Thursday, 26 November 2009
Caloundra
So after not being sure what we were going to do or where we were going to go, we spent the night in Brisbane to try and work out our best plan of attack. The hostel was $85 a night so we needed to move on quickly. The following day we headed up to Caloundra where there was a room for rent at $150 a week. After looking at the room and meeting the couple that we would be staying with we decided that at that price we couldn't really afford not to take the room. So the following day we headed back with our backpacks ready to move in for 1 month.
When we arrived back we met the other couple that also shared the house and the 2 kids that were with the first couple. The kids were 3 and 1, and immediately took us. So everything was looking good. The bedroom was small with 2 single beds, but after some rearranging we thought that we could sleep ok in there.
As we thought the kids were fun to be around, and Arlene was in her element signing and dancing ( more than the kids were )but the parents were another story altogether. The kids were put to bed when the parents had had enough of them, some nights at 6:30, others at 10:30. They would then stay up all night playing World of Warcraft till 3 or 4 in the morning and sleep till 12 in the day. The kids were up at 6:30 every morning, but were locked in their room using rope to tie the bedroom door shut. So we would get up, give the kids their breakfast and entertain them till their parents got up. So we were a bit annoyed to say the least at the lack of care that they gave their kids.
To move on from here we decided that we wanted to get a campervan for Xmas and New Year in Sydney, as the Hostels were anything up to £300 each for New Years Eve. Looking at the cost of the campervans we decided that we should do what a lot of backpackers do when in Oz and buy an old car which they kit out with camping gear and use this as if it was a campervan. So after a little looking around we Bought a car for £600( which we will hopefully get back by selling it on in Sydney)... a 1991 Mitsubishi Magna Encore, and were soon fitting it out with an air mattress camping stove etc. and off on our way spending a week to travel up to Woodgate Beach for our house sit.
The first 2 nights we spent at Dickey Beach which is just up the coast from Caloundra. We had seen some pictures that were taken on the beach of the shipwreck at sunrise and wanted to try and take something similar. It took 2 days as we slept in for the sunrise after finding out that the surf club next to where we parked had some nice wine the night before. Next we headed up to Noosa Heads which is the most expensive place to stay in Oz. The houses here are stunning with many of them having their boats tied up at their back door, and using the canals to navigate their way out to sea. After that we were on to Rainbow Beach which we used to stay as close to Tin can Bay as possible, but still be outside the bay as you are not allowed too camp there overnight. The following morning we returned to Tin Can Bay at 8 am to feed the wild dolphins that we had missed before. By 9:30 there was still no sign of the Dolphins and we were told that they had not shown only twice in the past year, so we were thinking that it was just our luck to be there on time and for the dolphins not to show. But the cafe where they turn up received a radio from one of the boats saying that they had been spotted and would be in soon. Sure enough 10 mins later 2 dolphins appeared and we were able to hand feed them but not touch them ( in case we passed on an infection ). It was still worth the wait, and a unique experience to be feeding a wild dolphin.
So we have now arrived in Woodgate Beach where we house sit for a week before going away for two, then return and stay up to the 23rd of December. Then it's a quick drive to Sydney to spend Xmas and New Year.
When we arrived back we met the other couple that also shared the house and the 2 kids that were with the first couple. The kids were 3 and 1, and immediately took us. So everything was looking good. The bedroom was small with 2 single beds, but after some rearranging we thought that we could sleep ok in there.
As we thought the kids were fun to be around, and Arlene was in her element signing and dancing ( more than the kids were )but the parents were another story altogether. The kids were put to bed when the parents had had enough of them, some nights at 6:30, others at 10:30. They would then stay up all night playing World of Warcraft till 3 or 4 in the morning and sleep till 12 in the day. The kids were up at 6:30 every morning, but were locked in their room using rope to tie the bedroom door shut. So we would get up, give the kids their breakfast and entertain them till their parents got up. So we were a bit annoyed to say the least at the lack of care that they gave their kids.
To move on from here we decided that we wanted to get a campervan for Xmas and New Year in Sydney, as the Hostels were anything up to £300 each for New Years Eve. Looking at the cost of the campervans we decided that we should do what a lot of backpackers do when in Oz and buy an old car which they kit out with camping gear and use this as if it was a campervan. So after a little looking around we Bought a car for £600( which we will hopefully get back by selling it on in Sydney)... a 1991 Mitsubishi Magna Encore, and were soon fitting it out with an air mattress camping stove etc. and off on our way spending a week to travel up to Woodgate Beach for our house sit.
The first 2 nights we spent at Dickey Beach which is just up the coast from Caloundra. We had seen some pictures that were taken on the beach of the shipwreck at sunrise and wanted to try and take something similar. It took 2 days as we slept in for the sunrise after finding out that the surf club next to where we parked had some nice wine the night before. Next we headed up to Noosa Heads which is the most expensive place to stay in Oz. The houses here are stunning with many of them having their boats tied up at their back door, and using the canals to navigate their way out to sea. After that we were on to Rainbow Beach which we used to stay as close to Tin can Bay as possible, but still be outside the bay as you are not allowed too camp there overnight. The following morning we returned to Tin Can Bay at 8 am to feed the wild dolphins that we had missed before. By 9:30 there was still no sign of the Dolphins and we were told that they had not shown only twice in the past year, so we were thinking that it was just our luck to be there on time and for the dolphins not to show. But the cafe where they turn up received a radio from one of the boats saying that they had been spotted and would be in soon. Sure enough 10 mins later 2 dolphins appeared and we were able to hand feed them but not touch them ( in case we passed on an infection ). It was still worth the wait, and a unique experience to be feeding a wild dolphin.
So we have now arrived in Woodgate Beach where we house sit for a week before going away for two, then return and stay up to the 23rd of December. Then it's a quick drive to Sydney to spend Xmas and New Year.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Thursday, 15 October 2009
september n october fun
hey all, i will try not make it too long since we aint updated for sooo long, AGAIN.... sorry:)
anyhoo... thats another house sit completed with no major mishaps, yey! The house was in Woody Point and it sat on the esplanade so only 2 seconds to the beach and i must say our tans have improved.
There was a couple of festivals on when we were here so were in to Brisbane city a few times... first time for the River fire which was a massive fire work display and fighter jets doing a dump n burn (where the jets drop fuel and sets it on fire leaving a trail of fire through the sky).. that was cool. We also bought 4 ducks(plastic ones) to enter in the Brisbane duck race down the river. The prize was a brand new car so we were excited and went down to cheer our ducks on... only to discover there were a total of 17,000 ducks entered... so our hopes of winning a new car died down,... and no we didnt win:(
Bobs(the guy whos house it is) mate Eddie took us for a day out down the Gold coast one day, so we visited the famous Surfers Paradise for some much needed sunbathing,haha!
I also had my birthday whilst there so this was good as mum sent out my cards that were given for me so thanks to everyone for making my birthday feel like a special day, and i would like to thank my girls for ordering me a big box of cupcakes to be delivered..... they were yummy yummy yummy!!!
Garry organised for us to go diving with sharks...ohhh, i was sooooo excited. Its something ive always wanted to do and it was just amazing.... and we both made it out in 1 piece:) So all in all it was a great day.
Next we were travelling upto Cairns to meet Garrys mum and dad for a week as they were over on a 3week holiday. We were really excited about this but were definately not excited about the 32hr train journey....and it was a nightmare....the air con was left on ALL night and was freezing, our carriage was full of kids running about (and i like kids but these ones were older kids jumping all over and crawling under our seats...who knows where the parents were!!) and one baby cried and cried and cried the FULL night, was sick all over the floor right at my seat and did i mention how Freezin cold it was. Apart from all that it was a pleasant journey,haha!
So we were very happy to depart the train and see garrys mum and dad waiting to meet us, after big hugs we headed to where we were staying in Port Douglas and it was stunning. It was a 2 bedroom town house with a pool and surrounded in rainforest and with a very short walk through the trees we were onto the gorgeous white sands of the beach... bliss!
The next day we went out to the Great Barrier Reef. We took a boat out to a massive floating pontoon where there was under water viewing and a mini submarine that drove you through the water for a better view. We saw lots of gorgeous coral, many fish, a turtle, manta ray and a jellyfish so Garry and i couldnt wait to get our snorkelling gear on and get out there.
So after squeezing ourselves into our stinger suits(lycra suits to protect us from jellyfish stings) we were looking gorgeous,ha!! and were ready to explore.It was really good and saw lots of different fish and coral but unfortunately we didnt see a turtle:( It was a really good day and we got some good pictures.
A couple of days later we were doing our 14,000ft Sky Dive and boy was i sh**tin myself(excuse my language). It didnt seen to be bothering Garry much, he was just looking forward to it saying the fear probably wouldnt kick in till we were up in the plane... but me.. i was so so so scared.
So after checking in and filling out the "i know i can die doing this" forms we were harnessed up and introduced to the instructors that we would be flying with, Garrys was Coops and mines was Chopper.
After a small bus journey we were boarding a small plane and started the climb to 14,000ft... i thought i was beginning to feel a wee tiny bit better until i asked Chopper if he was scared and his reply was Yes!!!! ehhhhh,....ok, now im scared again, i mean, hes did this a million times, he aint meant to be scared...right??
So we reach the height and Garrys out 1st...heres his thoughts...
I wasn't that worried until it was time to leave the plane and Coops told me to swing my legs outside. That was ok but then he bumped me forward and i was hanging outside the plane with only the clouds in view...The next thing we were tumbling and i remember looking up and seeing the plane, and then the adrenalin kicked in. From there on it was AMAZING dropping so quick until the parachute opened and there was only silence. It was over far too fast, and that was us jumping from the highest height. A must do at 1 point in your life...
So Garry is already half way down and im getting shuffled over to the door, ohhhhh nooo!!
I was holding onto the bar but Chopper just pulled my arms off and away we went.......... the second we fell from the plane all my fears just went and it was the most amazing thing ever, falling through the sky at 120mph, the wind blowing up on you and the view was just spectacular.
Once the parachute went up it was so calm and we were just floating around. I got to hold onto the straps and have a shot of gliding us through the sky. After seeing Garry safely landing on the ground it was my turn... and Chopper reminds me to hold my legs right up so i have a soft landing and slide along the ground on our bums.... sounds easy?? haha... i obviously didnt hold my legs high enough because i ended up on my knees gettin dragged along front ways.... could only happen to me. hahaha!!
Check my video on YOU TUBE.....just search arlenemac123 and you should find it.
will get garrys on soon hopefully:)
After one very quick week(too quick) in Port Douglas it was time for garrys mum and dad to fly to Singapore and we had booked to take a campervan down to Brisbane, so at present we are on route and will be dropping the campervan off tomorrow. We have no further plans on what we are going to do from here so who knows what were gonna be getting upto.....
until next time............. love to all:) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
anyhoo... thats another house sit completed with no major mishaps, yey! The house was in Woody Point and it sat on the esplanade so only 2 seconds to the beach and i must say our tans have improved.
There was a couple of festivals on when we were here so were in to Brisbane city a few times... first time for the River fire which was a massive fire work display and fighter jets doing a dump n burn (where the jets drop fuel and sets it on fire leaving a trail of fire through the sky).. that was cool. We also bought 4 ducks(plastic ones) to enter in the Brisbane duck race down the river. The prize was a brand new car so we were excited and went down to cheer our ducks on... only to discover there were a total of 17,000 ducks entered... so our hopes of winning a new car died down,... and no we didnt win:(
Bobs(the guy whos house it is) mate Eddie took us for a day out down the Gold coast one day, so we visited the famous Surfers Paradise for some much needed sunbathing,haha!
I also had my birthday whilst there so this was good as mum sent out my cards that were given for me so thanks to everyone for making my birthday feel like a special day, and i would like to thank my girls for ordering me a big box of cupcakes to be delivered..... they were yummy yummy yummy!!!
