Back to Reality

So the reality is that while November in the UK is undeniably cold...at least the sun is shining. We got back into Heathrow in the early hours of this morning after a 36 hr slog from Koh Chang via Bangkok via the Koh San Road for some last minute bargain basement shopping. The trip is officially now over so we both wanted to recap, for our benefit and for anyone else still reading, on the best bits and worst bits of the trip

Trip highlight:

NG: Doing a 60m freefall canyon swing in Queenstown, New Zealand

JW: Our Whitsunday cruise upgrade that saw us enjoying a glimpse of luxury and playing beach cricket on the best beach in the world...or living on the road for a month in New Zealand in Taniwha the campervan

Trip lowlight:

NG: Getting our passports replaced in Brisbane
JW: Phillip Island. Great Penguins, shame about the tourists

Friendliest locals:

NG: The three thai barmaids at the 'You and Me' bar in Kai Bai Beach, Ko Chang.

JW: Impossible to call between the ozzies and the kiwis...and the thais outside Bangkok.

Biggest surprise:

NG: That thai women don't use toilet paper and that James survived a night in the jungle in Chiang Mai.
JW: The rabid dogs with massive boobs in Bangkok...or the fact that we didn't actually encounter any bugs of consequence...or that I survived a gay night in Sydney

Biggest disappointment:

NG: Shelling out a hefty sum in New Zealand to swim with the dolphins and instead spending four hours speeding accross the ocean, desperately trying to find any form of marine life (we saw and swam with nothing)
JW: Doubtful Sound in New Zealand. No doubt stunning on a beatiful day but the rain, cold and wind (and shabby boat) meant all we wanted to do was go home.

Best place visited:

NG: Will get the full photo album up on Facebook soon to give you any idea of how hard this category is! ...Probably Kangaroos and sunset at dawn on the road trip to Melbourne. Whitehaven beach also features highly.
JW: Too many to choose from but probably Whitehaven Beach on the Whitsundays. Nearest thing to paradise we found.

And the worst:

NG: Backward Brisbane

JW: Probably Brisbane. Just...very...boring

Most drunk:

NG: Nothing compared to the below for Jim, but possibly the last night of our travel adventures in Ko Chang...
JW: Erm...Chiang Mai.

Best animal:

NG: Dolphins swimming by the Whitsundays boat at twlight, the seahorse on the last day in Ko Chang.

JW: Kangaroos at the campsite in Melbourne, or turtle at the Great Barrier Reef.

Lessons learned:

NG: Becoming veggie is much easier than first expected.... also you do really need about a year to really see all of Australia
JW: it is hypocritical to say how cute kangaroos are when they're hopping around, then eat kangaroo steak for dinner

Most missed about home whilst away:

NG: My family and friends
JW: Chicken Jalfrezi and cheese platters

Will most miss about being away:

NG: Forgetting which day of the week it is because every day is a holiday.
JW: Beautiful landscapes, sunshine and the sea

So that's it. And if anyone can be bothered, our THOUSANDS of pictures can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/11623316@N08/sets/72157603191858037/

Sun, Sea and Singha

So the trip is very nearly all over. We have spent an extremely relaxing seven days on the island of Koh Chang, 5 hours south east of Bangkok doing...well, pretty much nothing.

The weather has been a particular highlight - it has been HOT hitting the high twenties every day (despite a massive monsoon like thunderstorm last night that knocked out electricity and flooded roads across the island). Another plus point has been the abundance of restaurants and bars on Lonely Beach where we're staying (actually not that lonely) meaning we have eaten lots of quality thai food, drank lots of Singha, played a lot of frisbee (see blue disc in Nadia's hand in the shot to your right), had several thai massages and even had time to get ourselves a couple of suits tailor made by a very nice Burmese man called Henry at a very reasonable price (they've yet to be delivered so there's always the chance he'll flee the country but I'm fairly confident he'll do the business). We have also found a very cool little bar called the 'Treehouse' which sits out in the middle of the water at the south end of our beach where you can while away the evening/day relaxing in a hammock...if you ever find yourself out here, we highly recommend a visit.

Another bonus is that we've managed to catch up with Chris and Sarah, two of our friends from back home who happened to be on holiday out here at the same time which has led to a few late nights, lots of very poor pool playing and some slightly higher quality beach sports.

All in all it's been exactly what we needed to round the trip off. We return home in a few days nursing sun burnt faces, numerous mosquito bites (although we are hopefully malaria free) a lot of knock-off clothes and a more relaxed demeanor than when we left a few months ago. Back to Bangkok tomorrow before flying back home to the glorious November sunshine (we live in hope)

Jungle Fever

Sadly we are now passing our last few hours in Chiang Mai... a small city north east of Bangkok. We have spent the last two days treking through the jungle, riding elephants, living with the resident hill tribes and generally leaving behind modern comforts...electricity, flushing toilets and bricks and mortar there were not.


