6th January 2006: Wheely Bin to Hong Kong
First stop HK ;-)!!
Getting off the tube in the middle of Hong Kong is
quite an experience, Causeway bay is just nuts, people
milling everywhere, bamboo scaffolding with men
hanging off and me with no idea where to go, found the
place I
was staying in the end!! As sister described,
windowless and tiny! The bed was about 6 inches too
short, as were the trams, the tube and the buses, Hong
Kong is heightest!! It does have advantages though as
you can see over everyones heads :-D. First night in
an attempt to fight the jet lag, I went for a walk
around the peak - the view over Hong Kong is amazing,
all the lights twinkling away.
Met Lawrence on Weds (ex NSL, those of you that know
him may be interested but the rest of you probably are
not), had a load of noodles for brekkie (yum yum) and
then we went to Wong Tai Sin
Temple in Kowloon, loads of people burning incense and
juggling sticks in cans to tell fortunes! Then in an
effort to drag lawrence all across Hong Kong, we went
to Stanley on south side of HK Island, had a nice walk
around there, looking at a few more temples and a war
cemetary. PLenty of genuine fake items, including
rugby shirts for about 7 quid, but sadly I can not be
arsed carrying them! Another crazy bus ride to
Aberdeen and
Lawrence took me for dinner on a floating restaurant
in the middle of the harbour, food was lovely, and
they have an area of fish tanks, so you can go and
peruse your dinner before you eat it! Watched a light
show over HK harbour in the evening - rather
unimpressive, but that could have been down to the
haze! Few beers in the party district and then to
bed! Think I had tired his little legs out!
Yesterday I left the guest house I was in and thought
I would try one of the outlying islands! Went to see
the Noon Day Gun being fired! (Thanks for the warning
Birdget but I got that far too late :-P) Word of
warning be
prepared for a bang! Nearly wet myself! After this
went to find out how to get to Lantau. Never believe a
feckin guide book! Spent most of my day getting on
and off the HK Island Tram, which is way too small for
me with a rucksack on! Went to find the Tourist info
at one end of the island, and then found out that it
was actually round the corner from my guest house!!!
Bloody book, anyway, caught the ferry to Lantau, and
then a bus up to the Big Buddha, on top of the hill.
Took me a while to find the hostel on this mountain
but got there in the end. The Buddha is pretty
impressive, massive bronze thing perched on top of a
hill, with monestary and "Wisdom Path" all around. So
I am now spiritually enlightened, wise and bemused at
a big donging buddha! Its all a bit Touristy as it
has oonly been built there to attract them, they are
putting a cable car in to ship people up there. Hostel
was pretty good, with an amazing view of Lantau Peak
and the outlying islands.
Am back in Central at the moment, have found some free
computers in the Library, have checked my rucksack in
already and shall have a wander round to the Mid
levels Escalators this afternoon, which is apparently
good fun. Fly to Cairns tonight which should be a
warm one!
Anyway best be off I am sure there is some food to eat
or something else to do.
8th January 2006 - Hot Hot Cairns
Well left HK on Saturday after spending the final day,
riding the longest escalator complex in the world,
wandering around the botanical gardens, and taking the
Star Ferry to Kowloon, had an amazing Curry over
there, walked that off for a bit then caught the ferry
back to HK Island, for dinner and some more chuffing
Noodles!! Caught the flight to Cairns at Midnight,
and had the unfortunate luck to sit next to a snoring
fat man that kept me awake for the whole journey! so
zero sleep for me! Did meet a nice Aussi couple and
they have invited me to stay when I get to Townsville,
so am planning to do that next week sometime.
Have been in Cairns a day or so and it is feckin warm!
Have hired a car today and went for a quick swim in
the Mossman Gorge up near Port Douglas which is in the
rainforest water was cold but had a very relaxing
afternoon. Tomorrow I am driving up to Cape
Tribulation, staying a night in the rainforest and
then coming back to Cairns to go out to the Reef on
Weds. So its going to be a busy old week.