Garry organised for us to go diving with sharks...ohhh, i was sooooo excited. Its something ive always wanted to do and it was just amazing.... and we both made it out in 1 piece:) So all in all it was a great day.
Next we were travelling upto Cairns to meet Garrys mum and dad for a week as they were over on a 3week holiday. We were really excited about this but were definately not excited about the 32hr train journey....and it was a nightmare....the air con was left on ALL night and was freezing, our carriage was full of kids running about (and i like kids but these ones were older kids jumping all over and crawling under our seats...who knows where the parents were!!) and one baby cried and cried and cried the FULL night, was sick all over the floor right at my seat and did i mention how Freezin cold it was. Apart from all that it was a pleasant journey,haha!
So we were very happy to depart the train and see garrys mum and dad waiting to meet us, after big hugs we headed to where we were staying in Port Douglas and it was stunning. It was a 2 bedroom town house with a pool and surrounded in rainforest and with a very short walk through the trees we were onto the gorgeous white sands of the beach... bliss!
The next day we went out to the Great Barrier Reef. We took a boat out to a massive floating pontoon where there was under water viewing and a mini submarine that drove you through the water for a better view. We saw lots of gorgeous coral, many fish, a turtle, manta ray and a jellyfish so Garry and i couldnt wait to get our snorkelling gear on and get out there.
So after squeezing ourselves into our stinger suits(lycra suits to protect us from jellyfish stings) we were looking gorgeous,ha!! and were ready to explore.It was really good and saw lots of different fish and coral but unfortunately we didnt see a turtle:( It was a really good day and we got some good pictures.
A couple of days later we were doing our 14,000ft Sky Dive and boy was i sh**tin myself(excuse my language). It didnt seen to be bothering Garry much, he was just looking forward to it saying the fear probably wouldnt kick in till we were up in the plane... but me.. i was so so so scared.
So after checking in and filling out the "i know i can die doing this" forms we were harnessed up and introduced to the instructors that we would be flying with, Garrys was Coops and mines was Chopper.
After a small bus journey we were boarding a small plane and started the climb to 14,000ft... i thought i was beginning to feel a wee tiny bit better until i asked Chopper if he was scared and his reply was Yes!!!! ehhhhh,....ok, now im scared again, i mean, hes did this a million times, he aint meant to be scared...right??
So we reach the height and Garrys out 1st...heres his thoughts...
I wasn't that worried until it was time to leave the plane and Coops told me to swing my legs outside. That was ok but then he bumped me forward and i was hanging outside the plane with only the clouds in view...The next thing we were tumbling and i remember looking up and seeing the plane, and then the adrenalin kicked in. From there on it was AMAZING dropping so quick until the parachute opened and there was only silence. It was over far too fast, and that was us jumping from the highest height. A must do at 1 point in your life...
So Garry is already half way down and im getting shuffled over to the door, ohhhhh nooo!!
I was holding onto the bar but Chopper just pulled my arms off and away we went.......... the second we fell from the plane all my fears just went and it was the most amazing thing ever, falling through the sky at 120mph, the wind blowing up on you and the view was just spectacular.
Once the parachute went up it was so calm and we were just floating around. I got to hold onto the straps and have a shot of gliding us through the sky. After seeing Garry safely landing on the ground it was my turn... and Chopper reminds me to hold my legs right up so i have a soft landing and slide along the ground on our bums.... sounds easy?? haha... i obviously didnt hold my legs high enough because i ended up on my knees gettin dragged along front ways.... could only happen to me. hahaha!!
Check my video on YOU TUBE.....just search arlenemac123 and you should find it.
will get garrys on soon hopefully:)
After one very quick week(too quick) in Port Douglas it was time for garrys mum and dad to fly to Singapore and we had booked to take a campervan down to Brisbane, so at present we are on route and will be dropping the campervan off tomorrow. We have no further plans on what we are going to do from here so who knows what were gonna be getting upto.....
until next time............. love to all:) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Monday, 5 October 2009
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Saturday, 12 September 2009
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
Maroochydore
Well we never made it to 1770, but we did make it to Tin Can Bay getting up at 5 in the morning so that we would be there between 8 and 11 ( when the dolphins are advertised to be there ). Arriving at just the back of 9 we were happy to see a lot of people milling around the cafe where the dolphins come to be fed. However we were soon disappointed as we were told the dolphins had already been in and away again, and they would not return until tomorrow. So 6 hours later we arrived back to Woodgate and just made do with feeding Missy and Barkly instead. With still no news from the hospital we decided to move on heading back South towards Woody Point in Redcliffe as we have managed to get another house sit for a month.
On the way back south we stopped off at Hervey Bay where we enjoyed our time on the esplanade and beach. From Hervey Bay we took a 1 night 2 day trip to Frazer Island. Frazer Island is the largest sand island in the world, and one of the only places in the world where you can see dingo's in the wild. On the first day we went up the beach which is classed as a road on the island with speed limits, and the police force to enforce them, which is funny for a bit of sand. On the way back to our digs we passed at Eli Creek which is a fresh water stream that runs from the middle of the island out in to the sea, so we stopped off and went for a quick paddle in the unbelievably clear water.
The next day we went to 2 different lakes within the island both of which were totally different. The first was, Wabbi and the second was Lake MacKenzie. Lake Wabbi was at the end of a sandblow ( massive sand dune ) and was stunning to reach after walking along the sand for about an hour. After swimming in the freezing water, and sunbathing for a couple of hours we headed off top Lake MacKenzie. At Lake Mackenzie the water was as clear as Eli Creek, and the sand was as white as anything that we have seen. It was simply stunning and hopefully the photo's will do the place justice.
Since then we have moved on to Maroochydore which is a town further down the coast, and are staying in what was described as a workers cabin. This was all that we could find to stay in as the hostels were fully booked, and hotels were frighteningly expensive. So after getting a bus and taxi to where we were staying we were a little worried, but it has turned out to be a holiday chalet in a holiday resort on the river. So we extended our stay for another week :-)
On the way back south we stopped off at Hervey Bay where we enjoyed our time on the esplanade and beach. From Hervey Bay we took a 1 night 2 day trip to Frazer Island. Frazer Island is the largest sand island in the world, and one of the only places in the world where you can see dingo's in the wild. On the first day we went up the beach which is classed as a road on the island with speed limits, and the police force to enforce them, which is funny for a bit of sand. On the way back to our digs we passed at Eli Creek which is a fresh water stream that runs from the middle of the island out in to the sea, so we stopped off and went for a quick paddle in the unbelievably clear water.
The next day we went to 2 different lakes within the island both of which were totally different. The first was, Wabbi and the second was Lake MacKenzie. Lake Wabbi was at the end of a sandblow ( massive sand dune ) and was stunning to reach after walking along the sand for about an hour. After swimming in the freezing water, and sunbathing for a couple of hours we headed off top Lake MacKenzie. At Lake Mackenzie the water was as clear as Eli Creek, and the sand was as white as anything that we have seen. It was simply stunning and hopefully the photo's will do the place justice.
Since then we have moved on to Maroochydore which is a town further down the coast, and are staying in what was described as a workers cabin. This was all that we could find to stay in as the hostels were fully booked, and hotels were frighteningly expensive. So after getting a bus and taxi to where we were staying we were a little worried, but it has turned out to be a holiday chalet in a holiday resort on the river. So we extended our stay for another week :-)
Sunday, 30 August 2009
Friday, 14 August 2009
Brisbane
We first moved up to Brisbane where we stayed for a week. When there we went to Dreamworld which is a scaled down version of Florida's theme parks. We decided ( rather stupidly in hindsight ) to go on the wet rides first so that we would dry out in the sun, but we didn't quite realise just how wet we would get. So the majority of the day was spent with a wet butt, but we still enjoyed ourselves on the rollercoasters and amusements. Part of the park was a section where you got to hand feed kangaroos, and hold a koala bear which was brilliant. Just to see them so close, feed them, and pat them was something that we both had hoped to do when we were here, so thats another thing ticked off the to do list. The following day we went to splash world ( a water park ) where we spent the day thoroughly soaked but at least we were prepared this time and as it was winter(24degrees,lol) both parks were empty, so there weren't any queue's at any of the rides, so it was simply amazing.
From Brisbane we moved north to Hervey Bay where we stayed for 3 days, just to get a feel for the place as we return here later on, to go to Fraser island. After here we moved up to Woodgate beach, where we started the first of our house sits. Woodgate is only a small holiday village, having only 900 permanent residents, going up to 2500 in the summer. As its winter here at the moment, there isn't that much to see or do, but has the best beach that we have ever seen. Every time that we have been on it there has been only 4 other people max along the entire beach. It's only been between 24 and 27 degrees, so it's been a struggle to sunbathe and relax.ha! The next best thing has been the 2 dogs that we have had to look after. One is a shitzu, and the other a maltese shitzu cross, and both love going out to the beach. Both also have taken a real shine to us, and apart from jumping on you when you are trying to get a long lie they are no trouble at all.
Rodney and Dee ( who's house we are staying at ) only left for 1 day as the hospital mucked up his appointments so we are sharing their home with them while the hospital tries to sort out their mistake. So it's been good to get to know them but as a result we are not too sure how long the house sit will go on for, we may be moving on as quickly as this weekend, or we may be here till the start of October.
As we dont have much to do in looking after the house at the moment we decided to use the time to explore the surrounding area. The two closest towns are Bundaburg and Childers, where we went to “Snakes Down Under” There we saw and got to hold native reptiles, snakes, and crocodiles. The crocs were stunning up to 4.5m long, and frighteningly quick as they jumped out of the water at feeding time.(this was not the crocs we held,lol) Next we are going to tin can bay to hand feed wild dolphins, and and to 1770 which is meant to be beautiful.
From Brisbane we moved north to Hervey Bay where we stayed for 3 days, just to get a feel for the place as we return here later on, to go to Fraser island. After here we moved up to Woodgate beach, where we started the first of our house sits. Woodgate is only a small holiday village, having only 900 permanent residents, going up to 2500 in the summer. As its winter here at the moment, there isn't that much to see or do, but has the best beach that we have ever seen. Every time that we have been on it there has been only 4 other people max along the entire beach. It's only been between 24 and 27 degrees, so it's been a struggle to sunbathe and relax.ha! The next best thing has been the 2 dogs that we have had to look after. One is a shitzu, and the other a maltese shitzu cross, and both love going out to the beach. Both also have taken a real shine to us, and apart from jumping on you when you are trying to get a long lie they are no trouble at all.
Rodney and Dee ( who's house we are staying at ) only left for 1 day as the hospital mucked up his appointments so we are sharing their home with them while the hospital tries to sort out their mistake. So it's been good to get to know them but as a result we are not too sure how long the house sit will go on for, we may be moving on as quickly as this weekend, or we may be here till the start of October.
As we dont have much to do in looking after the house at the moment we decided to use the time to explore the surrounding area. The two closest towns are Bundaburg and Childers, where we went to “Snakes Down Under” There we saw and got to hold native reptiles, snakes, and crocodiles. The crocs were stunning up to 4.5m long, and frighteningly quick as they jumped out of the water at feeding time.(this was not the crocs we held,lol) Next we are going to tin can bay to hand feed wild dolphins, and and to 1770 which is meant to be beautiful.
Friday, 31 July 2009
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Melbourne
Arriving in to Melbourne, we were glad to make our way through the arrival lounge early, but we were only faced with one problem... we had no idea what the person that was picking us up looked like. SO after searching the crowd of about 200 people, hopeful that someone would recognise us ( no one did ) we decided to approach the guy that according to Arlene “looked like he was looking for someone” ( As if the others weren't ) and out of everyone it was the right guy – womans intuition or 6th sence??? So after a quick introduction to George ( Lawrie – originally from Bonnybridge ) we were off to meet the rest of his family & make ourselves comfy in his house. Julie and Stevie were just as welcoming, and for the next 3 weeks their home was our home.
