some strong antibotics eventually we were cured enough to get a bus out of the place!!
We took a bus to the Cameron Highlands which is lovely. It was so nice to get some fresh air after being in the smog of KL. We spent a few days exploring the area. During which we visted a butterfly park, tea plantation, strawberry farm, honey farm, rose gardens and went on a bit of jungle exploration by ourselves!! This turned out to be quite eventful not to mention the monsoon rainstorm we got caught in!!
We are now on the island of Penang. And are very happy to be alive after the bus journey from hell down from the Cameron Highlands. Its hard to put into words just how horendous it actually was, our bus driver thought he was speedy gonzalas and proceeded to over take anything that moved. His favourite being blind corners. We eventually lost the plot and had to ask his to slow down after his attenpt to over take a school bus on a blind corner - not to mention the 3 other buses that were infront of it! Lunatic! Thankfully we are safe and sound now and enjoyed a different mode of transport today. We hired a motor bike and drove around the island which was great fun. Not bad value either when the hire for 24hrs is 3 pounds and to fill it up with petrol is 2 pounds!! happy days.
10.12.2004 - AO NANG THAILAND - Hiy aiy folks, well after our last update we got talking to an American sailor called Skip and his French girlfriend Thalie and to cut a long story stort they convinced us to join them on their Yacht to sail from Penang in Malaysia to Krabi in Thailand. We have just spent the last 9 days on the high seas and have been loving ever minute of it!! On board the yacht with us we had ther brilliant and humerous company of 2 Dutch guys, 2 Belguim girls and a German couple also. On board we all helped crew the yacht and Erik was more than happy to take the helm at any given point. We had access to snorleling and diving equiptment, sport fishing rods, a kayak and duty few alcohol!!! So as you can imagine we had a hell of a time.
We stopped of at some stunning places and islands. All of which we pretty much had all to ourselves as it was obviously off the tourist trail. On our last night we even got to anchor in the lagoon that the film the Beach was filmed and yet again had the place to ourselves after the boats of tourists left for the evening. Also the food that Skip and Thalie deserves a massive mention as it was just DELICOUS!!! We had a massive lunch and dinner each day on the boat, ranging from freshly caught King Fish to Thanks Giving turkey! We also ate some of the largest King Prawns you can imagine and is a story in itself. One day we were anchored in a bay beside 3 large fishing boats and we were amazed to watch about 20 crew off the boat jumping into the water like lemmings. They were really struggling to swim but each had 2 coconuts as floats!! Then later on in the evening before sunset they all started swimming back to the boats and about 10 mins into their swim the boats turned on their engines and sailed away further out to sea leaving the poor Thai's stranded. We took pity for them and were quite worried about some of them so Erik and Ruben jumped into the dingy and picked some of them up. When they reached the boat the guys invited them back to get soem fresh fish in exchange for their kindness. They came back to pick up some more drowning Thai's and also picked up me Ruben No2 and Guorgen to come along too. So we headed back out to the fishing boats and went aboard. This was qiote an experience being surrounded by about 40 Thai fishermen that hadnt seen female flesh i guess in quite a while!! However they were all freindly and were happy to pose for photos. Then they proceeded to open the hatches of the boat and pull out a bag of squid and a huge bag of king prawns - as you can imagine we couldnt believe our eyes. Anyway we said our thanks and headed back to our yacht to show the others. In the evening we went ashore to a restuarant on teh beach and they cooked us up a royal feast. We also got entertained by Gourgen and Anna our fellow sailors as they performed fire throwing for us.
We also had a great time snorkeling on the trip and got to see an icreadible amount of coral and tropical fish. The visability was about 10 metres which would give you hopefully enough time to get out of the water if you could see Jaws below!! But thankfully we didnt!!
Anyway we are now back on dry land and have so many more stories but will save them for when we get home. But check out the some of our new photos on the link below (will add the others soon). We are heading across to the East coast of thailand in a few days to the island of Ko Samui, so will keep you updated from our adventures there.
12/01/2005 - CHIANG MAI - Weel weel hello everyone! I hope you are all well and had a great Christmas and New Year. Well as we have just noticed its about a month since we have updated the website with our news. We wont pretend to have an excuse an instead admit that we have had much better things to be doing! So to give you a wee summary.......
After leaving the West coast of Thailand we headed over to the East coast to explore the islands there. Firstly we headed to Ko Samui and were there for about 5 days. We hired a motorbike are toured about for a couple of days which is a great way to explore the place. Afterwards we jumped on the boat and sailed across to the neighbouring island of Ko Pha ngan. Here we ended up staying for 17 days!!! Its certainly a place you could even stay longer. We stayed there with our friends from the yacht and had 4 bungalows in a row on Mae Had beach. We spent an enjoyable Christmas and New Year there, although it was slightly subdued due to the tradgedy on the West coast. It has been quite strange for us watching the news and reading the newspapers and seeing the devestation to many places that we have visited. It is very sad and we feel for all of those involved. Thanks to all who sent wishes, e-mails and phone calls to home to ask of our whereabouts
However on a lighter note we had a great time on the islands and got very used to the beach life style. We had a beautiful beach right on our doorstep and wonderful snorkeling close to the shore. We were also very lucky to have the company of the crazy Dutch and Germans and they kept us entertained in the evenings. Anne and Gurgen even taught Erik the art of playing with fire, and he has no injuries to date.
After leaving the islands after the New Year we headed upto Bangkok where we met up with our friend Pinky whom we lived with in New Zealand. It was great to see her again and she very kindly gave us a tour around the city.
We then flew upto Chiang Rai inorder to cross into Burma as our Visas for Thailand had expired. We were only there for about 5 mins so there is nothing exciting to report from there. We then headed down to Chiang Mai and met up with friends from Orkney, Allison and Jenna Tait. The four of us then went on a 3 day trip which was great fun. The first day we went on a cookery course where we learned some fine Thai dishes, beforehand we even went to the local market to choose the produce for the dishes. Thankfully pigs head wasnt on our shopping list! After the cooking course we headed off on a trek apparently to the highest peak in Thailand. Luckily however we dont think it was as we managed to reach the top. At the top of the hill we were greated by a panoramic view of the surrounding hills and valleys which we felt we had earnt. We stayed in a village with the locals for the night and were treated to some singing and dancing by the local children and a wonderful feast served by our guide for the trek. The sleeping arrangement were less than ordinary with our group being placed in a bamboo hut with a few blankets to keep the mossies and the chill of the air out. It was not a good nights sleep!! The natural chorus of dogs, pigs and chickens did not help things but we enjoyed the experience never the less.
The following day we woke up to brilliant sunshine and hot coffee! We left camp and headed down the mountain stopping off at the waterfalls for a refreshing shower. We then continued down and had an elephant ride (as you do) followed by some white water rafting and some authentic bamboo rafting. The good times did not stop here however as when we arrived back in Chiang Mai we were treated to a Thai massage at the one of local massage schools. This could only be described as bliss!!!
We are now heading down to Ko Chang for a couple of days relaxing in the sun with Ally and Jenna before flying out to Hong Kong on the 20th of Jan. We are looking forward to seeing the Taiters of the far east!!
