yocksan's Travel log

Hello everyone, Lou and I are about to go on our big trip. We will keep you updated on this site with messages and photos. love Y and L xx

Log entries 1 - 10 of 27

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Apr 08, 2005 06:00 PM The last day! Hello to you all. Well, Louise and I have finally reached the last day of our big trip. It has been an incredible journey which we will never forget. We are now back in Cusco which has become our base for the last couple of weeks. After we returned from the awesome Inca Trail we took some time to recover. Then we met up with a couple who we got to know on the trek for a couple of beers. It all started to go wrong at the point when Lou and I stumbled upon an Irish bar in the middle of Cusco which was selling extremely large gin and tonics for less than a quid in the first of two happy hours. We met Paul and Ruth later on for the second happy hour and consumed more of the same before heading off to one of the town´s clubs where we danced until 4am. Needless to say the following day was a bit of a waste of time but we did have a lot of fun. Yesterday we returned from a three day trip down to a place called Puno which is about 400km South East of here. We took the “backpacker” train down which was an adventure in itself. Ten hours through stunning mountain scenery complete with pisco sour welcome drinks, musical entertainment and three course lunch! Not really the backpacker experience we had expected but it was still cheap. At one point we were pulled from our seats, dressed up in traditional costume and invited to dance up and down the isles to the sound of Peruvian music! The train passed up and over the mountains to a height of 4350m above sea level. We could feel ourselves having to breath slightly harder even although we were doing nothing! We arrived in Puno feeling refreshed and headed through the gates of the station to the chaos of the awaiting crowds of taxi drivers, tour guides and hostel owners. We then spent the next while searching for a place to stay and to organise a trip to the Uros floating islands and Taquile island on Lake Titikaka for which the area is famous. The next morning we headed off on our boat trip into the lake. We had a great day and visited some very interesting island communities. The floating islands are made entirely from reeds which have to be replaced every three months and the inhabitants have to rebuild their homes every six months. They sometimes even join two or more islands together for football matches. Amazing. The air very clear over the lake and you can see for miles. We returned to our hostel, had a meal out and an early night. The next morning we were up sharp (again) and headed off to the bus station for the return journey to Cusco. We had booked onto a “tourist” bus which was supposed to be quick and comfortable…. However we arrived at the station only to be told that it had broken down and that we had to either take the night bus (potential disaster) or to take a local bus. We opted for the local bus which turned out to be an actual disaster. Squeezed into the upper deck of an extremely smelly coach we set off on what was to be one of the worst journeys of the entire trip. The smell of stale urine was overwhelming from start to finish. Mix this with the smell of buckets of cooked chicken and potatoes, local women dressed in thousands of layers of clothing and general stale air and you will be close to what we had to endure for over eight hours! There was also extremely loud music coming from the stereo mixed with the song and guitar of a busker to contend with!! It was awful. Unlike the train trip we arrived back in Cusco tired and stressed out. Luckily we had decided to book into a better room at our hostel for the last two nights. It has an en-suite and even a TV! We awoke this morning and tuned into the royal wedding which was nice! Today we are taking care of a few last minute things and just taking it easy in the sunshine. The weather here in Cusco is strange; when the sun is out it is roasting but in the shade it is freezing. Something to do with the height we think. The people here are very friendly despite the fact that a lot of them are always at your heel trying to sell you finger puppets, postcards or dolls. We passed one wee boy earlier who tried to stop us to point out the brick work in this old wall. He showed us one particular stone which he said was special as it was cut at eleven angles. He then told us that we MUST photograph it (for a charge) as it was very famous, more famous than Michael Jackson!!! There are also loads of small children wandering around dressed in traditional clothes saying “photo, photo” as you pass. The central squares here are immaculate and are a world away from some of the alleyways and streets on the fringes of the city which remind us in some ways of the poverty we saw in India. All in all Peru had been a great experience and had given us the challenge we were looking for. It is a relatively easy place to get around and, despite the poverty amongst a lot of the people, they have been very friendly and welcoming. It has been good for us to finish our travels here with the lasting reminder of how poor a lot of the world is. That said…. We are looking forward to getting back home and back into our routine although we may look at things slightly differently now - or at least for a while anyway!! We are up sharp tomorrow for the first of our four flights home. Hopefully our bags will arrive with us. We should, fingers crossed, arrive back in Edinburgh at a quarter to nine on Monday evening. See you all soon, Lots of love, Louise and Yocksan xxxxx