After settling in for the first few days, Cruse & Debbie arried and as a result we spent the next 2 days drinking with them, whilest managing to squeeze in a coulple of touristy things. We went up the Eureka Tower which is one of the highest buildings in Melbourne, and there is a room in it called the edge which is all frosted glass. The room moves out so that you are overhanging the building, accompanied with suitable sound effects, and the occasional shudder, then the glass clears, and you are left standing over the city.
The next few days we didn't do that much, just planned out our trip, and then used the mazda 121 ( or the bubble as it'd known )that we had from George and Julie to drive round the grand prix track. Not that we timed ourselves, but we recon that we weren't that far off the pace the formula 1 cars set...lol
After that we visited where the Melbourne Gold Cup is run( Flemington Race Track ), but unfortunately there wasn't any horses running, to lose our money on.
Next we travelled to Great Ocean Road to see the 12 apostles which are limestone columns that stand just off the mainland. Despite the short distance on the map it took over 4 hours to get there, but the views were stunning.
That apart, we have been trying to come up with a plan as to the way we are going to travel around Australia. George suggested that we look into House sitting, which is when you stay rent free in someone else's house looking after their pets whilest the are away. So after signing up for it we are now going to be staying in Woodgate Beach for the next 5 weeks, and have also got a house with a pool in Sydney between Christmas & New Year...for free. YEAH!!
After settling in for the first few days, Cruse & Debbie arried and as a result we spent the next 2 days drinking with them, whilest managing to squeeze in a coulple of touristy things. We went up the Eureka Tower which is one of the highest buildings in Melbourne, and there is a room in it called the edge which is all frosted glass. The room moves out so that you are overhanging the building, accompanied with suitable sound effects, and the occasional shudder, then the glass clears, and you are left standing over the city.
The next few days we didn't do that much, just planned out our trip, and then used the mazda 121 ( or the bubble as it'd known )that we had from George and Julie to drive round the grand prix track. Not that we timed ourselves, but we recon that we weren't that far off the pace the formula 1 cars set...lol
After that we visited where the Melbourne Gold Cup is run( Flemington Race Track ), but unfortunately there wasn't any horses running, to lose our money on.
Next we travelled to Great Ocean Road to see the 12 apostles which are limestone columns that stand just off the mainland. Despite the short distance on the map it took over 4 hours to get there, but the views were stunning.
That apart, we have been trying to come up with a plan as to the way we are going to travel around Australia. George suggested that we look into House sitting, which is when you stay rent free in someone else's house looking after their pets whilest the are away. So after signing up for it we are now going to be staying in Woodgate Beach for the next 5 weeks, and have also got a house with a pool in Sydney between Christmas & New Year...for free. YEAH!!
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Monday, 29 June 2009
Fiji
BULA!!!
This is the one word that you hear everywhere in Fiji. If you pass someone in the street, they say it, and when anyone starts a conversation they say it. It simply means hello and good wishes to you, and that is the feeling that the people of Fiji leave you with. We have never met a race of people that are SO SO happy. :o)
We arrived in Nadi which is the second largest city on the islands, but quickly found out that its not that big, probably about the size of Bonnybridge. After a couple of days soaking up the local culture ( ok sunshine and beer ) we decided that we needed to be out on to the islands that you imagine, when you think of Fiji, and so we booked an 11 night / 12 day island hop up through the chain of islands called the Yasawas.
The first stop was to the party island resort of Beachcomber for 2 nights. When we arrived we were glad that we decided against the dorms, and opted for the double room on each of the islands. the only dorm on the island slept 100 people in the same room, while we had our own "Bure" ( small house ). The island itself wasn't as much of a party, as we had thought, but we still managed to work our way through some cocktails and local beers in the evenings. Just to relax after the hard days topping up our tans. The 2 days flew past and before we knew it we were on our way to the second island resort.
Waya Lailai was where we next set foot on land, and basic is probably the best way to describe the island...No hot water, buffet meals, a small bure with the toilet and shower behind a shower curtain. However we were not put off as we had a few activities on the island ( a summit walk, kayaking, and snorkeling), but the weather soon put a stop to any ideas that we had about doing these. For the two days it pretty much rained, along with strong winds, so we worked our way through the books which we had during the day, and sat in the bar at night...just one of the blows that life can deal you...lol.
Next stop was Korovou, which turned out to be the favorite island that we went to. The bure where we stayed was simply stunning, with a separate sitting room, en suite bathroom and HOT water. The communal area had a swimming pool to relax by and at night the entertainment consisted drinking whilst the locals put on a Fire show. The second day we hired a Kayak and set off for one of the many secluded beaches next to the resort, and soon we had our own beach to sunbathe on before having to return late in the afternoon.
At Coral View we had a trip to the Sawailau caves, which are sacred to the Fijians as this is where their ancestors believed the gods lived. To move between the caves we had to dive down for a meter and then swim through for four, in to the total darkness. So it was a little scary for everyone but worth the effort once you were through.
On Manta Ray resort, the main attraction at this time of year is to swim with the Manta rays which pass the island. You get dropped at the north of the channel between the two islands and swim with the current down to the south, as the rays are swimming against the tide. The first time we went in to the water there was a ray about five meters away, and as they are between three and five meters in size it was an awe inspiring sight. The next few times we were not so lucky as the moved past us without getting a great view of them. Then the last time the skipper of the boat had a good sighting of them and was able to drop us in a prime position, where the ray swam past within touching distance. It is difficult to describe just how magical the whole experience was...
The last island that we went to was Bounty, this is the island where they filmed Celebrity Love island, although the only part that really remains is the swimming pool. The next day we went on our final trip on a schooner which was built in Scotland called Sea spray. The boat took us out to the island where they shot the Tom Hanks film Castaway, and after snorkeling in the clear waters, looking for wilson ( to no avail ), and watching coconuts being burst open with a bare hand, we were back on board and heading for a trip to a local village to meet the chief. The chief welcomed us with a traditional ceremony of drinking Kava ( a root ground up and mixed with water ) The Kava didn't taste the best, but numbed the whole of your mouth for a little while so after the first one you probably wouldn't taste the others.
After returning to Nadi, we have decided that, to make the most of the week that we have left in Fiji, we should head back to the Islands...and have booked 4 nights on to the Robinson Crusoe resort, so we'll let you know how we get on once we are back...
Thanks for the comments, it's good to know that this drivel is being read...lol
This is the one word that you hear everywhere in Fiji. If you pass someone in the street, they say it, and when anyone starts a conversation they say it. It simply means hello and good wishes to you, and that is the feeling that the people of Fiji leave you with. We have never met a race of people that are SO SO happy. :o)
We arrived in Nadi which is the second largest city on the islands, but quickly found out that its not that big, probably about the size of Bonnybridge. After a couple of days soaking up the local culture ( ok sunshine and beer ) we decided that we needed to be out on to the islands that you imagine, when you think of Fiji, and so we booked an 11 night / 12 day island hop up through the chain of islands called the Yasawas.
The first stop was to the party island resort of Beachcomber for 2 nights. When we arrived we were glad that we decided against the dorms, and opted for the double room on each of the islands. the only dorm on the island slept 100 people in the same room, while we had our own "Bure" ( small house ). The island itself wasn't as much of a party, as we had thought, but we still managed to work our way through some cocktails and local beers in the evenings. Just to relax after the hard days topping up our tans. The 2 days flew past and before we knew it we were on our way to the second island resort.
Waya Lailai was where we next set foot on land, and basic is probably the best way to describe the island...No hot water, buffet meals, a small bure with the toilet and shower behind a shower curtain. However we were not put off as we had a few activities on the island ( a summit walk, kayaking, and snorkeling), but the weather soon put a stop to any ideas that we had about doing these. For the two days it pretty much rained, along with strong winds, so we worked our way through the books which we had during the day, and sat in the bar at night...just one of the blows that life can deal you...lol.
Next stop was Korovou, which turned out to be the favorite island that we went to. The bure where we stayed was simply stunning, with a separate sitting room, en suite bathroom and HOT water. The communal area had a swimming pool to relax by and at night the entertainment consisted drinking whilst the locals put on a Fire show. The second day we hired a Kayak and set off for one of the many secluded beaches next to the resort, and soon we had our own beach to sunbathe on before having to return late in the afternoon.
At Coral View we had a trip to the Sawailau caves, which are sacred to the Fijians as this is where their ancestors believed the gods lived. To move between the caves we had to dive down for a meter and then swim through for four, in to the total darkness. So it was a little scary for everyone but worth the effort once you were through.
On Manta Ray resort, the main attraction at this time of year is to swim with the Manta rays which pass the island. You get dropped at the north of the channel between the two islands and swim with the current down to the south, as the rays are swimming against the tide. The first time we went in to the water there was a ray about five meters away, and as they are between three and five meters in size it was an awe inspiring sight. The next few times we were not so lucky as the moved past us without getting a great view of them. Then the last time the skipper of the boat had a good sighting of them and was able to drop us in a prime position, where the ray swam past within touching distance. It is difficult to describe just how magical the whole experience was...
The last island that we went to was Bounty, this is the island where they filmed Celebrity Love island, although the only part that really remains is the swimming pool. The next day we went on our final trip on a schooner which was built in Scotland called Sea spray. The boat took us out to the island where they shot the Tom Hanks film Castaway, and after snorkeling in the clear waters, looking for wilson ( to no avail ), and watching coconuts being burst open with a bare hand, we were back on board and heading for a trip to a local village to meet the chief. The chief welcomed us with a traditional ceremony of drinking Kava ( a root ground up and mixed with water ) The Kava didn't taste the best, but numbed the whole of your mouth for a little while so after the first one you probably wouldn't taste the others.
After returning to Nadi, we have decided that, to make the most of the week that we have left in Fiji, we should head back to the Islands...and have booked 4 nights on to the Robinson Crusoe resort, so we'll let you know how we get on once we are back...
Thanks for the comments, it's good to know that this drivel is being read...lol
Sunday, 14 June 2009
THE REST OF NEW ZEALAND
Hey there, OK... so we admit it, we have been a wee bit lazy with the blog recently so we r going to do a quick update to catch yous up to where we are now, because were sooo far behind.
So after the amazing encounter with the dolphins we headed to Dunedin, which is Gaelic for New Edinburgh so it has a lot of Scottish heritage... but we thought we would give the only castle in new Zealand a miss n head straight to c the Albatross'... the Royal Albatross has the longest wingspan off all birds measuring up to 3.6m... that's long! there was 3 chicks, but unfortunately we could only view them from the observation room, but even from where we were they looked like massive fur balls, and at only a few months old they can be the size of a microwave...that's big!
after that it was down to the beach to see yellow eyed penguins,.. sounds exciting, i mean who ain't seen a penguin.... but it was sooo amazing seeing the in the wild and we had to hide it trenches so as not to disturb them. After them been out at sea catching fish all day they would then get washed up on to the beach n toddle there way through the sand past us and back to there "home" It was so cute.
Then it was the whales we were off to see next..
4o mins in a boat than a lot of waiting around till they could signal one then there it was... really it just looked like a log floating about but minute it went to dive back under and brought its tail up was just spectacular... and luckily we didn't get eaten:) (not to worry if we did though, because Ive seen Pinocchio loads of times:))
Up further to Christchurch we went to what they call an open zoo, exciting.... so we fed the giraffes, got a close encounter with the Rhinos, fed the farm animals then... it was into the cage we went... through the lion encounter whilst the keeper fed them. they were all over the cage, climbing up the side, on the roof. it was amazing.. and once again we didn't get eaten:)
Getting away from what felt like a wildlife safari we decided to do black water rafting, its sort of like white water rafting except ur in a dark cane with only a headlight and everyone is on separate floating rings.... and its not as rough!! It was fun, traveling through the caves looking at glow worms then jumping over 2 waterfalls... it was than followed with a hot shower and some soup, yum!