Day one involved a two hour truck drive to the outskirts of the jungle - eight of us piled in the back with a small thai man hanging on the bumper for luck. It was an hour's uphill hike to the village camp where we were shown our bamboo stilt hut for the night and a 20 minute breather before the four hour slog to the waterfall in the pic above. The water was as cold as it looks (check out James hunching on the end) and ridden with leeches due to it being the end of the wet season (luckily we both managed to avoid being bitten thanks to the 95% deet repellent). The march back (fast pace is an understatement) took us through deep mud, strong creeks and lots of lush greenery. The day was rounded off with a superb thai feast prepared by our excellent guide, host and now friend Noi. There was laughter, drinking, singing and games a plenty before dropping onto the floor and under the mosquito net in the early hours for a solid night's sleep...


A late start kicked off day two, (that and James throwing up the previous night's rum, whisky and beer to a round of applause as he tried to hide behind a tree). An action packed day included elephant riding, white water rafting and more treking. The evening ended in a farewell meal with our fellow travellers preceded by a white knuckle tuk tuk race and more whisky in a tourist free local Thai bar (thanks to Noi).


Chiang Mai has been a world away from Bangkok, friendly people, real Thai culture at its best and food and massages out of this world! Back to Bangkok tonight for a quick stop before heading on to the south eastern island of Ko Chang for some sun, sand and clear blue sea (we hope!).....

Landing the Big One...

There are a lot of people out there of the opinion that men are the hunter gatherers and should be the ones putting food on the table whilst the women stay at home and cook it. I'm not of that opinion which is why I was more than happy to let Nadia land one average sized Travelly and one MASSIVE Snapper (see pic to your right) on our recent fishing trip with 'Captain Bucko' around the Bay of Islands. Her rod had been in the sea literally no more than twenty seconds before she landed it on the first cast of the afternoon (she's clearly a natural). I, on the other hand, didn't get a bite all day. Still, at least the sun was shining...

Anyway, back to the Snapper, we reckon it was about ten pounds based on an estimate against the twenty pounder that some other bloke pulled out of the sea shortly afterwards. Now that was huge, however Nadia's provided us with enough sumptuous barbequed fillet o' fish to feed us and a local cat that evening (and provide lunch the next day). It's only fitting that we should catch our own dinner on our final night of sleeping rough. Bucko himself, well, he's something of a local celeb and was full of bad jokes and fishermans tales that passed a great afternoon. Look him up if you're ever out here.

So the Bay of Islands has been good fun on the whole with the exception of a failed dolphin swimming expedition. We've seen dolphins at Fraser Island, The Whitsunday's, Byron Bay, Milford Sound, on the Manly Ferry - in fact, pretty much anytime except for the one occasion we paid to find them. Still, you can't blame them for scooting if there are killer whale in the locality (which there apparently were - didn't see them either).

Even more disappointment today as we have had to return our truck to the rental company which we'd both grown quite attached to. I'd never thought being cramped, cold and uncomfortable could be so much fun however we've both agreed that Taniwha (our campervan) was the right choice for seeing this country.

We're now in Auckland catching up on a few bits and bobs and enjoying the luxury of a proper bed for the first time in a month. We head to Thailand tomorrow afternoon - haere ra Aoterea, it's been awesome.

Next stop: Bangkok!

Worm hunting in Waitomo...

As anyone who's been out here will know, you can't go to New Zealand without going to Waitomo and there's no point going to Waitomo unless you're going to see some glowworms. So we've just spent the last 24hrs in this little place a few hours west of Rotorua and have returned from an epic 4hr+ underground adventure that saw us rappel 30 metres down into a cave, spend a few hours exploring on foot but more excitingly on rubber rings - 'black water rafting' down the freezing rapids (often in complete darkness) and finishing off with climbing out of the 30 metre hole you dropped yourself in in the first place. The pic you see is of the intrepid caving team staring in bewildered awe at the gloworms - all except for the American tourist on the left who preferred to give a big smile for the camera...some people just don't listen.

It was awesome stuff and the gloworms themselves were a sight to behold - literally millions of them lighting up the cavern...akin to staring into a starry sky. And for those that care, glowworms aren't actually worms but the larval stage of the fungus gnat. The glow they give off is merely to attract bugs and other prey that they feed off. Interesting huh?