Apr 02, 2005 06:00 PM The Inca Trail...... Hello to you all, Louise and I are now in Cusco and having a great time here exploring the town and area. We left our hostel in Santiago for the second time exactly one week ago. We had to get up at 5am to get to the airport in time to catch our next flight to Lima then onward to Cusco. Unfortunately our flight to Lima was delayed and we missed the connection to Cusco. The airline put us up in the Sheraton in Lima city centre, with dinner, which was ok but not really part of the plan. On the way to the hotel we drove through some pretty bad areas of the city which in general looked fairly grim untill we got to the centre which looked good. Lots of lovely old buildings and squares situated next to less attractive streets lined with litter and dodgy looking folk! We were so tired that we just ended up crashing in front of the telly in our room for most of the afternoon making the most of the soft pillows with no lumps. We even had a bath!!! The next morning we were up early again to catch our flight to Cusco. No problems this time and we arrived refreshed and ready for action. However, as soon as we stepped off plane I realised that life at 3500m above sea level was not going to be easy. Blue lips and breathless we huffed and puffed our way to our hostel in the San Blas area of the town. I say we but Louise was ok and seemed to be unaffected by the altitude. The hostel was lovely and the people very friendly. We spent the afternoon napping, again, and then headed out in the evening to have a look round. Cusco is a really nice town wihich is surrounded by mountains. There are narrow streets everywhere and it is full of little shops selling hundreds of arts and crafts. As I was continuously out of breath and now suffering from a dull headache we had to stop for tea breaks along the way. There are loads of nice cafes here selling great cakes which is handy. We then made our way to the travel agency who we booked the Inca Trail through and we were intorduced to the rest of the group (13 of us in all). After two days of relaxing and acclimatising we packed our bags for the four day trek. Up at 5am we headed off to the pick up point (in the pouring rain) where we were bussed to the start point which was in this great wee village called Ollantaytambo. It was full of local people wearing traditional dress trying to sell us everything from water to walking sticks. With our backpacks on it was off for four days of walking up and down and up again through amazing countryside and mountain sceney where luckily the weather had improved. We stopped off at numerous Inca ruins along the way where our guide, Carlos, explained their history. Along with the 13 of us were our porters. These guys were local farmers who try to earn some extra cash by carrying all of our tents and food and general supplies. These people have to be seen to be believed. Some of them were carrying up to 40kg of kit on their backs. With legs like tree trunks they ran for a lot of the 50km track so that things were set up at the camp´s in time for us to arrive. They were brilliant and put us to shame. We felt it hard to see these guys who were working so hard for us wearing inadequate clothing and no doubt on poor wages. We opted to carry all of our own stuff instead of adding to their burden which sometimes felt like a mistake! As we staggered in to each camp along the way, there they were preparing tents and cooking up amazing meals. In fact the food was excellent; three course lunches and dinners, we couldnt believe it. We had thought that we would loose a few pounds and tone up a bit with all the walking but that was not to be! The first days walking was fine and we arrived at this amazing campsite at 2900m with great views of massive mountains where we had a reasonable nights sleep on a slope! The next day was to be the most challenging. Up at 6am we headed off at 7 where we walked up to a height of 4220m in the pouring rain! The walk was really tough and steep and we were constantly struggling for breath as we got higher. Louise came across this guy who was in agony with severe cramps. He was on his own and Lou had to help him out. I got to the top of the pass where I developed a bad headache which dissapeared as soon as I decended a few hundred metres. We arrived at our camp soaked and tired but in good form. The rest of the group were really nice, five Americans, four Canadians and four Brits. We all ate together and had a good laugh at meal times. After the two days walking things were going fine untill I awoke on the third morning, cold and with an upset stomach. I had to run to use one of the two loos on the camp site where things did not go well. After numerous drugs from Lou´s well stocked medical kit I started to feel better along the way. We walked along more steep mountain passes and saw fantastic Inca ruins all throught the day before arriving at our third and final campsite. Another great meal and a chance to get together with all the porters to thank them for their heroic efforts (and to give them a big, well deserved tip). A couple of beers were taken but no more as it was up at 4am, yes 4am! This was the last day and the early start was to allow us to walk the final miles of the track to the Sun Gate in time for sunrise. All was going well again untill we found that we had lost our tickets (still debating on whose fault it was). We got to the final check point at 5am and they would not let us through. Some ridiculous arguing ensued and we were finally allowd to continue although we were now nearly an hour behind our group. Our guide stayed behind to help us out with the situation which was finaly resolved without us having to pay $50 again which would have been scandalous. At one point we had had enough of the situation and were just going to walk through the gate but it was quickly padlocked by one of the wardens! Anyway, enough said about that. We continued along the path which was narrow and steep in places as it wound its way through the jungle high in the mountains. Breathless, and sweating profusely, we climbed up the last steep section of carved out steps up towards the famous Sun Gate where we were greeted by the incredible and unforgettable sight of Machu Picchu. It was so amazing that it brought a tear to Louise´s eyes. Down in a valley below perched on a hill top was the lost city of the Incas, built over 500 years ago and only uncovered by an American explored in 1911. It was breathtaking and easily the highlight of the trip! We continued down to the site where we were given a great tour of