Unfortunately people here seem to want to go out for
more beer and stuff so this is only a short update - I
will try not to bore you bunch too much :-D.
11th January 2006 - News from the Sunshine State
Well I am not going to talk about how great stuff
is....
Its too hot....
Its too hard on the liver....
Hangovers and heat just don't go together...
Ahh who am I kidding, can't wipe the grin off me gob
:-D
Cape Tribulation was amazing, had a 3 mile beach all
to myself and the view was spine tinglingly (is that a
word) beautiful!!! Could not believe the beauty of the
place. Did some walks in the rainforest and spent the
night in a hut in the jungle. Had a shower with the
biggest spider, good job he is pretty and not
dangerous....
Today I have been out to the Great Barrier Reef.......
WOW!!!
Not quite sure how to describe the feeling, the
snokelling over the coral was good...but the dive I
did along the reef was so good I am going to bore you
to tears telling you about it now and forever more!!!
I was speechless when the dive finished, I was so
blown away. Spent 40 mins down on the reef, seeing
all manner of Bat Fish, some ugly little buggers,
putting my hand inside a giant clam (not bearded ;-)
not lost my touch ;-)), and to top it all off we saw a
Queensland Goober (sp?) which was as long as me, it
was massive!!!, he came right up to us bearing teeth
and all. And to top it all off the dive instructor was
stunning and she had the most amazing ass to follow
about the reef... I have a permanent grin fixed to me
face after that day...
Move to Townsville tomorrow......
16th January 2006 - Movin on South
G'day folks,
Well have had an eventful few days, which I am sure
you are all dying to hear about ;-))
Left Cairns to head to Townsville and the lovely
little Magnetic Island, had some serious rain on the
way down! but by the time I got to the island it was
lovely and sunny again. On the ferry on the way over
I met a german girl (another hot one but with a damn
boyfriend) and we were staying at the same place, so
travelled together to the idyllic Horseshoe Bay.
Hostel was more like a prison, but was clean enough.
On the bus on the way over we saw a rather serious
accident with a taxi hanging over a small cliff (why
am I telling you this? All will become clear later).
In the afternoon we went Koala hunting as they are
wild on the island, we saw 7 other the cute little
things, including a baby one! All they seem to do is
sleep, yawn, scratch and eat, but thereagain if I
spent the entire time wasted as they do then I would
probably be the same. After getting back from the
walk, we headed over to the otherside of the island
for a few beers with another english girl, 2 irish and
3 danes. Thinking we had plenty of time to catch the
bus home, we settled down for a few, and upon leaving
learnt we had missed the bus....island life does not
keep much time.....so.....being resourceful and highly
intelligent we phoned for a
taxi........however.......there are only 4 taxis on
the island, 2 on holiday, 1 on a night off and yes you
guessed it the one hanging over the cliff....had
mechanical problems!!! Bugger, 10km to walk home
then....and then the heavens opened, not just a shower
but a feckin monsoon!!!!! Got absolutely soaked to the
bone in a minute...on the walk back we managed to flag
down a mini moke
(for the unaware thats one of these
http://www.applelinks.com/news/gifs/moke.jpg)
Inside were 4 pissed irishmen, we managed to convince
them that giving 7 others a lift was the only way to
go so we managed to fit 4 across the front, 5 across
the back and 2 hanging onto the roof, the island was
pretty hilly so we conked out often and could see
nothing due to the rain, all this while hanging out
the side of the moke added a certain excitement to the
whole thing....but we all made it back safe!!
Did a bit more walking and spent the next night at an
aussi couples house in Townsville, met them on the
plane on the way over. Started drinking at 2pm but
they had all wimped out by 8pm, bloody shandy
lightweight convicts!!! Had a good time, and the
bloke is interested in my work stuff so will keep in
touch I think!