Pre and post our cave expedition, the word of the day was 'shearing'. On our way out of Rotorua we visited the Agrodome where they run a very touristy but undeniably fun show of the sheep of NZ incorporating shearing, feeding and some dog herding tricks. To add to that in Waitomo we then visited the 'Shearing shed' - home to some 300 angora rabits - one of which gets its massive locks sheared daily.

We headed from Waitomo and have just spent a day on the Coromandel Peninsula where we found the hot water beach (very cool - dig a hole and have your own thermaly heated bath) and Cathedral Cove...a very secluded bay with some cool rock formations. As the NZ leg of this trip nears an end we've decided to spend our last few days in the Bay of Islands where its waaaaaaarm. Will post a final update from there before we depart for Thailand.

Nadia and me with some Geyser.

Ha ha. So, as you can guess from the pictures we are currently in New Zealands 'geothermal wonderland'. The last few days have been spent in Taupo and Rotorua where steaming lakes, boiling mud pools and spouting geysers (like Lady Knox to your right) are commonplace. Once you get past the smell of eggs the place is magic and a million miles away from back home. For fact fans pondering how these geographical wonders are created - it is apparently all to do with these towns sitting on the fault line between the Pacific and Indi-China (or something) plates and the earth getting heated by lots of (in my best Dr Evil voice) 'Liquid Hot Mag-ma'.

In our few days here we've visited Wai-O-Tapu, a geothermal reserve 30K south of Rotorua where sulphurous lakes and acid caves are commonplace; the Polynesian Spa - luxury mineral baths where you get to soak in the radium waters while watching the sunset over the lake and Paradise Springs; a nature park where you can get up close and personal with some lion cubs (not very kiwi admittedly but cool nonetheless). We also went along to a Hangi (pronounce 'hungi') last night - a traditional Maori feast cooked on hot rocks that are buried in the earth. It was Kar-Pi ('good' in Maori, although the spelling probably leaves a lot to be desired). We also got to see some traditional Maori tribal dancing including the haka (didn't scare me...)

Anyway, we have been on the North Island around a week now. The Sun hasn't stopped shining which has made us both happy and made nights spent in Taniwha (the van, for those not keeping up) all the more comfortable. So, to save me droning on, other North Island highlights so far have included:
- Kayaking a stretch of the Waikato river in a double kayak (which was nearly capsized on more than one occasion) and stopping for a dip in the natural thermal pools - VERY cool (or hot if you know what I mean)
- Taking a ride on Errol Flynn's old yacht, The Barnaby, to go out and see some Maori carvings on lake Taupo (I'm aware we've done a lot of Maori things since we last posted)
- Visiting the Te Papa national museum of New Zealand in Wellington and the botanical gardens on a VERY hot day in what some people told me was a wet and miserable city.

Anyway, we're off to see some sheep shearing - wouldn't be right not to in a country where they outnumber humans 10-1 then we're on to Waitomo this evening to spend the night with some glow worms. More to follow shortly...

Rocks, Rapids and Rugby

We were up at dawn this morning to watch England lose their World Cup title with, ooh, at least half a dozen other Englishmen in a sports bar in Nelson. A disappointing 80 minutes made even worse by the roars of a few gobby South Africans sat to our right. And Nadia now can't decide whether she prefers Percy nice hair or Jonny nice legs. What a dilemma. Still, there's always the football...at least qualification for Euro 2008 shouldn't be an issue (whoops!)

So we have been in Nelson for the last day or so and have become big fans of the place - nice bars, live music, very hospitable locals (who were throwing free wine tasters in our direction last night) and, most importantly - Sunshine! Yes, Nelson is officially the South Islands sunniest place.

The last few days have been as busy as ever. Post Nadia's canyon swing we successfully negotiated the Shotover River in Queenstown on a raft. Rapids were ace and we both avoided taking a dip in the ice cold white water (unlike some poor chinese girl on our raft who had an extended and unwelcome swim). From there we headed to Wanaka and spent a morning marvelling at the mountain peaks that surrounded us before driving up the coast to Glacier country. We did a half day hike onto the Fox Glacier which was pretty awesome - not as cold as you'd expect with ice crevasses (see pic), caves and water run-off's that were straight out of Touching the Void/Vertical Limit/Cliffhanger or any other alpine mountain climbing film you might have seen. A quick look at the Franz Josef Glacier (from a distance - we decided climbing two in one day was a bridge too far) then headed up to the Punakaiki national park to see weird rocks and other cool stuff.

We head to the North Island this evening after doing a loop around pretty much all of the South over the last 2 weeks. We are sad to say goodbye to the South's snowy peaks, glacial lakes, rolling hills, and sheep but are looking forward to volcanoes, hot pools and hopefully some more sun. Next stop: Wellington!