the ruins by Carlos. After that we had some time to ourselves so we decided to climb up Huayna Picchu mountain which towers up directly behind the site. There was only enough room for about ten people on the rocky top and we were rewarded with brilliant 360 deg. views. We then decended from there all the way down to Agua Calientes where the trek ended. We regrouped at 2.30pm and had a slap up lunch before heading back to Cusco on the train. All in all the trek was excellent and way better that our expectations. The Inca history was fascinating and added to the sense of adventure. Back in Cusco we collapsed into bed for a good nights sleep! After all the early starts of the past few days we were unable to sleep past 7am this morning so we got up and headed off to Pisac which is famous for its thriving market. We took the local bus there which was packed to the brim. The market was great and we splashed out of a few items! We had a great lunch overlooking the market square which was full of colourful local people carrying everything from baby lambs to massive mountains of veg. Took loads of photos! We plan to spend the next couple of days here relaxing. After that we are going to take a ten hour train trip to Puno for a couple of nights so that we can visit Lake Titicaca to see the floating islands. Then is back here for our last two nights before we head back to Lima for our flight home on Sunday. Will give a final update soon. We are staring to get reflective about the whole trip now and the thought of it all puts a smile on our faces. However, we are both really looking forward to getting home. Six months with not seeing family and friends is probably long enough............ Lots of love, Y and L xxxx

Mar 24, 2005 09:00 PM Valparaiso... Hello to you all. Louise and I are fine and well and enjoying our second visit to sunny Santiago. We left the city just over a week ago and headed to the coast to a lovely place called Valparaiso which is only about two hours away. We traveled there with Amy, a girl from Chicago, who we met at our hostel in Santiago. We arrived in the town, which is built on 45 hills and, in view of this, decided to take a taxi to our hostel which was conveniently owned by the author of our guidebook! We loved Valparaiso so much that we stayed there for a week! It is a great place full of history character although it seems to have has its hayday. There are loads of very unique old bars, cafés and the streets of the old town are all lined with houses clad in different colors of corrugated iron. We basically spent our first day wandering through hundereds of winding streets where Louise used her map reading and homing pigeon skills to the maximum. I on the other hand spent the whole day feeling totally lost. Nothing new there. The next morning we were awoken at 8am to the sound of the door bell and the familiar London accent of a guy called Charlie who we had met during our trek in Torres Del Paine over a week earlier. By complete chance he had arrived at our hostel and booked in. The next couple of days were spent following a similar theme; breakfast, wandering around in the morning and then spending the afternoons with Amy and Charlie sampling the local beers, cakes and snacks. Great fun. Louise and I then spent a day horse trekking. We were picked up by the owners of this local ranch and taken to their place where we were introduced to our horses. There were four of us altogether with two guides. We had a superb day riding through the countryside. Neither of us had had ever purposefully gone beyond a trot on a horse before but when the guide told us that horses in Chile “don´t trot, they either walk or gallop”, we began to get worried. By the end of the day we couldn´t go fast enough, it was excellent, full speed over sand dunes and on the beach. We stopped for lunch and were treated to an amazing BBQ washed down with red wine and these Chilean cocktails called Pisco Sours, all this in the middle of nowhere. We also spent some time exploring two houses that were owned by a famous Chilean poet called Pablo Neruda. He has a home in Valparaiso, one in a small beachside village nearby and one here in Santiago. They are all now museums and are amazing. All full of really quirky rooms which are jam packed with his collections which range from ship figure heads to insects and most things in between! We also spent a very tiring day climbing up a 1880m high mountain called La Campana. What a slog, but well worth it at the top. Great views of the snow capped Andes on one side and the Pacific on the other. We were the only ones up there which was nice. We saw these very large birds soaring around us and thought at first thet they were Condors but then we saw these other two even more huge birds which were Condors. They were being chased by the less huge ones and we were treated to an aerial display. The Condors flew to within about 10 meters over our heads and we could hear the air round their wings as they passed. They were gigantic. Got some great photos. We then headed back down the mountain and back to Valparaiso via the torturous local bus service. Not sure what was worse, the walk or the bus journey! When we eventually got back we treated ourselves to a pizza and then headed back to the hostel. That was yesterday. Today we got up sharp and headed back to Santiago which is where we are now back in the same hostel as before. We will stay here for Easter weekend and then on Sunday have an early flight to Cuzco in Peru. Three days there and then we start the Inca Trail which lasts for four days where we will trek and camp all the way to Machu Picchu. After that we´re not sure but we are thinking about doing a horse trek for a few days, Will keep you posted. LOL Yocksan and Louise xxx