Am now in Airlie Beach which is the lauch point to get
to the Whitsunday Islands, partied with some people I
have met before, and as is becoming the norm am
suffering now :-)). Just had a pile of pancakes for
breakfast though and they have helped. Did spend a
lot of time last night chatting to an aussi about how
he sold shares in a donkey to raise money for an air
conditioner....
Anyway, leave for the Whitsundays tomorrow on a 3 day
cruise, this is my boat
http://www.sailing-whitsundays.com/products/listings/l0004.html
Should be a good laugh with a licensed bar on board
:-)))
20th January 2006 - Whitsundays
I hope you are all having loads of fun in chilly old
England :-D
I know you have all been waiting excitedly for the
next update on my travels. Well I am horizontal I am
that laid back - sailing is so relaxing!. Arrived in
Airlie Beach a few days ago, I think it was sunday but
I am not that sure, days seem to have lost meanings.
Have been sailing for the last three days on a
fabulous boat, 60 yrs old, and based on a 1750's
design. We sailed around the whitsundays, which for
the unaware are a group of islands off the coast in
Aus, discovered by Captain Cook a little while ago.
They are a stunning set of islands, all surrounded by
coral reefs and gorgeous blue ocean. Visted
Whitehaven Beach which is the best beach I have ever
seen, bright white, sand as fine as talc, surrounded
by forested hills. Stopped for a swim here, in the
gorgeously rubbery stinger suits, which make me look
so handsome I can not begin to describe the
image......
Each night we moored up in an bay somewhere, to watch
the sunset on the horizon, The sky was so clear, star
gazing was magical, and you could even see the odd
satellite go overhead, not sure I spotted a GPS one
though....I had the choice of kipping in the cabin,
which was of the same nature as Hong Kong
beds....tiny...or on deck under the stars. This was
the preferred option!!! Yet another magical
experience....all the stars above you and then get
slowly awoken by the sun rising, this means an early
start, however, in the most hippy dreadlocked fashion,
it was very spiritual!! (Damn wheres my greenpeace
banner....)
We sailed around stopping to snorkel at a few places
too, the first bay was full of amazing fish! Saw some
pretty big feckers as well, not groper sized but still
pretty big. The crew threw food into the water around
your head and all the fish bounced off your mask on
the way past. Next stop was Langford Island which is
a good turtle spotting place, and we were not
disappointed, managed to swim with one for about 10-
mins, and dived down next to it to exchange "What the
hell are you doing here glances". On the final day
Black Island was the last stop, this was special
because of the variety of coral, on the way to the
beach we saw a huge turtle munching on a jellyfish!
The coral was very very vibrant in colour and shape,
and I even managed to see 2 more turtles one was huge,
the other quite tiny!
Returned to port yesterday, and then went out partying
with everyone from the boat! Crackin night, with a
live band at this club, however I now have the worst
hangover of the trip so far! And a bruised toe, where
someone in high heels stood on me!
Leaving for Fraiser Island tonight, a nice 13 hour bus
journey!
25th January 2006 - Fraser Island
Slightly more tanned, and even more hungover, here
commences another update from the travelling lanky one
:-D
Well I have now got back from fraser island after
doing a 3 day self drive tour of the place. It is all
4x4 driving and camping, and was bloody good fun!
Started out with meeting the group I was going with, 4
irish, 2 koreans, 1 canadian, 2 grumpy germans and me!
The 4 Irish I had met on the ferry going to Magnetic
Island - weird!!! Anyway, all started okay - until we
realised that the one grumpy german was grumpy and
could not drive a 4x4 for toffee, in fact he could not
drive veyr well, and we nearly hit a big ship wreck, 2
people and countless other obstacles.
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world,
and has lots of unique features - fresh water lakes,
and rainforest. Swam in a couple of them with some
fish that nibble your legs! the water is crystal clear
so you can swim under water with your eyes open.