Tourist Plunges 200 Metres at 150 km/h

We are currently sat in an internet cafe, uploading the pics of the first adrenaline rush of the day - a canyon swing above the Shotover river, Queenstown. In a word 'brilliant', very exciting but naturally terrifying given you effectively throw yourself off a 109m cliff face with a 60m freefall and having not tried bungy jumping or skydiving (like the experienced Mr Walker who spectated this act of madness from a nice viewing platform) I was quite unsure of what was in store. I decided to go for what I thought was the 'easy' option - being suspended over the canyon and then released by the swing team. They had other ideas.... So standing on the ledge I inched forwards expecting to feel a slight dip as they secured the cutaway ropes. Instead I inched forwards, looked down and sped off the side at 150km/h towards the bottom. Sound dramatic? It should be... enjoy the pic above (I am the one in the blue stripey jumper disappearing into the canyon floor). We also have a video which will hopefully be up later on today. You can then witness the terror first hand.

White water rafting this afternoon - which after the torrential downpours should be equally exciting (we are told the rivers are running high and fast!)

The Earth Moved!

Up until last night, the only times I've been shaken awake on this holiday have been by Nadia either complaining about my snoring or asking me to escort her to the toilet block for a late night visit. Last night however we had the pleasure of an earthquake 70K west of Milford Sound measuring 6.7 on the richter scale which almost shook our fillings out. My first thought on waking up to a shaking van was that I'd failed to put the handbrake on and we were careering into the lake. Thankfully that wasn't the case.


So, it would be more interesting if I could report 70's disaster movie style carnage but there were no downed electricity pylons or cracked roads. In fact, the only visible (or audible) impact was LOTS of gossip around camp this morning about it.

Anyway, we can officially say we've been in an earthquake. I for one think that's an achievement.

PS. We're now in Queenstown after a visit to Doubtful Sound (another fiord) today. It's still raining...and there is more to come. Nadia's canyon swing tomorrow - expect beaucoup de coverage of that!

Stunning Lakes, Alpine Mountains and an Angry Sandfly

It's now day six of our road trip adventure and spirits remain high despite incessent rain, icy winds and a strong chill in the air. New Zealand's treasures however, have prevented any of the aforementioned really having any impact on our general mood.

So far we have travelled a number of miles, I have been driving [hurrah!] and visits include -

• The Moeraki Boulders - unusual perfectly rounded boulders that look like they fell from the sky (and as James accurately put it - oversized malteesers due to their internal honeycomb formation...)


• Cathedral Caves - a maze of high arching stunning caves leading through the cliff face and back out to the ocean


• Cannibal Bay - a quiet beach where we were able to get within five metres of some dozing New Zealand Fur Sea-Lions. Only found in this part of the world.


• Milford Sound - an amazing Alpine fiord that is strongly reminiscent of Lord of the Rings and quite simply took our breath away (see pic - sorry if we spoil the view). Worth mentioning here is our faces when trying to follow instructions on how to fit the obligatory snow chains in the possible event of an avalanche...yes that's right avalanche. Luckily for us it was a bright day.

Campervan life is fresh, fun and a great way to see what is really an 'outdoors' land. No real complaints, well perhaps one from James concerning a vicious group of sand flies - one of which decided to pick a fight with him and won. The result is a swollen lip that looks like a failed attempy at collagen surgery. (Sorry Jim - I resisted posting a pic). Our only other mishap was when I got so excited about the prospect of a full day's driving that I forgot to do a routine petrol check. 50K up a mountain, with no road signs in sight, a strong downpour and a setting sun is not when you want to see the dial firmly past the E sign and the warning light flashing...

Our next adventure is Doubtful Sound - reputedly the more stunning of New Zealand's two Sounds and then on to Queenstown for some adventure activities. Watch this space...

Taniwha Rachael

Nadia and I thought long and hard about what image to upload here. After two days in New Zealand, we've seen snow capped peaks, rolling green hills and shining blue glacial lakes, however, sod all that we thought. What you really want to see is a picture of Taniwha Rachael - the camper van that will be our home for the next 3 weeks. (a Taniwha by the way is a kind of Maori dragon - that big orange thing painted on the side.)

To be honest I wasn't that enamoured at first at the prospect of spending the next 21 days without electricity or a proper bed however I was convinced by Nadia that this was the authentic travelling experience. Besides, I now get to pretend that I'm either driving Mr T's van out of the A-Team or the Mystery Machine out of Scooby Doo. Either way I win.