Mar 16, 2005 09:00 PM Santiago De Chille Hello to you all, Louise and I are now in Santiago and having a great time! The weather is great and the sun is shining on us once again (27 deg.!) After visiting the Torres Del Paine National Park we returned to Puerto Natales for a few days of recovery time. We then went to a lovely place called El Calafate which was a five hour bus journey across the border and into Argentina. From there we visited the Perito Moreno Glacier which is a kind of massive tongue of ice which pours off the Southern Ice Field. It was huge! We stayed there for a good few hours and heard the ice cracking and moving as it edged forward at a rate of two metres per day. We also saw large, house sized chunks of ice fall from the glacier and into the lake. It was as spectacular as the postcards promised. We then returned to El Calafate for a couple of nights where we ate a lot of chocolate and Argentinian steak (not on the same plate) which was superb. Steak the size of a small child. Louise ordered the lamb which was like a whole lamb, huge. It all came on this sizzling platter and could have easily fed a small family! After El Calafate we had a day on the bus back to Punta Arenas in Southern Chile. We stayed there for a couple of nights. The weather there was terrible, still 10 deg. and raining. Yet again we had to put ALL of our clothes to brave a two hour boat trip which we took to Isla Del Magdelenas where we walked around the small uninhabited island. Uninhabited that is apart from the 80,000 penguins who live there! It was amazing, penguins everywhere! We were almost triping over the poor little things. We took loads of photos; Louise with a penguin, me with some penguins, penguins in nests, penguins sleeping, more penguins relaxing..... penguins looking cold etc, etc... On the way there we also saw these black and white dolphins jumping out of the water swimming along side the boat. Then it was back to Punta Arenas for our last night in Patagonia. The following morning we headed of to the airport where we took a flight to Santiago. We are staying in a great hostel at the moment in the Bellavista area of the city which is only a twenty minute walk from the centre. Santiago does not really have any knock out attractions but we love it. It is very relaxed and has a kind of rustic feel about it, not too touristy and full of markets, great cafes and local type bars. It´s St Paddy´s day today so we´re off to find the only Irish bar in town (Flannigans!) later on to sink a couple of pints of the black stuff! We´re off to the coast in a couple of days for some beach time then back to Santiago for Easter weekend which is supposed to be great, full of parades and celebration. Take care, L and Y xxxx

Mar 09, 2005 09:00 PM Patagonian Adventure Hello everyone... We spent our last few days in New Zealand touring the Northern part of the North Island. We headed off further up the coast to a tiny place called Tutukaka where we went diving again. The weather was terrible as we headed off towards the Poor Knights Islands which are about 1 hour off the East coast. Apparently, when Captain Cook (who seems to have discovered just about everything) was sailing past the islands he was tucking into a poor knight´s pudding. He actually thought the islands looked like the pudding so he named them after it! (Something to do with the jam on the top of the sponge looking like the red flowers blooming on the island, glad to know old Cookie was putting a lot of thought into his names) Anyway...... the diving was superb, the best yet. You could see for miles underwater and there were millions of fish to be seen including Moray Eels. We even swam through this 50m long underwater cave which was full of these amazing bright blue fish. Louise got really sore ears so couldn´t bring herself to do the second dive but snorkelled instead and saw just about as much. Our last two night were spent in Pahia which is in the Bay of Islands. We stayed in a great hostel and just relaxed for a couple of days before we left for Auckland where we were to catch the plane to Santiago. What can we say.... We are now in Chile which is absolutely stunning!!! After a 40 hour long day we finally arrived in Punta Arenas way down in the South! Actually, after a 11 hour long flight we arrived 5 hours before we left New Zealand! Quite bizarre to cross the date line and gain 16 hours. We eventually arrived in Punta Arenas at midnight and went straight to bed arfter having been awake for 32 hours. It was a bit like groundhog day. We really liked Punta Arenas although there wasn´t much to do there apart from to go and see Penguins (60,000 pairs of them) on the Isla de Magdalenes. I think we will go and do that when we go back there in a few days from now. We explored the town and had a few Pisco Sours (grape brandy, egg white and lemon) in this bar where we met an Australian couple from Melbourne who were planning to do a similar route to us over the next few days. We then went to Puerto Natales which was a three hour bus trip North. We booked into a great wee hostel called Patagonian Adventure where we arranged a trip into the Torres Del Paine National Park from which we have just returned. We rented some sleeping bags and some other kit, bought all our food and made three nights of bookings in various Refugio´s (bunks in a basic lodge) along the 80km route which we planned to walk over 4 days. The night before we left we met up with the Australian couple (Alex and Duncan) again and went out for dinner and some drinks. The bars here are great. We all ended up in this great place called "El Tunnel" untill 2am. Instead of bar stools it has swings! We woke at 6.30am the same morning blearly eyed and got on the bus to go into the National Park. What a trip..... it was amazing. We took a bus trip for 3 hours and 120km along a dirt road to the start of the track. Along the way we saw loads of Pink Flamengos and these Llama type animals. We arrived and left our packs in the Refugio and started walking along what´s called the "W" Circuit. It is just`part of a longer route whch you can do in the Park. Basically we trekked up 3 valleys from East to West walking up to nine 9 hours a day. We saw some breathtaking sights including the Paine Towers which the park is named after. As we walked we saw a lot of very large birds soaring high amoungst the cliffs. They were massive Andean Condors. We saw colourful Parrots and green and red Woodpeckers which didn´t seem to be too bothered as we