With 1 week left we travelled up to the north island and went to explore the northland.. it was a really beautiful area and we visited the point in where the pacific ocean merges with the Tasman sea.... although we expected it to look much better it was still pretty cool to see.
On our second last day it was pouring down and we were not going to bother going to see the Kuri Kuri Tree, which is 2000yrs old and called the "King of the Forest" because its that big..... but how glad were we that we changed our mind... this thing was HUGE, like so so so so massive u wouldn't actually believe.
Its 51m high and had a girth of 13m. Seeing this was definitely the highlight of new Zealand. Its so much bigger than it looks in the pictures(they r not up yet, but will b hopefully soon)
And now we are in Figi, we arrived last night so this is our 1st day in the sun, we r going to book an 11night/ 12day island hop which will take us to all the beautiful paradise islands and we will be doing activities.... when we r not we will probably be lying on a hammock, soaking up the sun and drinking cocktails.... not trying to make anyone jealous..honest.. but we have 3 whole wks of this:D xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
So after the amazing encounter with the dolphins we headed to Dunedin, which is Gaelic for New Edinburgh so it has a lot of Scottish heritage... but we thought we would give the only castle in new Zealand a miss n head straight to c the Albatross'... the Royal Albatross has the longest wingspan off all birds measuring up to 3.6m... that's long! there was 3 chicks, but unfortunately we could only view them from the observation room, but even from where we were they looked like massive fur balls, and at only a few months old they can be the size of a microwave...that's big!
after that it was down to the beach to see yellow eyed penguins,.. sounds exciting, i mean who ain't seen a penguin.... but it was sooo amazing seeing the in the wild and we had to hide it trenches so as not to disturb them. After them been out at sea catching fish all day they would then get washed up on to the beach n toddle there way through the sand past us and back to there "home" It was so cute.
Then it was the whales we were off to see next..
4o mins in a boat than a lot of waiting around till they could signal one then there it was... really it just looked like a log floating about but minute it went to dive back under and brought its tail up was just spectacular... and luckily we didn't get eaten:) (not to worry if we did though, because Ive seen Pinocchio loads of times:))
Up further to Christchurch we went to what they call an open zoo, exciting.... so we fed the giraffes, got a close encounter with the Rhinos, fed the farm animals then... it was into the cage we went... through the lion encounter whilst the keeper fed them. they were all over the cage, climbing up the side, on the roof. it was amazing.. and once again we didn't get eaten:)
Getting away from what felt like a wildlife safari we decided to do black water rafting, its sort of like white water rafting except ur in a dark cane with only a headlight and everyone is on separate floating rings.... and its not as rough!! It was fun, traveling through the caves looking at glow worms then jumping over 2 waterfalls... it was than followed with a hot shower and some soup, yum!
With 1 week left we travelled up to the north island and went to explore the northland.. it was a really beautiful area and we visited the point in where the pacific ocean merges with the Tasman sea.... although we expected it to look much better it was still pretty cool to see.
On our second last day it was pouring down and we were not going to bother going to see the Kuri Kuri Tree, which is 2000yrs old and called the "King of the Forest" because its that big..... but how glad were we that we changed our mind... this thing was HUGE, like so so so so massive u wouldn't actually believe.
Its 51m high and had a girth of 13m. Seeing this was definitely the highlight of new Zealand. Its so much bigger than it looks in the pictures(they r not up yet, but will b hopefully soon)
And now we are in Figi, we arrived last night so this is our 1st day in the sun, we r going to book an 11night/ 12day island hop which will take us to all the beautiful paradise islands and we will be doing activities.... when we r not we will probably be lying on a hammock, soaking up the sun and drinking cocktails.... not trying to make anyone jealous..honest.. but we have 3 whole wks of this:D xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
south island cont.....
Wanaka was one of the places we were both looking forward to from when we started planning where to go in New Zealand, and our 1st stop was Puzzling World... which as the name suggests was full of illusions and puzzles. So after watching pool balls and water moving uphill and turning ourselves into giants and midgets in the same room we headed out to chalange the Great Maze... with over 1.5km of passages. Having been truely beaten at the last maze i was hopeing for a better performance but arlene is too fabulous and won AGAIN!!!:) In the afternoon we went to Have A Shot, where we played the worlds only Cro Pool, which is basically a big pool table on the ground but instead of pool cues u use croquet hammers n balls. After a 3 nil defeat from arlene i decided to try and salvage some pride on the rifle range, which i did....just.
That night we took a trip down to the local cinema, which unlike any other cinema it has sofas and lazyboys instead of ur usual bum numbing seats, or if u fancy u can take a seat in there 4 seater car. They have an interval half way through the film where u can purchase pizza, chips, ice cream n drinks(hot, cold, or alcoholic) and take them back in with u for the second half.... which did feel a bit funny scoffing down pizza and beer whilst watching a film called Hunger.
Next we were off to Milford sound, voted the no.1 thing to do in New Zealand, after boarding a boat to take us into the fjord we felt a little disappointed as the views were quite similar to the ferry crossing..... that was until we saw the dolphins. A pod of dolphins swam right up to the boat then spent 15 minutes swimming at the bow, jumping and diving, and generally playing before our eyes. It was such a awe inspiring sight to see them in the wild. Sweet as... Kiwi for Amazing.
That night we took a trip down to the local cinema, which unlike any other cinema it has sofas and lazyboys instead of ur usual bum numbing seats, or if u fancy u can take a seat in there 4 seater car. They have an interval half way through the film where u can purchase pizza, chips, ice cream n drinks(hot, cold, or alcoholic) and take them back in with u for the second half.... which did feel a bit funny scoffing down pizza and beer whilst watching a film called Hunger.
Next we were off to Milford sound, voted the no.1 thing to do in New Zealand, after boarding a boat to take us into the fjord we felt a little disappointed as the views were quite similar to the ferry crossing..... that was until we saw the dolphins. A pod of dolphins swam right up to the boat then spent 15 minutes swimming at the bow, jumping and diving, and generally playing before our eyes. It was such a awe inspiring sight to see them in the wild. Sweet as... Kiwi for Amazing.
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
ice 2 of us
We are having a LOT of problems with the slideshow at the moment so we will try and post the best pics like this till we get it sorted....but if you click on fitzpatrick.garry below the picture it should take you to flickr where if you click on " photostream " below the bold fitzpatrick.garry you can see the rest of the pics
Friday, 22 May 2009
The South Island - West Coast
The south Island
After crossing the straight between the two islands we decided to stay in the port town of Picton for the night. Picton itself is a pretty small place, with not much to do so we headed out looking for somewhere to get dinner, and came across “the flyng haggis” so in we went for a pint of tennents...tasting nothing like the real stuff back home lol. The barmaid was originally from Falkirk and knew Rosie's and Noddy's uncle Tony (Porko).
The next day we headed up the coast to the Marlborough sounds ( an area of valleys flooded by the volcanic activity and rising sea levels ) The views here are stunning, as you's will probably see from the 55 million pictures that we seem to be taking. Part of the surrounding scenery is the Abel Tasman national park, where we decided to test our horse riding abilities, on the white sands of the beach. I'm not sure how it ended up like this but arlenes horse was called prince ( for a princess aparenty ) and mine was called kermit the frog ...??? As first our time on a horse we did well, both managing to get them up to a trot, and hanging on for dear lives till the horse had had enough. It was a brilliant afternoon and much better than either of us had expected it to be. :0)
From here we tried to book sea kayaks to move further up the coast ( there are no roads so it was either walkig or kayaks) but the weather turned against us and rain set in for the next 4 days which meant that we had to abandon this and move on to Westport. In Westport we were able to get out to the coast and see a seal colony in it's natural habitat, which was what we were hoping to do in the sea kayaks, so we felt better after seeing them. The weather was still shocking at this time, with snow and hails battering most of the country. The hail was big enough to kill 4 cows that were out in the fields, and the snow was everywhere except the west coast of the south island which was thankfully where we were.
Also in Westport was “shanty town” which is a working museum of what life was like in New Zealand in the 1860's, during the gold rush period. So after panning for gold, and getting to keep what we had found, ( but we are not millionaires just yet ) riding a steam train, dressing up in period costumes to get photo's took, and visiting the many shops including flood hairdressing, and griffin's beehive store we set off on the long drive to Franz Joseph.
The main attraction in Franz Joseph is the glacier which is moving down through the mountains at 2m per day. We decided to go for a half day hike up the glacier, just so we could wear our alpaca hats, and were astounded by how beautiful the ice and the glacier was. The day flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to be heading to the pub for a few well deserved drinks. A few quickly turned in to many, and before long we were entering ourselves in to an assault course / drinking game the length of the bar. So with Arlene on my back, i had to run around the course, stopping for her to feed me drink, then at the end she had to run to the bar and drink shots. A respectable 2nd place was where we ended up, being only beaten by 0.2 of a second by a team of locals...cheats.
The next day ended up being a sore one, red wine, followed by shots and lager are not the best mix, so driving was kept to a minimum, as we headed to Fox glacier ( where they make the mints... only kidding ). After spending the day feeling sorry for ourselves, we had an early night so we would be fresh for going to lake Matheson. This is the most photographed lake in New Zealand, as the still waters and backdrop of Mount Cook are awe inspiring, so after taking loads more photos we were on our way again to Wanaka.
After crossing the straight between the two islands we decided to stay in the port town of Picton for the night. Picton itself is a pretty small place, with not much to do so we headed out looking for somewhere to get dinner, and came across “the flyng haggis” so in we went for a pint of tennents...tasting nothing like the real stuff back home lol. The barmaid was originally from Falkirk and knew Rosie's and Noddy's uncle Tony (Porko).
The next day we headed up the coast to the Marlborough sounds ( an area of valleys flooded by the volcanic activity and rising sea levels ) The views here are stunning, as you's will probably see from the 55 million pictures that we seem to be taking. Part of the surrounding scenery is the Abel Tasman national park, where we decided to test our horse riding abilities, on the white sands of the beach. I'm not sure how it ended up like this but arlenes horse was called prince ( for a princess aparenty ) and mine was called kermit the frog ...??? As first our time on a horse we did well, both managing to get them up to a trot, and hanging on for dear lives till the horse had had enough. It was a brilliant afternoon and much better than either of us had expected it to be. :0)
From here we tried to book sea kayaks to move further up the coast ( there are no roads so it was either walkig or kayaks) but the weather turned against us and rain set in for the next 4 days which meant that we had to abandon this and move on to Westport. In Westport we were able to get out to the coast and see a seal colony in it's natural habitat, which was what we were hoping to do in the sea kayaks, so we felt better after seeing them. The weather was still shocking at this time, with snow and hails battering most of the country. The hail was big enough to kill 4 cows that were out in the fields, and the snow was everywhere except the west coast of the south island which was thankfully where we were.
Also in Westport was “shanty town” which is a working museum of what life was like in New Zealand in the 1860's, during the gold rush period. So after panning for gold, and getting to keep what we had found, ( but we are not millionaires just yet ) riding a steam train, dressing up in period costumes to get photo's took, and visiting the many shops including flood hairdressing, and griffin's beehive store we set off on the long drive to Franz Joseph.
The main attraction in Franz Joseph is the glacier which is moving down through the mountains at 2m per day. We decided to go for a half day hike up the glacier, just so we could wear our alpaca hats, and were astounded by how beautiful the ice and the glacier was. The day flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to be heading to the pub for a few well deserved drinks. A few quickly turned in to many, and before long we were entering ourselves in to an assault course / drinking game the length of the bar. So with Arlene on my back, i had to run around the course, stopping for her to feed me drink, then at the end she had to run to the bar and drink shots. A respectable 2nd place was where we ended up, being only beaten by 0.2 of a second by a team of locals...cheats.