First day was a bit of beach driving...I adopted a
meglomanic giggle as we bounced our way along the
beach :-D....stopped for a swim in Lake Wabby...after
walking up the biggest feckin sand dune I have ever
seen, in the mid day sun - highly sensible!!! Running
down the other side of the dune into the lake was good
fun though :-D. Had a campsite for n2 days, so set
all tents and stuff up, and then proceeded to eat my
way through 4 burgers, 2 sausages, 2 chicken kebabs,
and 4 bits of chicken - oh man was i full!!
Early start the next day to see some fresh water
turtles (saw a massive snake on the way there) - you
clap under the water and then they all come to the
surface! Very cute and funny! Since my driving was
judged to be the safest and fastest, I got to do most
of the driving up the massive long beach! When the
tide goes out there is some large hard flat areas,
which means you can blast along at 50mph. Throwing
the safety handbook out the window, we slapped on the
MP3 player, blasted some tunes out and raced one of
the other cars up the beach!!! All we got at the end
was a load of grinning faces, as it was top fun
bouncing about, fishtailing everywhere and squishing
all the jelly fish on the beach!!! After seeing a few
more bays etc. we headed to Eli Creek for a swim -
freezing cols water coming straight out of the
rainforest - excellent way to end the day, cracking a
tinny while lying in the water.
That night was the start of the 48 hour hangover that
I am still suffering from! Played a great drinking
game that got very very messy, continued down on the
beach under the stars - another amazing sight,
especially when the moon came over the horizon.
Final day the grumpy german was driving again - this
is where we tried to take on the Maheno Ship wreck -
idiot!!! Anyway, soon got me hands back on the
steering wheel and proceeded to play chicken with the
planes landing on the beach. Swam in 3 more fantastic
lakes, saw a dingo, and then headed for home.
Last night was another messy one - all 3 jeep teams
got together and we comsumed another shed load of
alcohol - damn happy hours!!! Met all the irish off
the boat trip as well! They get everywhere these
bleedin paddies!! Partied till late, including some
throwing people in the pool, painting faces with zinc
sunscreen, and then some rather ropey dancing!! Went
to bed at 3.30 up at 6 to catch the bus to Brisbane
where I am now....suffering a little :-D
commences another update from the travelling lanky one
:-D
Well I have now got back from fraser island after
doing a 3 day self drive tour of the place. It is all
4x4 driving and camping, and was bloody good fun!
Started out with meeting the group I was going with, 4
irish, 2 koreans, 1 canadian, 2 grumpy germans and me!
The 4 Irish I had met on the ferry going to Magnetic
Island - weird!!! Anyway, all started okay - until we
realised that the one grumpy german was grumpy and
could not drive a 4x4 for toffee, in fact he could not
drive veyr well, and we nearly hit a big ship wreck, 2
people and countless other obstacles.
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world,
and has lots of unique features - fresh water lakes,
and rainforest. Swam in a couple of them with some
fish that nibble your legs! the water is crystal clear
so you can swim under water with your eyes open.
First day was a bit of beach driving...I adopted a
meglomanic giggle as we bounced our way along the
beach :-D....stopped for a swim in Lake Wabby...after
walking up the biggest feckin sand dune I have ever
seen, in the mid day sun - highly sensible!!! Running
down the other side of the dune into the lake was good
fun though :-D. Had a campsite for n2 days, so set
all tents and stuff up, and then proceeded to eat my
way through 4 burgers, 2 sausages, 2 chicken kebabs,
and 4 bits of chicken - oh man was i full!!
Early start the next day to see some fresh water
turtles (saw a massive snake on the way there) - you
clap under the water and then they all come to the
surface! Very cute and funny! Since my driving was
judged to be the safest and fastest, I got to do most
of the driving up the massive long beach! When the
tide goes out there is some large hard flat areas,
which means you can blast along at 50mph. Throwing
the safety handbook out the window, we slapped on the
MP3 player, blasted some tunes out and raced one of
the other cars up the beach!!! All we got at the end
was a load of grinning faces, as it was top fun
bouncing about, fishtailing everywhere and squishing
all the jelly fish on the beach!!! After seeing a few
more bays etc. we headed to Eli Creek for a swim -
freezing cols water coming straight out of the
rainforest - excellent way to end the day, cracking a
tinny while lying in the water.