walked past. All the lakes were fed by the Glaciers and were an amazing blue/green colour. We´d say that the whole trek was the highlight of the entire trip so far. It was hard work but the rewards were superb. We also walked for 22km on the last day to see the incredible Grey Glacier. It is absolutely huge and is part of the Southern Ice Field which is the largest chunk of ice outside the Poles. We are now back in Puerto Natales which is a nice little place. The hostel is cosy which is just as well because we finally have cold weather...10 degrees. We are just about wearing all of our clothes! We have met some lovely people here and the locals are really friendly. Unfortunately, my Spanish lessons haven´t been much help so far! Louise seems to be doing most of the lingo at the moment. I just resort to adding an "o" to the end of everything and hoping for the best. Oh dear! We plan to spend another night here before we head into Argentina to El Calafate for 3 days to see the Purito Moreno Glacier. It looks spectacular and is constantly falling into the sea creating icebergs. Then it will be back to Punta Arenas before flying to Santiago to spend 10 days there and around the coast. Fantastic! We are really loving it here and its nice to be back in a different culture. If the rest of Chile is anything like as good as this first week has been then we´re in for a great time. We will keep you posted... Lots of love, Y and L xxxx

Feb 26, 2005 09:00 PM The North Island Hello to you all at home, All is still going very well over here in New Zealand. We are now in a place called Whangarei which in in the Northern part of the North Island. We have come here to do some more diving (tomorrow). Unfortunately, we don't really have enough time left to do the North Island justice and so instead we are doing a bit of a whistle stop tour of all the highlights which has been good. We left Wellington after having spent some quality time with the Martineaus and headed up the East coast to a place called Napier where we stayed for a couple of nights. Napier was flatened by an earthquake in the early 1930's and was completely rebuilt in an Art Deco style. All the buildings are lovely and the town is right on the beach. We arrived at the end of Art Deco Weekend and there were loads of people in fancy dress and the streets were full of old vintage cars. It was like stepping back in time. We then drove to Turangi where we checked into a great backpackers which came complete with a 25m climbing wall! When we arrived we arranged transport to the start of what's called the Tongariro Crossing. It's a 25km hike up to a height of 2400m through amazing live volcanic landscapes. We took a slight detour off the track and scaled the very steep slopes of one of New Zealand's most active volcanos called Mt. Ngauruhoe. (It's "Mt. Doom" from Lord of the Rings!) When we eventually got to the top it went from quite cold to very hot as we approached the crator. There were steaming vents all over the place. After a quick lunch we headed back down to complete the walk which took eight hours in total and was really tough. We met some really nice people along the way and even bumped into a guy called John who was on our diving course in Thailand!!! We also met a guy from Groningen in Holland (where I have some family) and got very hungry talking about all our favourite dutch food and cakes! Totally exhausted we collapsed at the finish and waited for the minibus to take us back to the hostel. By far the hardest trek we have ever done. The next morning we took to the road again and made our way to Rotorua which is famous for its hot springs and mud pools. When we arrived we headed straight for the Polynesian Spa for some luxury. Louise booked in for a massage type treatment and I went for a soak in the hot natural spring baths which went from 38 deg. in stages to 46 deg. - Lovely. We stayed there untill it got dark which was superb. Imagine a giant outdoor bath under the stars. Just what we needed to ease the sore legs. The only drawback was that the pools, in fact the whole town, stank of rotten eggs! The owner of the hostel offered us a job for a year running the place so that he and his wife could take a break! We declined so we're still coming home.... We then drove for almost five hours to the Coromandel Peninsula where we stayed for one night in a lovely lodge by the sea. The owner was really nice and he even took me fishing in his boat. So, while Louise sunned herself on the golden beach, I went off to catch more dinners. We headed off out to sea in this wee tin boat armed with our fishing gear and a few beers. First we set a "long line" which involves setting 26 hooks with bait between two large floats. Then we started fishing with rods from the boat. After about an hour I had caught a couple of Snapper! We headed back to reel in the long line which had caught 2 Rays, a small Shark and 4 more Snapper!! The Ray and the Shark went back but the Snapper came with us and made a lovely meal the following night. Another monster drive through the Coromandel coastline took us North of Auckland to a place called Mangawhui Heads where we stayed the night. Again, Louise headed straight for the beach while I borrowed some fishing gear and went out hunting for Snapper again. This time I had no luck at all and so in defeat I joined Louise at the beach having caught no dinner! We are now in Whangarei on our way to a wee place called Tutukaka where we are going to go diving tomorrow at the Poor Knights Islands which are supposed to be amazing. Full of underwater volcanic landscapes, teeming with fish and coral (according to the brochure). We'll let you know. After that we spend our last two night in The Bay of Islands in a place called Paihia. Then it's off to South America where we will finally be out of the heat and into the cold! Yes!! Lots of love, Y and L xxxxx