So 2 days into NZ and the first reaction is, it's a trifle cold but no matter. We spent a day acclimatising in Christchurch before heading to Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook today. I think we're off to see some perfectly rounded boulders tomorrow - I'm sure they will be more interesting than they sound.

More to follow soon.

Farewell Australia, it's been fun...

This final Australian post comes to you from Melbourne airport, whilst we pass the minor delay to a relatively short flight to Christchurch, South Island, NZ.

It's been an action packed few days, highlights including:

- Going to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - The Musical at the Palace Theatre in Melbourne (Melbourne is apparently Oz's cultural capital so we thought it rude not to take in some local entertainment)

- Seeing the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island, south of Melbourne. Despite annoying tourists (of which we are not), torrential rain (yes, more of it) and howling winds we watched as the sun set and the 'Little Penguins' (their real name) emerged from the surf and headed for their burrows.

- Driving the Great Ocean Road taking in the Twelve Apostles (see pic - there are only seven left standing), London Bridge (another rock formation that looks like....London Bridge), Erskine Falls and Bells Beach (where the 70 yr wave scene in Point Break was filmed - I resisted a second Keanu impersonation)

So, all in all, Oz has been a great laugh with amazing views and experiences and we are both very sad its over. Still, onward and upward - next stop, New Zealand in 4 hrs

Sunrise over the Sea

Feel this post needs few words to accompany the picture. It was as amazing as it looks and the stuff postcards are made of. Enjoy.

Kangaroos at Dawn

After driving a mammoth 6 hours from Sydney, we decided to break up the journey to Melbourne and stop at the seaside coast of Pambula. Our accomodation was without a doubt one of the best so far - a small beach front cabin with ocean views, so close you could hear the waves crashing with little effort.

Upon hearing from the friendly owners that kangaroos often frequent the beach front in the morning, we set our alarm for 6am the next day.

I admit I was a little too eager and woke up at 5.14 - like a small child that cannot wait for Santa. Dragging James out of bed - actually I'll make this factually correct. The words 'James, James, there's a kangaroo' got him up and ready faster than I've ever seen. No surprises - the sight was spectacular. We actually found a whole family of kangaroos bouncing around the caravan park (dawn is when they are at their most active). Above you can see a couple of the males with James standing in the background.

The sunrise was yet another breathtaking highlight, made even more spectacular given the fact that it was just us and the seagulls on the beach (See blog post above).

Point Broken: Sydney part 3

This surfing lark isn't as easy as it looks. So our final day in Sydney was an action packed one. The day kicked off by us arriving 2 hours late for 60 minutes kayaking around various ocean beaches near Manly with Karen and her Text 100 cohorts (which was lots of knackering fun on a 30 degree day by the beach). We then wisely booked a 2 hr surfing lesson just up the coast.

The lesson principally consisted of us swallowing lots of water, getting the crap knocked out of us by 10ft waves, getting smashed by surfboards (ours and other peoples) in the face/ribs/back, getting bent double by ripcurls and generally failing to stand up.

A lie actually. I managed all of 0.000001 seconds with both feet on the board before I tumbled into the surf. Nadia (as she predicted) did slightly better and managed, at one point, to career towards the shoreline riding parrallell to another surfing student both shouting at the top of their lungs. In control - no, surfing - yes.

So in short, I am no Keanu Reeves on a 12ft board (hence this subtly titled blog entry) but I'm sure you'll all agree that I look equally good in a wetsuit.

Anyway, our final night in Sydney was spent with a farewell dinner with Karen and housemate Kristy at 'The Summit', one of Sydney's finest eating establishments with 47th floor views of the city, Harbour Bridge, Opera House (which we still aren't bored of).

To sum Sydney up, it was awesome. Great food, drink, activities and company. Whatever else happens on this trip, it has a lot to live up to.

(Please note Karen and Rich - I was having a few technical issues this morning. Hence a blog title with no text being up for a full 12 hrs. Yes, I'm still an amateur).

Valley deep, Mountain high.....

Interesting fact number one. The Blue Mountains, (2 hours west of Sydney) are so called because of the Blue haze created by the oils evaporating from the eucalyptus trees and mixing with the mist in the valleys.

We have literally just returned from two days in the Blue Mountains (very busy due to the labour day bank holiday weekend). It was extremely windy and biting cold compared to what we have been used to, but also extremely beautiful and as blue as the postcards make them out to be.

The days consisted of bush walking and the nights of boozing and playing pool. Interesting fact number two, or rather highlight to mention, was that myself and the lovely Karen Wells smashed James at pool after having consumed two bottles of wine with dinner. Booze or no booze we were the better team - rock on girls.