The next day ended up being a sore one, red wine, followed by shots and lager are not the best mix, so driving was kept to a minimum, as we headed to Fox glacier ( where they make the mints... only kidding ). After spending the day feeling sorry for ourselves, we had an early night so we would be fresh for going to lake Matheson. This is the most photographed lake in New Zealand, as the still waters and backdrop of Mount Cook are awe inspiring, so after taking loads more photos we were on our way again to Wanaka.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
The North Island
Since the last update we have been traveling on down through the north island, and have now crossed on to the south island. The first place we stopped was Taupo, which like Routoura, has a lot of thermal activity, so off we went to another outside spa to ease our aching limbs. There were 3 different outdoor pools each at different temps, and the whole palce was set in a lush forest which meant that the birds were chirping in the background as we lay nd relaxed...bliss.
The following day we moved on fully refreshed to Napier on the east coast. Napier was destroyed in the 1930's due to an earthquake, and as a result when it was rebuilt the whole place has an art deco look. One of the only buildings to survive the earthquake was Napier Prison, which is now used as somewhere for backpackers to stay, or you can get a guided tour and find out about the previous inmates. The tour was interesting, and injected with humour... the showers having signs warning you not to drop the soap, the hanging garden ( clothes lines ) being where the gallows once stood, and the guide was able to fill you in on how the inmates went about their daily lives.
Pamerston north was the next port of call, on the way to Wellington, and we decided that we should try to remember what life was like back home, so we headed to the cinema ( and watched defiance - which was AMAZING...). The next day we arrived in to Wellington, after a stop off on route at the biggest car museum in the southern hemisphere. The cars were stunning, from a ferrari monza, to an ariel atom, to a gangsters car with bulletproof windows, opening windscreen ( for shooting out off ) and bombproof flooring.
In wellington we wandered around the shops and stumbled upon a shop selling british food, so Arlene was in her element and $45 later we had just about everything that she had been missing from home - Walkers salt and vinegar crisps, yorkie, highland toffee, chocolate digestives, tins of Heinz tomato soup.
After checking what seemed like all of the pubs in Wellington, we eventually found out where we could watch the old firm game,( the Wellington Irish club ) and on Sat night we set out both full of hope but there was only one happy face at the end of the game, and it wasn't mine.
The next day after recovering, we went and caught the ferry over to the south island....
The following day we moved on fully refreshed to Napier on the east coast. Napier was destroyed in the 1930's due to an earthquake, and as a result when it was rebuilt the whole place has an art deco look. One of the only buildings to survive the earthquake was Napier Prison, which is now used as somewhere for backpackers to stay, or you can get a guided tour and find out about the previous inmates. The tour was interesting, and injected with humour... the showers having signs warning you not to drop the soap, the hanging garden ( clothes lines ) being where the gallows once stood, and the guide was able to fill you in on how the inmates went about their daily lives.
Pamerston north was the next port of call, on the way to Wellington, and we decided that we should try to remember what life was like back home, so we headed to the cinema ( and watched defiance - which was AMAZING...). The next day we arrived in to Wellington, after a stop off on route at the biggest car museum in the southern hemisphere. The cars were stunning, from a ferrari monza, to an ariel atom, to a gangsters car with bulletproof windows, opening windscreen ( for shooting out off ) and bombproof flooring.
In wellington we wandered around the shops and stumbled upon a shop selling british food, so Arlene was in her element and $45 later we had just about everything that she had been missing from home - Walkers salt and vinegar crisps, yorkie, highland toffee, chocolate digestives, tins of Heinz tomato soup.
After checking what seemed like all of the pubs in Wellington, we eventually found out where we could watch the old firm game,( the Wellington Irish club ) and on Sat night we set out both full of hope but there was only one happy face at the end of the game, and it wasn't mine.
The next day after recovering, we went and caught the ferry over to the south island....
Friday, 1 May 2009
Auckland
Sorry for the delay, its not as easy finding cheap internet here:).....
Well after our fab 2 months in South America it was time to leave for New Zealand which we were really looking forward to. After a 13hr flight which i might add after being spoiled in the luxury buses that we travelled around south America in with there lie down beds the plane felt so tiny and definitely didn't have enough leg room, even for ma wee legs,lol
so off the plane we.. well Garry wanted a new camera from duty free, one of these big fancy ones that take better pictures. so after some 45mins picking the one we wanted we go to the bag collection to find that everyone else was gone and our bags had been taken off the conveyor belt... well mines had been and garrys was nowhere to b seen. not a good start!!!!
So after filling out all the forms we headed off to the hostel sure that we were not going to see the backpack again, so Garry now only has 1 outfit, hee!!.... its funny now.
So to the shops we go picking up a few tshirts n stuff but with luck the backpack was returned the next day so yous can imagine how Happy we were:).... and Garry was a few new pieces of clothes better off.
We were staying in the hostel for the first week then for the other 7 weeks we have hired a camper van to tour the rest of the islands.
There is soooo much to see and do and 1st on the agenda was rollerblading(my choice of course) along Tamiki Drive and what an amazing time we had... firstly we get kitted out with our blades that we hired for the 2 hours. It was Garry's 1st time on blades so the woman suggested he does a practice run out in the car park.... and i was very proud of him...., he didn't fall once,lol, but not confident enough to be on them for the 2 hours without braking anything he decided to swap for a bike, hee!!
so off we went, me in blabes and Garry on his bike that had no gears and with his helmet on strolling along the beach front, the sun beating down on us feeling like we were in a film(well that's how i felt anyway,lol)
The rest of the week we just relaxed, went to the pub and had a day out on one of the other islands and planned what we were wanting to do whilst we travelled in our camper van.
Getting the camper van was exciting and after getting all the information on how to work and drive the thing we were off......
1st stop was Coromandel which is where the Hot Water Beach is. It is a beach(obviously) that has volcanic rock 60m below the sand which heats the water that lies below up to 60 degrees and what u do is hire a spade and go digging until the hot water comes through and u make your own personal pool, we had to dig in a few different areas to get the right temperature, some were too cold, others far far too hot but eventually we found the perfect spot and in we went.... it was really busy, everyone searching for the right spot to dig and the steam that came from the water was unbelievable.
We have now travelled down to Rotorua which is famous for its thermal activity and spas... so we had to try one out, a mud bath then a thermal bath would do us just nicely... and how relaxing it was. After that we took a walk through Hells Gate... volcanic rocks and bubbling mud pools, all very nice and interesting apart from the fact that the steam from the volcanic pools smells like sulphur.... and sulphur smells like rotten eggs, yuk!!!
In the camper van we have a fridge, wee freezer, cooker, sink, microwave and all cooking utensils so we have been stopping at nice spots along our traveling to have lunch and are saving money by eating in instead of having to eat out all the time.... and we have a "treat drawer" full of goodies, yummy:)......... tonight we are having fajitas, mmmmmmm!!!!!
Well after our fab 2 months in South America it was time to leave for New Zealand which we were really looking forward to. After a 13hr flight which i might add after being spoiled in the luxury buses that we travelled around south America in with there lie down beds the plane felt so tiny and definitely didn't have enough leg room, even for ma wee legs,lol
so off the plane we.. well Garry wanted a new camera from duty free, one of these big fancy ones that take better pictures. so after some 45mins picking the one we wanted we go to the bag collection to find that everyone else was gone and our bags had been taken off the conveyor belt... well mines had been and garrys was nowhere to b seen. not a good start!!!!
So after filling out all the forms we headed off to the hostel sure that we were not going to see the backpack again, so Garry now only has 1 outfit, hee!!.... its funny now.
So to the shops we go picking up a few tshirts n stuff but with luck the backpack was returned the next day so yous can imagine how Happy we were:).... and Garry was a few new pieces of clothes better off.
We were staying in the hostel for the first week then for the other 7 weeks we have hired a camper van to tour the rest of the islands.
There is soooo much to see and do and 1st on the agenda was rollerblading(my choice of course) along Tamiki Drive and what an amazing time we had... firstly we get kitted out with our blades that we hired for the 2 hours. It was Garry's 1st time on blades so the woman suggested he does a practice run out in the car park.... and i was very proud of him...., he didn't fall once,lol, but not confident enough to be on them for the 2 hours without braking anything he decided to swap for a bike, hee!!
so off we went, me in blabes and Garry on his bike that had no gears and with his helmet on strolling along the beach front, the sun beating down on us feeling like we were in a film(well that's how i felt anyway,lol)
The rest of the week we just relaxed, went to the pub and had a day out on one of the other islands and planned what we were wanting to do whilst we travelled in our camper van.
Getting the camper van was exciting and after getting all the information on how to work and drive the thing we were off......
1st stop was Coromandel which is where the Hot Water Beach is. It is a beach(obviously) that has volcanic rock 60m below the sand which heats the water that lies below up to 60 degrees and what u do is hire a spade and go digging until the hot water comes through and u make your own personal pool, we had to dig in a few different areas to get the right temperature, some were too cold, others far far too hot but eventually we found the perfect spot and in we went.... it was really busy, everyone searching for the right spot to dig and the steam that came from the water was unbelievable.
We have now travelled down to Rotorua which is famous for its thermal activity and spas... so we had to try one out, a mud bath then a thermal bath would do us just nicely... and how relaxing it was. After that we took a walk through Hells Gate... volcanic rocks and bubbling mud pools, all very nice and interesting apart from the fact that the steam from the volcanic pools smells like sulphur.... and sulphur smells like rotten eggs, yuk!!!
In the camper van we have a fridge, wee freezer, cooker, sink, microwave and all cooking utensils so we have been stopping at nice spots along our traveling to have lunch and are saving money by eating in instead of having to eat out all the time.... and we have a "treat drawer" full of goodies, yummy:)......... tonight we are having fajitas, mmmmmmm!!!!!
Friday, 17 April 2009
Cusco & Machu Picchu
Cusco
Cusco is the closest city to Machu Picchu ( the biggest draw for me to come to South America ) and was the capital of the Inca empire. After enduring the longest 12 hours on a bus so far, we arrived to find that as usual, the digs which we had booked were at the top of a hill, and only accessible by stairs ( Arlene hates stairs apparently...who knew ) but the digs were worth the effort.
Cusco was stunning, and somewhere that i could have seen me staying, the area where we stayed ( San Blas ) and the center of the town are colonial Spanish in the way that the buildings and streets look ( small cobbled streets, white buildings, terracotta roofs ) and the whole pace just oozed charm.
By luck we found an Irish bar and were amazed to see food from home, sausage, blackpudding, shepherds pie, chicken and veg soup etc. So every day we seemed to arrive here when we were hungry. After catching up on some football, also in Paddy Flannigans ( champions league at midday with a cold beer, as the sun shines in through an open window on to your back is hard to beat...lol.) we booked our trip to Machu Picchu going for 2 days to allow us to get up and see the sun rising over the ruins on the second morning.
Machu Picchu
As part of the 2 day trip to Machu Picchu we first stopped in Ollantambo to look at the small ruins, before climbing ( in the people carrier ) up the highest mountain in Peru ( 5400 m ). Half way down the far side of the mountain the road on which we were traveling suddenly turned to a dirt track and stayed that way for the rest of the day. It was a little daunting to have a sheer drop at one side of us as we weaved along the dirt track, winding our way through different mountains, being bounced from one side to the other, but in the end we made it safe and sound to the train station to catch our train to the base of Machu Picchu. That night we stayed in Agua Celentes, the small town closest to the ruins, and had an early night to ensure that we would be ok for our early start the following morning. The tickets for the bus start to go on sale at 5 in the morning and by 5.45 we were on a bus heading up to the ruins.
At the ruins the first thing that we had to do was quickly get to the entrance to Huayna Picchu ( the mountain in the background of the ruins ) to book our time to climb up it. There are only 400 people a day allowed to climb it due to it being dangerous ( according to our guide ) and we were lucky enough to make it in to that 400. Yey!!!