Feb 17, 2005 09:00 PM @#*%~%* Sand Flies! Good morning folks..... Louise and I left the intense heat of Wanaka just over a week ago and headed off up the West coast. Our first stop was a place called Fox Glacier. The town itself was nothing special, a bit of a leftover from the seventies, but there was a glacier to be seen which was excellent. After a very bumpy drive along a dirt track (the boot popped open about a million times) we parked up and walked along a track by the river. Then we saw a massive dirty block of ice which was slowly melting into the glacial river. It was quite a site. The whole area looked like a quarry due to the frequent land slides exposing bare rock and gravel. Most of the glacier was covered in dirt but at the face it was an amazing blue colour. Later that evening we ventured in to the woods to seek out the Glow Worms. It was pitch dark all the way along this narrow path untill all of a sudden the area lit up with the light coming from these tiny worms. It was like looking at the stars. At this point we didn't know anything about the little critters but we have since learned that they are the larvae of tiny flys. The flys only live for three days due to the fact that they have no mouths but the worms live for nine months. They glow in the dark to attract tiny flys into their sticky web type lines which they dangle out at night. Most bizarre. We left Fox Glacier and headed off for a place called Punakaki where we stayed in a lovely back-to-nature type place in the jungle. We met an amazing guy there who had been travelling round the world for over four years..... in a boat! The longest he had spent at sea was 26 days! We took a walk through the jungle to the beach where we saw some more blow holes sputing out water. The weather was terrible and the sea was rough so the whole coastline was very dramatic. We also went to visit the Pancake Rocks for which the area is famous. We could have stayed longer but we headed off the following day after a mornings kayaking up the Pororari river which was superb. We then drove to a place called Hecter where we stayed in an amazing hostel perched high on a hillside overlooking the sea. We had to park up by the beach and walk up a steep path through the woods for 20 minutes to the place. The owners took our stuff up the track on the back of their quad bike. What a place. Superb views and totally secluded and quiet. We had a lovely two nights there and went for a couple of walks nearby. We also saw Dolphins surfing the waves below. Great sunsets on the deck! The only downside was the fact that we were constantly under attack by Sand Flies. We got bitten to pieces here and for most of the way up the coast. In fact the bites are still itchy! A long drive the next day took us to Abel Tazman National Park where we met up with our friends Peter and Ayesha and their boys. They had booked a house for us to stay in and we spent the next three days with them. We had some great BBQ's, a few beers etc. We also took a water taxi which dropped us off up the coast and we walked back for a couple of hours through the bush. Saw beautiful beaches and a seal colony on the way. That evening it got a little stormy and the waves picked up at the beach near the house so Pete and I went down to do some body surfing which was great fun. I would describe it as like being stuck in a washing machine on spin cycle and then suddenly being thrown out onto coarse sand paper. Did I say fun!!? Bruised but still alive we headed back indoors for hot tea and Tim Tam biscuits. Sounds a bit dull but everyone must try them. They work best if you bite off the opposite corners from the biscuit and then dip into the tea. Then, using the biscuit like a straw, suck up the tea. Then eat the biscuit before it melts from the inside - Heaven!! (The caramel ones are the best.) We also taught Hamish to say our names; I'm "Ocking" and Louise is "Lou-Lou" and just last night he managed to say his own name for the first time. We then left Pete, Ayesha, Hamish and Haris and headed off for Marlborough Sounds. A very long and winding road all the way along the coastline to a fabulous place in the middle of knowwhere called Mahana Lodge. We saw more Glow Worms, this time from our bedroom window which was nice. We also went Kayaking again. We made up a lunch and headed off for a paddle. We found a secluded beach, ate our lunch and had just started paddling back when the heavens opened. It got really windy so we took cover under an overhanging tree untill it passed. The weather changes so quickly here - from blue skies and sun to total storm in the space of half a hour! Later on we went fishing from the pier near the hostel. I caught a bit of a cold as well as a few Blue Cod. We ate one for dinner, well, it was really only enough for a starter! However.... early the following morning the owner of the hostel took me out on his boat. We cast our lines out and after about ten minutes I caught a MASSIVE Blue Cod. (Dad, you would have been proud) It was about a foot and a half long. After a quick lesson in fish filleting we headed off for Wellington which is where we have been for the last few days. We are staying with Peter and Ayesha again and are having a lovely time. After a great Blue Cod dinner a couple of nights ago we have spent the last few days just chilling out. We will stay here in Wellington untill Sunday and then we will head off to Napier for a couple of nights. We've now got a different car which is a lot better than the last heap! take care, Ocking and Lou Lou xx