So since climbing the bridge we also visited the Hunter Valley, one of Australia's premier wine regions. Interesting fact number 3; American oak is now so expensive, that wineries are using alternative methods to 'oak' their wines to avoid having to store them in pricey barrels. One of the methods involves brewing in a metal vat and dipping a bag full of wood chippings into it to give it the oaky taste. This is also referred to as 'tea-bagging'.

The Hunter Valley tour basically involved visting four boutique wineries, one cheese and one chocolate house and basically getting unavoidably tipsy....oh and buying lots of lush wine.

Kayaking, surfing and a farewell dinner tomorrow... expect to see pics of me effortlessly riding the Australian waves whilst James struggles to stay afloat shortly.

Next stop - Melbourne.

The Climb of Your Life: Sydney Part 1

The pic to your right is Nadia and I atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge this afternoon. The 2hr climb over narrow walkways anywhere between 50 - 150 metres above the earth indeed confirmed that I still do have a massive fear of heights, however it was well worth it. Spectacular views on a spectacularly sunny day made me put fear of death to the back of my mind and enjoy the experience. Note the nice grey star trek style jumpsuits...these are apparently to make you blend in with the bridge so as not to distract drivers below...tres fashionable I'm sure you'll agree - oh, and that's the Sydney Opera House in the background of course.

Anyway, we got into Sydney last Thursday after a mammoth 13hr overnight bus trek (complete with crying babies) from Byron Bay. It is a bit strange being back in a city after hugging small coastal towns and islands for the last 5 weeks but a cool change nonetheless.

Top 5 highlights so far:
1. Obviously seeing our excellent host Karen Wells and her awesome (and massive) flat, complete with swimming pool, spa and sauna, in Pyrmont
2. Visiting the Palms on Saturday night, Sydneys premier gay nightspot, for one of Karen's friends birthdays. The evening was spent being served by men in their underpants at the bar and generally trying to avoid eye contact with any man in the place, especially the topless ones. I even got Nadia to accompany me to the toilet (I'd like to point out this was my first gay bar experience and, after a beer or two, i was obviously assuming i was irresistable to members of the same sex)
3. The ferry to manly to eat fish and chips on the beach and have beers with some old friendly faces
4. Sydney Harbour - the bridge (and climb obviously), the opera house etc. a cliche, but as specacular as it looks on the telly
5. A visit to Cooje and Bondi Beaches...which we will be surfing/drowning at later in the week

So considering the trip so far had mostly consisted of early nights and active days, Sydney has swayed back towards boozy nights and leisurely sightseeing. We even managed to stay up past 10.30 on more than one occasion.

Busy week ahead - Hunter Valley, Surf lessons and the Blue Mountains to come. Expect plenty more posts from Sydney.

Four Wheeling around Fraser

Just back from two days on the very magical Fraser Island. This beauty is the world's largest sand island, accesible only by 4WD... We decided to hire a very compact yet robust little jeep (well mini-jeep). Credit has to be paid here to James' driving skills. Move over Knightrider, James Dean, Michael Schumacher and The Fall Guy... The inland roads were more than just a little bumpy. Rocks, tree roots, sand dunes and creeks - you name it, we crossed it. Slightly more fun was the beach driving - think the red 4x4 in Baywatch and you'd be halfway there....

So, day one was spent initially getting to grips with the driving experience (and staying alive) before heading to Lake Mckenzie - a huge freshwater lake with white sands and crystal clear water. On a near par with Whitehaven... It was then on to Lake Wabby - this drive we later learned is usually saved for day two once the driver has had a chance to get used to his new mean machine... we ploughed on. The views from the lookout point were something else...

We passed the afternoon back down by the beach, past the Maheno shipreck and on to Eli Creek, one of the island's larger creeks that you could walk around and then literally float down as the current took you back to the ocean - freezing but brilliant.

Day two was slightly more off the beaten track. We decided to abandon the scheduled itinerary and set off for Indian Head (the peak of the island) with a group of energetic slovakians met at the lodge accomodation the night before. We set off early - it needed to be as you are not permitted to drive along the beach during high tide. For one you physically can't as the water washes away the hard sand road and secondly any salt water can get in to the engine and ruin it and/or rot the bodywork which incurs a hefty fine.

So we set off for the hour's drive, only to realise about twenty minutes into the journey that the fuel guage was on a quarter full... "Ummm James didnt they say in the induction not to let it drop below a quarter"..."Did they? Oh s**t".... Then as we continued to drive the tide seemed to be working to a tide limit of its own creeping up higher and chasing us along the way. We managed to reach our destination in one piece and with functioning vehicle. It was when we saw a mini-bus being pushed in vain by ten backpackers whilst the driver tried to reverse out of the soft sand that we decided to park up...