We were then taken on a guided tour for 2 hours around the site visiting all of the significant temples, and sights, and was an amazing experience. After that we were free to go around the site and take more photos, before going to climb Huayna Picchu. The climb was incredible, and it was easy to see why the numbers had to be limited, as the "steps" were simply boulders in the hill side and without the ropes to help pull you up in places, there is no way that you would have been able to reach the top. Just to make things a little harder the rain decided to wait until we had started to climb before coming on, making the boulders slippy now. Almost at the top just to make things fun (in Arlene's opinion) there was a small wet dark cave which you had to climb through, and after banging my head, standing in a puddle, and ending up soaking we made it through. So after a lot of effort we reached the top where Arlene collapsed...lol but soon found her energy again once i started taking photos. The view from the top was just spectacular...
The way back down was closed for safety due to the rain, so we had to go back the way that we had came up, and back through the wee wet dark cave AGAIN..., but we safely made it back down in one piece. All in all we took 1 hour 50 mins (the record is 25 mins each way) to complete the climb so we thought that we did not too bad considering the number of photos we stopped to take at the top.
Cusco is the closest city to Machu Picchu ( the biggest draw for me to come to South America ) and was the capital of the Inca empire. After enduring the longest 12 hours on a bus so far, we arrived to find that as usual, the digs which we had booked were at the top of a hill, and only accessible by stairs ( Arlene hates stairs apparently...who knew ) but the digs were worth the effort.
Cusco was stunning, and somewhere that i could have seen me staying, the area where we stayed ( San Blas ) and the center of the town are colonial Spanish in the way that the buildings and streets look ( small cobbled streets, white buildings, terracotta roofs ) and the whole pace just oozed charm.
By luck we found an Irish bar and were amazed to see food from home, sausage, blackpudding, shepherds pie, chicken and veg soup etc. So every day we seemed to arrive here when we were hungry. After catching up on some football, also in Paddy Flannigans ( champions league at midday with a cold beer, as the sun shines in through an open window on to your back is hard to beat...lol.) we booked our trip to Machu Picchu going for 2 days to allow us to get up and see the sun rising over the ruins on the second morning.
Machu Picchu
As part of the 2 day trip to Machu Picchu we first stopped in Ollantambo to look at the small ruins, before climbing ( in the people carrier ) up the highest mountain in Peru ( 5400 m ). Half way down the far side of the mountain the road on which we were traveling suddenly turned to a dirt track and stayed that way for the rest of the day. It was a little daunting to have a sheer drop at one side of us as we weaved along the dirt track, winding our way through different mountains, being bounced from one side to the other, but in the end we made it safe and sound to the train station to catch our train to the base of Machu Picchu. That night we stayed in Agua Celentes, the small town closest to the ruins, and had an early night to ensure that we would be ok for our early start the following morning. The tickets for the bus start to go on sale at 5 in the morning and by 5.45 we were on a bus heading up to the ruins.
At the ruins the first thing that we had to do was quickly get to the entrance to Huayna Picchu ( the mountain in the background of the ruins ) to book our time to climb up it. There are only 400 people a day allowed to climb it due to it being dangerous ( according to our guide ) and we were lucky enough to make it in to that 400. Yey!!!
We were then taken on a guided tour for 2 hours around the site visiting all of the significant temples, and sights, and was an amazing experience. After that we were free to go around the site and take more photos, before going to climb Huayna Picchu. The climb was incredible, and it was easy to see why the numbers had to be limited, as the "steps" were simply boulders in the hill side and without the ropes to help pull you up in places, there is no way that you would have been able to reach the top. Just to make things a little harder the rain decided to wait until we had started to climb before coming on, making the boulders slippy now. Almost at the top just to make things fun (in Arlene's opinion) there was a small wet dark cave which you had to climb through, and after banging my head, standing in a puddle, and ending up soaking we made it through. So after a lot of effort we reached the top where Arlene collapsed...lol but soon found her energy again once i started taking photos. The view from the top was just spectacular...
The way back down was closed for safety due to the rain, so we had to go back the way that we had came up, and back through the wee wet dark cave AGAIN..., but we safely made it back down in one piece. All in all we took 1 hour 50 mins (the record is 25 mins each way) to complete the climb so we thought that we did not too bad considering the number of photos we stopped to take at the top.
Sunday, 12 April 2009
Lake Titicaca & Copacabana
After having spent the last while between the desert in Atacama and the Bolivian salt flats we dicided that we should probably try to find somewhere with a slightly more water, so we headed up to lake Titicaca. The lake is the highest navigatable lake in the world, and is looking to be considered as 1 of the new 7 wonders of the world ( as was Iguacu falls, but the falls defiately get our vote ) We headed to the southern side of the lake to a place called Copacabana ( not the beach ). The way that the bus went meant that we had to cross the lake in a ferry, but we had to do it seperate to the bus, as the ferry wasn't exactlly state of the art... when the bus was driven on it looked like the ferry would capsise.
The surrounding countryside at the lake was very similar to Scotland in appearance, and we could have thought we were back home apart from the sun shining on us, and it only being april.
In Copacabana itself there wasn't that much to see or do, apart from a stunning Chapel, and possibly the hardest stations of the cross in the world. The stations are spread out up the side of a hill and climbing at this altitude is no mean feat. We were actually congratulated by a local just for reaching th top of the hill... The main idea of going to Copacabana was to use the location to cross the lake to Puno ( Peru ) and onroute see the floating villages of reeds. After looking in to the floating villages some more, and talking to other travelers, all of whom said that they weren't worth going to see, as they were simply tourist traps tryin to sell overpriced trinkets and tat ( I thought that i'd better keep Arlene away...lol ) we decided that it wasn't going to be worth the money. So the following day we set off by bus around the lake and up into Peru and to Cusco ( ater buying quality Fur Alpaca hats....and no they are not tat....lol)
The surrounding countryside at the lake was very similar to Scotland in appearance, and we could have thought we were back home apart from the sun shining on us, and it only being april.
In Copacabana itself there wasn't that much to see or do, apart from a stunning Chapel, and possibly the hardest stations of the cross in the world. The stations are spread out up the side of a hill and climbing at this altitude is no mean feat. We were actually congratulated by a local just for reaching th top of the hill... The main idea of going to Copacabana was to use the location to cross the lake to Puno ( Peru ) and onroute see the floating villages of reeds. After looking in to the floating villages some more, and talking to other travelers, all of whom said that they weren't worth going to see, as they were simply tourist traps tryin to sell overpriced trinkets and tat ( I thought that i'd better keep Arlene away...lol ) we decided that it wasn't going to be worth the money. So the following day we set off by bus around the lake and up into Peru and to Cusco ( ater buying quality Fur Alpaca hats....and no they are not tat....lol)
Friday, 3 April 2009
Bolivia Salt Flats
Leaving San Pedro, we waited on our bus in the hostel at 7.45am we were full of excitement about the upcoming 3 day tour by jeep. By 8 we were a little worried as the guy who took the booking wasn't the full shilling lol... but a bus showed up to pick up it's passengers at the back of 8, so all seemed ok. However we were not on the list, as this bus was from another company. After talking nicely to the hostel owner she looked up the contact number on the internet for us and called...to get an answer machine :O(
Then eventually at 20 past our bus turned up having decided to get us last rather than first as we had been told, so on the bus we went our excitement a little less than before.
Anyways...after driving for 1 hour (passing an active volcano that last erupted in 2007 ) we reached the border between Chile and Bolivia to get our jeep. After a quick lunch we boarded our jeep and set off for the 3 coloured lagoons. Joining us in our jeep were Shimi, ( the funniest guy ever - spoke like Bruno from the ali g show )his girlfriend Eleshia, and Benoit, and we were soon getting along great.
The 3 lagoons were spectacular but all fairly similar apart from the colours ( green, red and white ). After this we went to a natural volcanic hot spring which we could bathe in.( but only for 10 mins cause of the high mineral content of the water, which is not good for your heart) The rest of the day was spent traveling to where we were to spend our first night. Talk about basic....
The toilets were mixed, and stinking, not to Arlene's amusement lol. To flush them you took a bucket filled it with water from a big tub then threw it in to the pan...yuck!!!. As we had arrived at the digs first the 5 of us got the "best dorm" which by 6pm felt like it was - 20 inside. With nothing else to do we broke out the cards and learnt a new game called Yani, which i was shit at and Arlene was the best ( guess who's dictating lol )
The next day we got up at 6 to move on and were glad to see the back of the freezing digs. Last nights problems were soon forgotten as we soon arrived at the area of the stone tree. This is an area of rocks which have been exposed by the wind and left standing proud of the surrounding area. The photo's here were amazing.
Next we moved on to an area of hot mud geysers which stunk of sulphur ( rotten eggs ) but were smart to see. After enduring 2 punctured tyres on our jeep and 1 on the other group that were traveling with us we arrived at our digs for the 2nd night. What a difference, the entire building was made out of salt from the flat, and they had clean toilets, and HOT showers...bliss. Dinner that night was llama, which taste like kebab meat but in pork chop style.
The 3rd day was out on the salt flat itself. The salt flat was once a lake, which dried out to only leave the salt. Over time the thickness of salt has been increased as rain carries salt from the surrounding area on to the flat, which then evaporates leaving more salt. At the moment it is over 20m deep. When on them, due to the lack of background you can play with the perspective and create funny pictures. So check out the pic's on flickr... In the middle of the flat is Fish island...so called cause from a certain angle it is said to resemble a fish. Which after a long climb to the top gave stunning views. After spending much time trying to be creative with our pics we moved on to see the salt mounds which is where the salt is being excavated and dried to sell and to make sculptures for tourists like Arlene to sit on...Another amazing thing about the salt flats is that they create mirage's in the distance and you think you can see pools of water reflecting the mountains, but really it's just an illusion being created from the salt...weird but cool.
This was such an amazing trip. xxxxx
Then eventually at 20 past our bus turned up having decided to get us last rather than first as we had been told, so on the bus we went our excitement a little less than before.
Anyways...after driving for 1 hour (passing an active volcano that last erupted in 2007 ) we reached the border between Chile and Bolivia to get our jeep. After a quick lunch we boarded our jeep and set off for the 3 coloured lagoons. Joining us in our jeep were Shimi, ( the funniest guy ever - spoke like Bruno from the ali g show )his girlfriend Eleshia, and Benoit, and we were soon getting along great.
The 3 lagoons were spectacular but all fairly similar apart from the colours ( green, red and white ). After this we went to a natural volcanic hot spring which we could bathe in.( but only for 10 mins cause of the high mineral content of the water, which is not good for your heart) The rest of the day was spent traveling to where we were to spend our first night. Talk about basic....
The toilets were mixed, and stinking, not to Arlene's amusement lol. To flush them you took a bucket filled it with water from a big tub then threw it in to the pan...yuck!!!. As we had arrived at the digs first the 5 of us got the "best dorm" which by 6pm felt like it was - 20 inside. With nothing else to do we broke out the cards and learnt a new game called Yani, which i was shit at and Arlene was the best ( guess who's dictating lol )
The next day we got up at 6 to move on and were glad to see the back of the freezing digs. Last nights problems were soon forgotten as we soon arrived at the area of the stone tree. This is an area of rocks which have been exposed by the wind and left standing proud of the surrounding area. The photo's here were amazing.
Next we moved on to an area of hot mud geysers which stunk of sulphur ( rotten eggs ) but were smart to see. After enduring 2 punctured tyres on our jeep and 1 on the other group that were traveling with us we arrived at our digs for the 2nd night. What a difference, the entire building was made out of salt from the flat, and they had clean toilets, and HOT showers...bliss. Dinner that night was llama, which taste like kebab meat but in pork chop style.
The 3rd day was out on the salt flat itself. The salt flat was once a lake, which dried out to only leave the salt. Over time the thickness of salt has been increased as rain carries salt from the surrounding area on to the flat, which then evaporates leaving more salt. At the moment it is over 20m deep. When on them, due to the lack of background you can play with the perspective and create funny pictures. So check out the pic's on flickr... In the middle of the flat is Fish island...so called cause from a certain angle it is said to resemble a fish. Which after a long climb to the top gave stunning views. After spending much time trying to be creative with our pics we moved on to see the salt mounds which is where the salt is being excavated and dried to sell and to make sculptures for tourists like Arlene to sit on...Another amazing thing about the salt flats is that they create mirage's in the distance and you think you can see pools of water reflecting the mountains, but really it's just an illusion being created from the salt...weird but cool.