Feb 04, 2005 09:00 PM Bungi-heli-raft canyoning! Hello everyone, Well, Louise and I are now in Wanaka and we have had a great week getting here. Last Tuesday we headed off to Milford Sound for the day. We took a two hour boat trip on the Sound which was superb. The weather was perfect; clear skies all round. The boat took us all the way along the Sound and into the Tasman Sea. We saw beautiful scenery and wildlife on the way including huge waterfalls and seals. On the way back to Te Anau we stopped off at the start of a track to Lake Marian. We treked through the rainforest and up into a valley between massive snow capped mountains. We walked for about 3 hours in searing heat, sweating uncontrollably, untill we found the lake. It was definately worth the hard slog. Noone there and views out of a postcard. I even went for a skinny dip in the icy water! Back to Te Anau where we had a bite to eat and an early night. Up sharp the next morning and headed for Queenstown, the adventure sport capital of the universe! You can do just about any kind of daft, dangerous activity here. We booked into the Bungi Backpackers and went exploring. Queenstown is a lovely place and is packed with shops and bars and has a very nice harbour area. It is in a stunning setting by Lake Wakatipu which is surrounded by the most spectacular mountains. We took a forty minute drive to Glenorchy which is also surrounded by massive snow capped mountains. A lot of The Lord of the Rings was filmed there and around Queenstown. After thinking long and hard about which adventure sport to try we decided to go white water rafting on the Shotover River. What an experience. First off we took a trip in a minibus to where you start rafting. This involves being driven for 30 km along the scariest road in NZ!, or even the World! Possibly even scarier than some of the death defying bus trips we took in India. The single tracked dirt road was carved out of the mountainside to gain access to the old gold mining areas. The road led to Skippers Canyon where there were sheer drops of 100 meters and no barriers! The road is only the width of the bus and the driver had to swing right over the edge to get round some of the tighter corners. We could hardly watch! After this drive we thought that the rafting would be a breeze - Wrong! After arriving safely (somehow) we were given a safety briefing which was full of doom and gloom about all the things that could go wrong such as falling in, raft tiping over, being stuck underwater etc. Helmets and lifejackets on, we went for it. 7 rafts each with 7 souls on board, into the unknown. What a trip. We still cant believe how we didn't drown. The grade 4 rapids were unbelieveable. You can see us in action with terror written all over our faces at www.raft.co.nz if you fancy a laugh. Just look up photo number RAFT5231583 or the photos for Thursday 3rd of February (I'm at the front and Lou's at the back and our guide had on a blue helmet). Later that day we went for a drive and took in more scenery and saw some of the actual spots where The Lord of the Rings movies were filmed. The following day we headed off for Wanaka stopping off at a lovely old mining village called Arrowtown on the way. There is a very well preserved old Chinese mining settlement there which was interesting. Wanaka is lovely. Again, set amid lakes and amazing snowy peaks. The weather is hotter here than in Australia but without the humidity. Yesterday at 5pm it was 38 deg.! We've had to go swimming in the crystal clear lake to cool off - its a hard life! We had thought that we had left the heat behind us. Last night we planned to get up at 6am this morning to climb a mountain called Roy's Peak. It's just under one mile high! The alarm went off at and when I got into the car to head off it was still dark and Lou was still in bed! She had been kept awake by the heat and some Germans who were having some sort of sing-a-long outside our window at 1am! It took me 5 long and sweaty hours to slog it up and down the mountain but the views made it worthwhile. Panoramic views of mountains, lakes and glaciers. Hell on the knees on the way down! After our only time apart in 4 months (!) I then found Louise sunning herself at the lake where I went for a well earned swim. The car is running well, apart from a few minor problems such as the boot door popping open when we go over bumps, the window wipers come off from time to time and dust gets in through the closed doors when we drive over unsealed roads! Other than that she's driving like a dream! We met a nice German couple who were at the end of their holiday and that kindly gave us their cool box so we have now got a mobile fridge which is handy. We are now well into the backpacking lifestyle; people stealing your food in hostels, early starts and being able to pack up in 10 minutes. We are now quite used to cooking in communual kitchens and sleeping on various styles of mattress ranging from rock hard to the kind you disappear into! Louise has just counted the number of different beds we have slept in since we've been away and, including trains, busses, planes and boats, it's a staggering 65! Tomorrow we head for Fox Glacier which is a good 5 hour drive up the West coast. We stay there for a couple of nights before heading for a place called Punakaki. We meet up with our friends Peter and Ayesha on Thursday in Abel Tasman National Park. Not much else to report other than we are having a great time here in New Zealand. It's is now 38 degrees again the thought of leaving the aircon of this internet cafe is not appealing. I feel another dip in the lake coming on...... Lots of love, Louise and Yocksan

Jan 30, 2005 09:00 PM Chased by giant lions!! Hi Guys, Since our last update we have spent a fantastic first week in New Zealand. We have been travelling in a clockwise direction round the South Island taking in some great scenery. We left Christchurch about a week ago and headed Southwards towards the Banks Peninsula. We drove for a good few hours along a great route called the "Summit Road" to our first stop at Onuku Farm. We had a gorgeous room in the hostel which was situated on a hillside with views across to the mountains and sea. We even got free eggs! The following day we went for a walk up a hill called Stoney Peak with more great views from the top. The next day we headed off for Lake Tekapo and did some more walking taking in views of bright blue lakes and snow peaked mountains as far as the eye could see. We then drove to Mount Cook (NZ's highest at 3750m) where we went for another walk up the valley to the Hooker Glacier. On the way there we could hear parts of the glacier breaking off and crashing down the mountainside into the valley. It sounded like distant thunder. We had clear skys with amazing views of Mount Cook which was covered in snow and looked awesome! A short drive then led us to our next stop which was near a place called Omaru. We stayed on a farm in a lovely setting by the beach (free potatoes this time!) The hostel was run by a Welsh guy who'd built a small pub on site. Very cosy. That evening we went to Omaru to see Blue Penguins which are the smallest in the world at only 30cm tall! We saw them all toddle up the beach, after a hard days fishing, to their nests. The town itself was very nice with loads of stunning turn of the century architecture. Another short drive and we arrived in a lovely area called the Otago Peninsula. After a winding drive along the coastline of the peninsula we arrived at Bus-stop Backpackers. Having made the decision to hire a car instead of a campervan we found ourselves spending the next two nights in a 27 year old bus called "Philabella"! The owners go on holiday it it during the winter leaving it for guests to stay in during the summer. It was lovely with great views of the sea and mountains. The next day we explored the peninsula area and saw Albatrosses, seals and amazing beaches. We went to one great beach called Sandfly Bay where we parked up and walked through the dunes to the beautiful deserted beach. As we walked to the far end we saw a large Sea Lion swiming close to the shore. I walked into the water to take some obligatory touristic snaps and then left it alone. As we walked on we noticed it had dragged its enormous self onto the beach. We gave it a wide berth as we walked past. Obviously we had done something to annoy him as he suddenly started to growl at us. The growl then turned into a full on chase as he came at us as at some pace! We then turned and ran for our lives into the sand dunes! We've never moved so fast. When we got to the safety of the high ground and dared to look back we saw the Sea Lion doing some sort of victory roll in the sand! We then sneaked off quietly back along the beach to the car. Respect to the Sea Lions. Later that evening we met a lovely couple who owned a farm nearby. They gave us loads of advice about our trip and invited us to their farm. The next day we headed to their place and saw loads of sheep being sheared. It took less than a minute per sheep! We then arrived at a place called Papatowai where we stayed for two nights in another great hostel at the top of a hill. We went to some amazing caves and waterfalls before heading further along the South coast and up to Te Anau, in Fiordland, which is where we are now. Yet another hostel at the top of a hill with great views which seems to be the norm here! Tomorrow we plan to head into Milford Sound where we have booked a boat trip for a couple of hours. Should be good. Will update again soon,. Hope you are all well. Lots of love Y and L xxx

Jan 21, 2005 09:00 PM Surf's up in Manly Hi guys, hope you are all doing fine. Louise and I have now landed in New Zealand having spent a few eventful days in Manly, Sydney.... We travelled back up to Perth from Dunsbourgh on the West coast and dropped off our hire car. Poor Louise then started to feel unwell and didn't get better until just before we left Australia! After a late night flight from Perth we arrived in Sydney at 6.30am. We made our weary way to Manly which involved getting a minibus from the airport to the main ferry terminal in the city centre and then a ferry past the Harbour Bridge and Opera House to Manly where we eventually arrived in out hostel. By this time Louise was feeling awful so she went to bed where she stayed for the best part of the next 3 days! Doctors were called, samples were extracted and drugs were purchased. The end result was that poor Louise had caught a terrible bout of the dreaded gastroenteritis (aka; bum sickness). Luckily I had some friends to play with while Louise was on her sick bed. Our pals, Badger and Charina, left Edinburgh at about the same time as us for a round the world trip but in the opposite direction from us. Our paths finally crossed in Manly where we spent a few days together exploring the area, surfing, playing beach volleyball and basketball. Louise made a recovery after a few days in bed and then also came out to play. We then all hired a car and headed to the Blue Mountains for the day. Between my fear of spiders and Badgers fear of snakes and heights we had an interesting trek into the depths of the Blue Mountains canyon where we walked through spider and snake infested territory..... though luckily we didn't see any. Badger particularly enjoyed the "steepest open sided phenicular railway in the world" trip which we took from the valley floor back up through a crack in the mountain to the top! Eyes shut the whole way. We are now in Christchurch which is in the South Island of Zew Zealand and is very picturesque. There is a Buskers Festival going on at the moment with people performing on the street all day and at night there are free comedy shows in the city arts centre which is very similar to a night out at the Pleasance during the Edinburgh Festival. We are heading off there shortly to catch tonights shows. It's all good. We have decided to hire a car for the whole six weeks that we are here. Its the cheapest one we could find and, as a result, its over ten tears old with over 100 thousand miles on the clock - it would probably have been cheaper for us to buy it! We even had to clean it after we rented it!! But what can you expect for 8 quid a day. We leave Christchurch tomorrow and head for a small place called Akaora which is only an hour and a half away. We are going to stay on a farm there for a couple of nights. Apparently, our room is a five minute walk across a field from the main house. Then its onwards and upwards and Southwards (if our car doesn't pack up) down the coast to somewhere as yet undecided...... living life on the edge! It's so nice to now be dealing with short distances between places. No more 24 hour journeys. The longest we should be on the road on a bad day is 4 hours. We plan to meet up with some other friends, Peter, Ayesha and their boys, after we have done our tour of the South Island. Looking forward to that. Not much else to report meantime but we will update again soon. Lots of love and take care, Louise and Yocksan xxxxxx

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