We spent a few hours whale and dolphin watching from the top of Indian Head and then once the tide had retreated made a break back to the barge terminal to catch the ferry home. (Boo)

Lots of fun and another highlight although realise that every entry has been described that way...

On to Byron Bay....

Cruising, Cocktails and Cricket in the Whitsunday's...

The picture to your right is a snap of an enthralling England/Australia beach cricket match that took place on Whitehaven beach in the Whitsunday's yesterday.

I am at bat, in the white shorts about to spank that ball into the sea for a six (or let go of the bat and send it careering at a member of the opposition depending on whose version of events you believe).

Before I get ahead of myself we've just returned from a four day three night luxury cruise around these islands which, for those who haven't been, are pretty special.

We arrived in Airlie Beach last Tuesday to more gales and torrential rain and to the news that our initial trip - on the Waltzing Mathilda - had been cancelled. Nadia and i were more than a little crestfallen and marched into the booking office ready for a fight until the kind lady informed us we had landed an upgrade to the Pacific Sunrise - basically top of the range cruise boat which would have cost beaucoup de $$$$ had we not been so fortunate.

We've both agreed its the best thing we've done since we've been away. A brief summary of the cruise....the first evening wasn't too strenuous - we pulled into a little bay for drinks and dinner with our ten fellow sailors and a low key evening was rounded off with a playful dolphin that spent a half hour swimming round the bottom of the boat.

Day two began with a bit of sailing before we pulled into a couple of bays and snorkelled the inner reef. The spectacular underwater life more than made up for the FREEZING waters...and we saw some very big and colourful fish. Whales were also spotted swimming off the bow as we moved onto our rest stop for the evening.

Day three was all about Whitsunday Island which was pretty awesome - the afternoon was spent on Whitehaven beach with beach cricket (see pic) and baking in the sun the main focus of activities. The sand was made up of 98% silica (i think) which meant it was whiter and finer than we'd ever seen before. Oh, and we saw a reef shark swimming in the shallows. Back on the boat we also had an encounter with three playful dolphins who were swimming along the bow and diving in and out of the waves as we motored to our next destination.

The last three days have been top quality - lots of sun, fantastic beaches, ink blue water, more marine life than you could shake a stick at, great food, plenty to drink and good company amongst the other couples on the trip. We are now back on dry land, but are both still swaying.

Forgot to mention we also had a trip to Magnetic Island before arriving in Airlie Beach. Again, lots of fun - we even saw a Koala!

Mammoth trip to Brisbane tomorrow then a couple of days break before we work our way down to coast to Sydney.

Underwater adventure....

Today has been the unrivaled highlight so far on our trip. After several patchy days (yes more rain and clouds...) and sailors warnings that the 30 knot winds might not drop making reef trips impossible, we finally made it out for our day trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

It was a bumpy 1.25 hr ride to the outer barrier reefs (and something of a vomitfest with men, women and children losing their breakfast - but not james or i...we are clearly built of sterner stuff) on the SilverSwift boat. Once we were there the wait was beyond worth it. It was an introductory dive for me (see pic), whilst James swam off on a snorkelling adventure. Both trips were as wildlife infested as each other. Visibility was clearly impressive (excuse the pun) and five hours out exploring Australias most impressive collection of marine life has left us both swaying slightly in our seats.

The highlight of the day was swimming just a stone throw's away from a playful sea turtle who decided to surface from the sea bed and swim just a meter ahead of our fins. Very very cool. Other marine life sights included stingrays, more sea turtles, lots of massive and colourful coral fish, 2 giant clams Oh...and the Reef itself which is pretty amazing and as great as everyone makes it out to be.

We head south to Magnetic Island tomorrow then onto the Whitsunday's for the rest of the week. Best get an early night...all that sea air has wiped us out.

Beware! We Bare

The pic in question is the sight that confronted us in the bar area of the White Cockatoo in Mossman (a quiet resort on the way to Cape Trib) - essentially the hotel's glory coverage from recent years.... In short, a very nice, rainforest set b&b that in winters months is fine for the family but doubles as a nudist colony/swingers retreat (thankfully we were out of season!)