This was such an amazing trip. xxxxx
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
hi everyone.... jst want to say thanks to everyone leavin all there comments and that we r missin everyone..... sorry but not enough to come back just yet:) lol xxx
so we r in San Pedro De Atacama at the moment, which is a desert so it is very warm and dusty during the day but bloomin freezin at night. its an amazin place with lots of mountains and volcanos so the views are spectacular.
So goin back to day 1 when the bus dropped us off at the "bus stop" ha!! if u imagine a desert there is not much about so when we got dropped off in the middle of nowhere we were a bit unsure of how we were goin to get to the digs...... not to panic though cause Garry had wrote down the directions..... from the cemetery go north, hmmm!!! how the hell do we know where North is:( but not to panic because thanks to Deke for thoughtfully giving us a "survival kit" to take away with us which contained a compass,lol so North we found and 3mins later we were checking in..... so thank u 4 that derek:) xx
so there is many tours that u can do everyday like goin to view the volcanos, goin to parts of the desert where there is millions of flamingos, u can go sandboarding or go to the beautiful lagoons for a swim... and so much more but to do but we have decided to take a 3 day jeep tour which includes many of the sights and it includes 2 night accommodation and we will end up in bolivia which is where we were planning to go nxt anyway so this way is working out much better for us:) ..... it includes all meals and is only costing us 66pound each so Yey:) xxx
we did go on a wee tour last night which was so cool(i really need to stop sayin that,lol) it was called Moon Valley which i am actually finding it hard to make it sound interesting,lol but u will jst have to believe me that it was amazing:)......... everything at the place is made of salt, some hard, some soft like sand and other parts like crystals.... and with the way it is natually formed and the textures its like u are on the moon......... so me bein me had to pretend that i really was on the moon by doin my good impression of moon walking...... getting some strange looks off the other tourers, ha!!!!! so we went a bit of climbing up the rocks to a very high point so that we could get the full view from above, which was unbelievable.....and it was really windy but luckily none of us were blown off:) xxxxxxxx
we r trying to get the photos on...... but as usual its not as easy as it should b, grrrr!!!
probably the fact that we have about 50million of the things, lol xxxxxxx
Anyways..... hope everyone is well, love yous xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
so we r in San Pedro De Atacama at the moment, which is a desert so it is very warm and dusty during the day but bloomin freezin at night. its an amazin place with lots of mountains and volcanos so the views are spectacular.
So goin back to day 1 when the bus dropped us off at the "bus stop" ha!! if u imagine a desert there is not much about so when we got dropped off in the middle of nowhere we were a bit unsure of how we were goin to get to the digs...... not to panic though cause Garry had wrote down the directions..... from the cemetery go north, hmmm!!! how the hell do we know where North is:( but not to panic because thanks to Deke for thoughtfully giving us a "survival kit" to take away with us which contained a compass,lol so North we found and 3mins later we were checking in..... so thank u 4 that derek:) xx
so there is many tours that u can do everyday like goin to view the volcanos, goin to parts of the desert where there is millions of flamingos, u can go sandboarding or go to the beautiful lagoons for a swim... and so much more but to do but we have decided to take a 3 day jeep tour which includes many of the sights and it includes 2 night accommodation and we will end up in bolivia which is where we were planning to go nxt anyway so this way is working out much better for us:) ..... it includes all meals and is only costing us 66pound each so Yey:) xxx
we did go on a wee tour last night which was so cool(i really need to stop sayin that,lol) it was called Moon Valley which i am actually finding it hard to make it sound interesting,lol but u will jst have to believe me that it was amazing:)......... everything at the place is made of salt, some hard, some soft like sand and other parts like crystals.... and with the way it is natually formed and the textures its like u are on the moon......... so me bein me had to pretend that i really was on the moon by doin my good impression of moon walking...... getting some strange looks off the other tourers, ha!!!!! so we went a bit of climbing up the rocks to a very high point so that we could get the full view from above, which was unbelievable.....and it was really windy but luckily none of us were blown off:) xxxxxxxx
we r trying to get the photos on...... but as usual its not as easy as it should b, grrrr!!!
probably the fact that we have about 50million of the things, lol xxxxxxx
Anyways..... hope everyone is well, love yous xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Salta
After the relative success that we have had using the buses in South America, we were not too worried about the prospect of a 23 hour journey to Salta, but we were wrong not to be...
The journey started ok ,but after being stopped 5 times by different police to have our passports inspected, having the bags taken off the bus and put through an xray machine at the side of the road, mine being singled out as suspicious and inspected because of the books in it??? the bus breaking down, we arrived at our change over station with 10 mins ( not the 90 we had planned )to find the next bus for Salta. Asking at the desk ( well gesturing ) we were not having much luck finding the platform that we were looking for, and the 10 mins quickly passed. So after a long interrupted night and thinking that we had missed the bus we were a little miffed. But our connection bus had also run in to trouble, and duly arrived 2 hours late. So it was 29 hours later that we finally arrived in to Salta, tired and needing a shower.
Salta, has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment in terms of things to do, but the people we have met in the hostel have been really nice, and helpful in the places worth moving on to. That apart, we seem to have a new found appreciation of Argentinian wine (£2 a bottle for the good stuff ) and the free pool table, cards and domino's have been a god send.
After talking to other travelers we have changed our plans, as we are now going to San Pedro in the north of Chile next. There is so little, background light there that you can see millions of stars in the sky, with one girl actually managing to take a photo of Saturn.... So apart from relaxing the next couple of days, and enjoying more wine we wont be up to much else.
XXXXXXXXX
The journey started ok ,but after being stopped 5 times by different police to have our passports inspected, having the bags taken off the bus and put through an xray machine at the side of the road, mine being singled out as suspicious and inspected because of the books in it??? the bus breaking down, we arrived at our change over station with 10 mins ( not the 90 we had planned )to find the next bus for Salta. Asking at the desk ( well gesturing ) we were not having much luck finding the platform that we were looking for, and the 10 mins quickly passed. So after a long interrupted night and thinking that we had missed the bus we were a little miffed. But our connection bus had also run in to trouble, and duly arrived 2 hours late. So it was 29 hours later that we finally arrived in to Salta, tired and needing a shower.
Salta, has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment in terms of things to do, but the people we have met in the hostel have been really nice, and helpful in the places worth moving on to. That apart, we seem to have a new found appreciation of Argentinian wine (£2 a bottle for the good stuff ) and the free pool table, cards and domino's have been a god send.
After talking to other travelers we have changed our plans, as we are now going to San Pedro in the north of Chile next. There is so little, background light there that you can see millions of stars in the sky, with one girl actually managing to take a photo of Saturn.... So apart from relaxing the next couple of days, and enjoying more wine we wont be up to much else.
XXXXXXXXX
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Foz Do Iguacu
After arriving in Foz Do Iguacu at 8 in the morning we quickly found our new digs. Thanks to us now taking the address and name of our hostel with us...lol. The hostel had arranged a tour of the falls for that day, so we quickly dumped our stuff in the room and headed out with the rest of the party to the Argentinian side of the falls.
Thankfully the tour was guided which meant that we managed to squeeze everything that we could in to the trip. First off was the walk around the lower section of the falls which gave fantastic views of the falls and the surrounding area from a distance. then we were on to the power boats which took us out to and under the smaller falls, ensuring that we were well and truly soaked.
We then went on to the middle island, which took us closer to the falls, and the 250 steps up to the views were definitely worth it ( at least in my opinion ). On the way back down we saw a group of butterflies on the beach, and Arlene was in her element, soon standing amongst them for her picture.
After that it was a quick walk up to catch the last train through the amazon out to the biggest of the falls ( the devils throat ). Once there the views were amazing, and the pictures don't even begin to do justice too the views and experience that we had... despite the number that we took. It was simply incredible, and blew us away...
The next few days we sunbathed, until i was bored rigid, and needed to do something. So we went back to the falls but this time on the Brazilian side. You'll be glad to hear that we forgot to put the memory card back in to the camera, so you don't have to endure more pictures of the same waterfalls...but it was definitely worth going to see.
The rest of the week was fairly quiet with us sunbathing, relaxing, trying exotic food ( chicken hearts, and turkey testicles ) and planning the next part of our journey... so it's Argentina, Bolivia, Peru then down to Santiago for the flight to New Zealand. We leave for Argentina tomorrow to book the bus to Salta, 23 hours in the bus :o( and will take things from there...
We have started uploading videos to you tube. So search for garryfitz26 and you should see them from there. The camera work is a little all over the place but we re working on that...lol.
Garry and Arlene xxxxxx
Thankfully the tour was guided which meant that we managed to squeeze everything that we could in to the trip. First off was the walk around the lower section of the falls which gave fantastic views of the falls and the surrounding area from a distance. then we were on to the power boats which took us out to and under the smaller falls, ensuring that we were well and truly soaked.
We then went on to the middle island, which took us closer to the falls, and the 250 steps up to the views were definitely worth it ( at least in my opinion ). On the way back down we saw a group of butterflies on the beach, and Arlene was in her element, soon standing amongst them for her picture.
After that it was a quick walk up to catch the last train through the amazon out to the biggest of the falls ( the devils throat ). Once there the views were amazing, and the pictures don't even begin to do justice too the views and experience that we had... despite the number that we took. It was simply incredible, and blew us away...
The next few days we sunbathed, until i was bored rigid, and needed to do something. So we went back to the falls but this time on the Brazilian side. You'll be glad to hear that we forgot to put the memory card back in to the camera, so you don't have to endure more pictures of the same waterfalls...but it was definitely worth going to see.
The rest of the week was fairly quiet with us sunbathing, relaxing, trying exotic food ( chicken hearts, and turkey testicles ) and planning the next part of our journey... so it's Argentina, Bolivia, Peru then down to Santiago for the flight to New Zealand. We leave for Argentina tomorrow to book the bus to Salta, 23 hours in the bus :o( and will take things from there...
We have started uploading videos to you tube. So search for garryfitz26 and you should see them from there. The camera work is a little all over the place but we re working on that...lol.
Garry and Arlene xxxxxx
Friday, 6 March 2009
Florianopolis
After a remarkably short 18 hours spent traveling on the long and winding roads of South America, we arrived in Florinopolis, refreshed after sleeping most of the night on the most comfortable bus ever. Floripa, ( as us locals refer to it... lol )is a relatively rich area of Brazil off the east coast of the mainland which is made up of small picturesque towns and villages. We headed for the more secluded south of the island to try and recharge the batteries after the hectic week in Rio ( you don't know how easy you have it back home lol )
We arrived at the hostel, and decided that the first thing to do was to walk along the beach at the end of our road ( 200m max )which was amazing, powder soft sand, warm clear water, and only 20 others on the beach. We settled down for the day and were just dozing in the afternoon sun when i was attacked by 2 sand crabs... well they ran over my foot...i sh*t myself (and Arlene nearly did cause of all the laughing at me )
In terms of nightlife there isn't that much to do, but we are still enjoying each others company, and the company of the others in the hostel. There has been a good mix from Argentinians, French, Americans, English, Spanish, and Swiss, but thankfully most speak English. A typical night has been. Freshly caught fish, shrimp and oysters BBQ'ed, washed down with 80p litre bottles of Brahama (lager) followed by swimming in the sea( or at least paddling ).