That night was the start of the 48 hour hangover that
I am still suffering from! Played a great drinking
game that got very very messy, continued down on the
beach under the stars - another amazing sight,
especially when the moon came over the horizon.
Final day the grumpy german was driving again - this
is where we tried to take on the Maheno Ship wreck -
idiot!!! Anyway, soon got me hands back on the
steering wheel and proceeded to play chicken with the
planes landing on the beach. Swam in 3 more fantastic
lakes, saw a dingo, and then headed for home.
Last night was another messy one - all 3 jeep teams
got together and we comsumed another shed load of
alcohol - damn happy hours!!! Met all the irish off
the boat trip as well! They get everywhere these
bleedin paddies!! Partied till late, including some
throwing people in the pool, painting faces with zinc
sunscreen, and then some rather ropey dancing!! Went
to bed at 3.30 up at 6 to catch the bus to Brisbane
where I am now....suffering a little :-D
2nd February 2006 - Can't remember what
..I last told you so apologies if I repeat myself.
erm Brisbane was pants, did see a few things and
australia days was okay.....but nothing really that
good to do so was a bit disappointed. Went straight
to Byron Bay which was a much better place, would
loved to stay longer but managed to find myself a 5
day surf trip to take me to Syndey. This left the
following morning so explored Australias most easterly
point, did some washing (I know the excitement) and
then went to bed.
Got to the bus in the morning to find that someone I
met in Airlie Beach was on the same trip. Surfing
involved 2 days on the road and then 3 days based at
Surf Camp in the Myall National Park. The first 2
days I steadily learnt how to drown myself, on some
lovely beaches. The teaching was good learning about
surfing, the rules and about the ocean and stuff.
)Putting it into practice was a whole different ball
game. I did manage to stand on the first day, with
much flailing of arms and looking very cool in my
wetsuit I might add. Even cooler than the wetsuit I
took to Cornwall, for those of you that remember.
Anyway so after the second day of falling off a lot,
we arrived at Surf Camp - which was essentially a few
buildings in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful!! #rd
days surfing was excellent - caught loads of waves and
got my surfing style in full flow. However by the
afternoon I was eating rocks on the bottom of the sea
floor! Another Stylish Mike manoeuver!!
Each evening in Surf Camp was a massive party,
incluyding some daft drinking games, and being thrown
in the pool. And anyone who says I was one of the
main p[eople picking people up and throwing them in is
obviously lying................
4th and 5th days we surfed in some massive waves -
well 2 metres is pretty big when learning...and I
proceeded to drown more than stand up, which led to a
nose that dribbled seawater for most of the evening
(contain yourself ladies). However all this fun came
at a price...
1) I have a deep cut between 2 toes from where the leg
rope for the surf board got caught, and it hurts like
hell
2) My big toe on right foot has swelled up and it
popped puss everywhere last night...noice!!
3) I have sunburn on the backs of my legs from lying
on the board
4) the last wave I caught, dumped me into the sea
floor and I have twisted my back, meaning I am
hobbling a bit today..
So dudes, surfing is sweet as bro and the waves are
sick man, but just watch the injuries dude...
Oh and saw dolphins swim past my surfboard - how cool
is that!
Now in Syndey - its weird being in a city
erm Brisbane was pants, did see a few things and
australia days was okay.....but nothing really that
good to do so was a bit disappointed. Went straight
to Byron Bay which was a much better place, would
loved to stay longer but managed to find myself a 5
day surf trip to take me to Syndey. This left the
following morning so explored Australias most easterly
point, did some washing (I know the excitement) and
then went to bed.
Got to the bus in the morning to find that someone I
met in Airlie Beach was on the same trip. Surfing
involved 2 days on the road and then 3 days based at
Surf Camp in the Myall National Park. The first 2
days I steadily learnt how to drown myself, on some
lovely beaches. The teaching was good learning about
surfing, the rules and about the ocean and stuff.