We have spent the last four days on a road trip to Cape Tribulation. Recent adventures include:

• A meat feast cooked by James on a real Australian Barbie
• Crocodille spotting down the Daintree river (although James was dissapointed we only saw one)
• Lots of beach action (windy but good for kite sailing)
• Walking the Mossman Gorge (deep rainforest area just off the north east coast)
• Exploring the creeks and avoiding Crocodiles (warning signs were scary but quite exciting)
• Avoiding Cassawaries (large turkey creatures that charge at the sight of food and are more common than we initially thought)

Wildlife update since our last post:

• 1 large black Feral pig (in the Mossman rainforest - it snorted, we shat our pants)
• 1 large but not deadly spider (in the girls toilet but big enough to be considered a threat)
• 1 flying fox (fruit eating - James fed him some apple)
• 1 Cane toad ( it jumped out under the torchlight whilst we trecked accross the campsite)

Meet Dinky

Dinky is the world's only piano playing and singing dingo. We stumbled across him (well, not really, he is something of a tourist attraction in these parts) in the outback. I think you'll agree he's a very talented chap - hence the post of his own.



For those tuning in for interesting facts, then here's one for you - the chap next to him with the beard is Jim Cotterill. His dad, Jack Cotterill bulldozed a road from Adelaide to Alice Springs and is widely regarded as the man who opened up the heart of Australia.



Join me next week for more interesting facts. in the meantime, enjot a singing dog.

Maternal love

Whoops.

My blogging skills are still clearly a little rusty. When i said Nadia had 'this encounter' below...I obviously meant this encounter here!

Welcome to the rock

So, it has been an action packed few days.

The good news, is the wildlife count is up. As it stands we are looking at:

2 x cockroaches

5 x wild horses (Brondby's)

Numerous camels

A LOT of Kangaroos (one of which Nadia 'nursed' - more of that later)

2 x Dingos (one that plays the piano and sings - again, more of that later)

1 x Sand Iguana

The past 3 days have seen 3 pre-5am starts. The potted version goes something like this:

Day 1 - following a 5 hr trek from alice springs to Ayers Rock National Park we visited the big rock - otherwise known as 'Uluru' with, possibly the oldest bunch of tourists we've ever encountered. Highlights included watching one trying to descend the rock as quickly as possible (but still at a snails pace) whilst the bus driver was threatening to pull away. We then visited the Olga's (no connection to Nadia's mum) which were an equally impressive rock formation before heading back to Uluru for sundown. All in all, quality, but we could have done with the average age of our party being below seventy five. Then back to the Uluru lodge for an evening packed with cockroach encounters and midnight trips to the toilet

Day 2 - was quality and saw us conquer the Kings Canyon Rim - a 6K 3 hr hike (with a youthful party this time) with some amazing views, water holes and hidden delights along the way.

Day 3 - back at Alice springs started with a hot air balloon rise over the desert at sunrise (awesome - thankyou nadia for this kind b'day gift) followed by a champagne breakfast. you can't argue when you're hangover is kicking in before 9.30am. On returning to Alice Springs we then visited the Kangaroo sanctuary where Nadia had this encounter.

We're now in Cairns. Chilling for a day or so then heading for Port Talbot, Cape Tribulation and Cooktown. Stay tuned.

Why does it always rain on me?

Sometimes, some things don't change, no matter how far you go. 11,000 miles, 36 hours (oh, there was a 10 hr delay in Singapore), 3 continents, several airports and god knows how many cab/train/plane rides and its....still...raining.

What started out as a beautiful day on Rottnest Island, off the west coast of Fremantle (nr Perth), ended in a torrential downpour with ninety mile an hour gales (exaggeration) and horizontal sheets of rain. Perfect day for a sunny bikeride (i was actually going to post a nice picture of nadia in her bike helmet soaked to the skin in front of a lighthouse - keep your eyes peeled in case i figure out how to do that).

On a brighter note....the Sun has actually come out to play a fair bit since touchdown. We had a very pleasant trip on day one to Kings Park - one of Perth's natural beauties and have been amusing ourselves each evening with wine, beer and live music in the Northbridge district.

We also managed to discover the only Pizza restaurant in the southern hemisphere that begins ejecting its patrons at 8.30pm. we took it as a sign to leave when papa italia started putting the chairs on the the tables and turning out the lights (no exaggeration)

Just arrived at Alice springs - have a 2 day tour to the big red rock tomorrow. more to follow, with pics.

By the way, animal encounters have so far been at a premium. We have seen:
1 x peacock
2 x little bear things
Numerous cockatoos and brightly coloured birds
some MASSIVE ants
No spiders
No crocodiles
No kangaroos...I live in hope!

testing, testing...

so how do you put photos on this thing?

if only i was jonny rosemont.

3 months off...

...and a matter of days before departure.

have to say i'm a bit new to this blogging lark and everyone i work with will know how Web 2.0 I'm, errrr, not. Still, we'll see how i get on.

Anyways, 3 months, 3 countries, 10,000 miles. You'd best hope enough happens to keep me writing or these could get reaaaaaaaaaally boring.

Roll on 19th August