So it has been a relaxing week, of sun bathing, trying to find the secluded waterfall which is seemingly only 10 mins away from us but impossible to find, watching dolphins swim up the bay 150m from the shore, and not much else. We booked our tickets today for Foz do Iguacu the next part of the trip and are leaving Sunday :(((
We arrived at the hostel, and decided that the first thing to do was to walk along the beach at the end of our road ( 200m max )which was amazing, powder soft sand, warm clear water, and only 20 others on the beach. We settled down for the day and were just dozing in the afternoon sun when i was attacked by 2 sand crabs... well they ran over my foot...i sh*t myself (and Arlene nearly did cause of all the laughing at me )
In terms of nightlife there isn't that much to do, but we are still enjoying each others company, and the company of the others in the hostel. There has been a good mix from Argentinians, French, Americans, English, Spanish, and Swiss, but thankfully most speak English. A typical night has been. Freshly caught fish, shrimp and oysters BBQ'ed, washed down with 80p litre bottles of Brahama (lager) followed by swimming in the sea( or at least paddling ).
So it has been a relaxing week, of sun bathing, trying to find the secluded waterfall which is seemingly only 10 mins away from us but impossible to find, watching dolphins swim up the bay 150m from the shore, and not much else. We booked our tickets today for Foz do Iguacu the next part of the trip and are leaving Sunday :(((
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
AT LAST!!!!
WOO HOO......... After battling against internet cafe computers, dodgy card readers, dodgy connections, our computer, our camera, our belief in our ability with computers....... We have finally managed to get the photo's from the Carnival on to our blog in some shape. ( Thats them in the small box at the left ) If you click on to the picture you should get taken to Flickr where we have managed after trying most of the past week to get them uploaded to. If you scroll down a bit then there should be options to start a slide show on the right hand side. We will continue to try and get them in to Photobucket so that we can have a slide show like the last time. For now though this is as good as it's getting lol....
ps can you's please forward home phone no's as we can now call them on skype, not mobile as yet, sorry.
Cheers
Garry and Arlene
XXXXXXXX
ps can you's please forward home phone no's as we can now call them on skype, not mobile as yet, sorry.
Cheers
Garry and Arlene
XXXXXXXX
Monday, 2 March 2009
THE LAST DAYS OF RIO
for em!!lol ......... Well Rio is coming to an end... its been amazing here, so friendly, loads to do and jst so beautiful..... well apart from the poor parts that smell and ppl sleep on the streets.... but that apart its been amazin!!!!!
we went up to the Christ statue thing(garry is not here to remind me what its exactly called,lol) which was unbelievable....that thing is soooooo big n weighs somethin like 30ton(and thats jst the head )... i dont have a clue how they managed to get it up there lol. and the views were amazin as youz will c from the pics and very windy as u can tell with my hair flying about. hee hee!!! there was a wee gorgeous chapel that was at the top too,,, u will c garry in it but i wasnt allowed cause i had a bikini top on lol.....well i do want to get a nice even tan:) it was beautiful though and had lovely music playin!!
But our bestest part of the whole trip was yesterday when we went to the MARACANA STADIUM(yes, nicky..thats the "stadium thingy" i was lookin 4ward to goin to,lol) for the Brazilian Cup Final....... Botofogo(1 of the biggest teams) v Recende(a WELL smaller team) The stadium holds 90,000 ppl and it had jst over 75,000 when we were there so the atmosphere was jst AMAZIN!!!!! we went with a very nice english speakin brazilian man... he took us there in his car, round a few bars then to the match.....we supported botofogo(prob cause we knew they would win) and also the fact that i think there was only about 500 fans 4 the other team, lol xx
so we r off to Floronopolis today 4 the nxt part of the journey, its a wee island jst off the coast a bit furthert down...well 18 hrs in a bus further, ahhhhh!!! they r big buses though n recline so we will jst read, sleep, play ipods n hopefully we will b there in no time xxxxxx
oh.... and b4 i go i jst want to say to my mum that i did a washing ALL BY MYSELF and by hand LOL xxxxxxxx we r missin everyone, big hugs xxxxxxxxxx
we went up to the Christ statue thing(garry is not here to remind me what its exactly called,lol) which was unbelievable....that thing is soooooo big n weighs somethin like 30ton(and thats jst the head )... i dont have a clue how they managed to get it up there lol. and the views were amazin as youz will c from the pics and very windy as u can tell with my hair flying about. hee hee!!! there was a wee gorgeous chapel that was at the top too,,, u will c garry in it but i wasnt allowed cause i had a bikini top on lol.....well i do want to get a nice even tan:) it was beautiful though and had lovely music playin!!
But our bestest part of the whole trip was yesterday when we went to the MARACANA STADIUM(yes, nicky..thats the "stadium thingy" i was lookin 4ward to goin to,lol) for the Brazilian Cup Final....... Botofogo(1 of the biggest teams) v Recende(a WELL smaller team) The stadium holds 90,000 ppl and it had jst over 75,000 when we were there so the atmosphere was jst AMAZIN!!!!! we went with a very nice english speakin brazilian man... he took us there in his car, round a few bars then to the match.....we supported botofogo(prob cause we knew they would win) and also the fact that i think there was only about 500 fans 4 the other team, lol xx
so we r off to Floronopolis today 4 the nxt part of the journey, its a wee island jst off the coast a bit furthert down...well 18 hrs in a bus further, ahhhhh!!! they r big buses though n recline so we will jst read, sleep, play ipods n hopefully we will b there in no time xxxxxx
oh.... and b4 i go i jst want to say to my mum that i did a washing ALL BY MYSELF and by hand LOL xxxxxxxx we r missin everyone, big hugs xxxxxxxxxx
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
RIO and the CARNIVAL!!!!
Arrived at 10 at night after a gruelling 12 hour flight, and all we had to do was meet the driver from the hostel. Sounds simple doesn´t it.... After waiting 30 mins there was still no sign of him... and being the trusting people that we are we had not taken the address of the hostel where we were staying. So after a lot of guesturing and general i don´t speak Portuguese / I don´t speak English type of conversations we managed to find out where the internet cafe was to download the address. After finding the cafe we were a little downheartened to find that it had closed 5 mins ago. ( i cried - arlene ) So armed with nothing but our wits and sad pleading faces we went back to the arrival hall.
Then the hero of the day came... a pickup driver for another place used his phone to call his mates to google the address for us, Yey!!! and we were soon in a taxi to Flavallenia Pousada.
The hostel is in one of the Flavella´s where the poorest people live. There are only a few TV´s and not really much else, but everyone seems unbelieveably happy all the time. The kids entertain themselves, with what little they have ( so adorable) playing on an old bath or throwing stones. The only down side is the 1000 steps which we have to climb to get back to the digs...(i think its more like 250000000000) wait till you see the video.
Day 1 - Woke up early due to a F**King cockerel, which stays in the house below us. But this wasn´t all bad as we had much to do. Left the flavella to go and collect the tickets to the CARNIVAL!!! armed with a map and not much else we were soon given strange looks at our attempts to get a bus to take us near a metro. 2 buses and 2 kind english speaking people later and we were walking along the white sands of the Copacabana, as the sun shone down and the waves lapped our feet. ( my best bit yet )
We were soon heading back with the tickets in hand, so after a couple of hours sleep we were heading down to St. Theresa for a street party. Never seen anything like it in our lives... A lot of drinking, dancing on the street, costumes, and singing.... Amazing
CARNIVAL - Totally unbelieveable, arrived at 11pm and stayed till 5 in the morning. 33 degrees at 3 in the morning...and about 50 million people there...( Arlene slightly exagerating i´m guessing 45 lol) Definately something that you should experience once in your life. 6 schools parade down the mile long road dancing the full way, with each school taking 1 1/2 hours to complete the mile, whilest being judged. The floats were incredible ( not quite up to the Gala day´s standards but they were a close 2nd lol)
We are having a little trouble posting all of the pics which we have taken, but will add them once we know how...lol
Love Garry and Arlene
X x X x X
Then the hero of the day came... a pickup driver for another place used his phone to call his mates to google the address for us, Yey!!! and we were soon in a taxi to Flavallenia Pousada.
The hostel is in one of the Flavella´s where the poorest people live. There are only a few TV´s and not really much else, but everyone seems unbelieveably happy all the time. The kids entertain themselves, with what little they have ( so adorable) playing on an old bath or throwing stones. The only down side is the 1000 steps which we have to climb to get back to the digs...(i think its more like 250000000000) wait till you see the video.
Day 1 - Woke up early due to a F**King cockerel, which stays in the house below us. But this wasn´t all bad as we had much to do. Left the flavella to go and collect the tickets to the CARNIVAL!!! armed with a map and not much else we were soon given strange looks at our attempts to get a bus to take us near a metro. 2 buses and 2 kind english speaking people later and we were walking along the white sands of the Copacabana, as the sun shone down and the waves lapped our feet. ( my best bit yet )
We were soon heading back with the tickets in hand, so after a couple of hours sleep we were heading down to St. Theresa for a street party. Never seen anything like it in our lives... A lot of drinking, dancing on the street, costumes, and singing.... Amazing
CARNIVAL - Totally unbelieveable, arrived at 11pm and stayed till 5 in the morning. 33 degrees at 3 in the morning...and about 50 million people there...( Arlene slightly exagerating i´m guessing 45 lol) Definately something that you should experience once in your life. 6 schools parade down the mile long road dancing the full way, with each school taking 1 1/2 hours to complete the mile, whilest being judged. The floats were incredible ( not quite up to the Gala day´s standards but they were a close 2nd lol)
We are having a little trouble posting all of the pics which we have taken, but will add them once we know how...lol
Love Garry and Arlene
X x X x X
Sunday, 22 February 2009
The Journey Begins....
Day 1 of the trip, and all started well, up early to finally finish cleaning the house ( thanks for the help Cruse). Did all the last minute visiting that we could manage, before setting off 15 Min's earlier than planned. Drove to Glasgow airport with families in tow ( 4 cars worth ) and arrived in plenty of time. Walked in to find that the flight wasn't on the board so went to the desk to find out why. Arlene then opened up the booking form, to see that we were flying from EDINBURGH.
Frantic phone calls later and a quick drive, only slightly quicker than the limit honest mum, and we made it to Edinburgh with a few seconds to spare. Well we are going away looking for adventure and excitement.
So it was a far too quick, and sad farewell to both families, and a sprint on to the plane...well a fast walk anyway.
Arrived in London, to find that the booking form for the hotel was lost in the rush, and we had a different opinion as to where we were staying. 2 hours and 2 hotels later we arrived in to our room... thankfully it was a free upgrade to an executive room. :) Now assuming that this is the standard of accommodation which we will have for the rest of the trip.
Rio here we come :) X X X
Frantic phone calls later and a quick drive, only slightly quicker than the limit honest mum, and we made it to Edinburgh with a few seconds to spare. Well we are going away looking for adventure and excitement.
So it was a far too quick, and sad farewell to both families, and a sprint on to the plane...well a fast walk anyway.
Arrived in London, to find that the booking form for the hotel was lost in the rush, and we had a different opinion as to where we were staying. 2 hours and 2 hotels later we arrived in to our room... thankfully it was a free upgrade to an executive room. :) Now assuming that this is the standard of accommodation which we will have for the rest of the trip.
Rio here we come :) X X X
Monday, 9 February 2009
Leaving Party
Well now that the dust has settled after the party, and the count down has begun to when we leave. ( 12 days, but hey who's counting ) We just want to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who came and wished us well on our travels. The fact that so many people turned up means so much to both of us, and the amount of gifts we received blew us away...so THANK YOU.
A special mention has to go to both the families who put so much effort in to making the night such a special one, from the buffet, to the organising and decorating the hall.
With all the nights out that we still have to go prior to leaving we are sure to see many of yous before we go, but if not then we are looking forward to boring you with the story's of what we get up to once we get back.
Thanks again
X
A special mention has to go to both the families who put so much effort in to making the night such a special one, from the buffet, to the organising and decorating the hall.
With all the nights out that we still have to go prior to leaving we are sure to see many of yous before we go, but if not then we are looking forward to boring you with the story's of what we get up to once we get back.
Thanks again
X
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