)Putting it into practice was a whole different ball
game. I did manage to stand on the first day, with
much flailing of arms and looking very cool in my
wetsuit I might add. Even cooler than the wetsuit I
took to Cornwall, for those of you that remember.
Anyway so after the second day of falling off a lot,
we arrived at Surf Camp - which was essentially a few
buildings in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful!! #rd
days surfing was excellent - caught loads of waves and
got my surfing style in full flow. However by the
afternoon I was eating rocks on the bottom of the sea
floor! Another Stylish Mike manoeuver!!
Each evening in Surf Camp was a massive party,
incluyding some daft drinking games, and being thrown
in the pool. And anyone who says I was one of the
main p[eople picking people up and throwing them in is
obviously lying................
4th and 5th days we surfed in some massive waves -
well 2 metres is pretty big when learning...and I
proceeded to drown more than stand up, which led to a
nose that dribbled seawater for most of the evening
(contain yourself ladies). However all this fun came
at a price...
1) I have a deep cut between 2 toes from where the leg
rope for the surf board got caught, and it hurts like
hell
2) My big toe on right foot has swelled up and it
popped puss everywhere last night...noice!!
3) I have sunburn on the backs of my legs from lying
on the board
4) the last wave I caught, dumped me into the sea
floor and I have twisted my back, meaning I am
hobbling a bit today..
So dudes, surfing is sweet as bro and the waves are
sick man, but just watch the injuries dude...
Oh and saw dolphins swim past my surfboard - how cool
is that!
Now in Syndey - its weird being in a city
10th February 2006 - Last day in Aus
Well folks the journey in Aus is coming to and end and
the journey in NZ is about to start!
You will be pleased to know that the surfing injuries
are all healing pretty well, the back still hurts and
will probably have to find a physio in Christchurch to
have a look at it cos it might inpact on various
stupid activites I plan to do in NZ (calm down mother
its only a skydive, a very fast boat, some wilderness
walking and throwing myself off a cliff with an
elastic band tied to my legs).
So what have I been up to? Hmmmmm, well have
thoroughly explored the city of Sydney. Very weird to
be in the hustle and bustle of the city but on the
first night went to see the Opera house and harbour
bridge at night - had to pinch myself to realise that
I was there - so weird being next to such a famous
picture! The following days we explored Bondi beach
(bit like a seaside town in England), the harbour
bridge at day time, darling harbour, Imax cinema and
the Sydney Aquarium. Weather was crap for the first
time (I know you must feel sorry for me), did not see
the sun for two days!!! Shocking.
Anyway after that I moved to the Blue Mountains, which
were simply stunning, it was also a chance to dig my
walking boots out of the bag and do some bush walking
(JWWA and Mrs T calm yourself). First day I went
walking along the Grand Canyon walk, which was bloody
hot, but spectacular all the same, walked all day
along a gorge with some lovely waterfalls and wildlife
to be seen. Also saw some fresh water crafish that
were about 8 inches long! Climbed out of the gorge to
be met by a coach load of tourists, wondering why such
a sweaty englishman was gasping breath next to them -
the climb up was hard going. I then walked to Govetts
Leap - another spectacular waterfall, and then timed
it perfectly to get the bus home.
On Tuesday I did a guided walk with a local aboriginal
guide, which was truly amazing!! The whole day
focused on the the history and spirituality of the
aboriginal existence in the area, as well as bush
tucker and medicinal plants. We saw some amazing rock
carvings and cave paintings as well as several ritual
areas. Turning on hippy mode again it was an amazing
day which lifted you spirits and really had you
feeling the magic of the whole area. After 8 hours
walking was truly knackerd, did have room to scoff
down a delicious kangaroo steak.
Following day I took the steepest railway in the world
down to the bottom of a gorge - quite a scary ride,
did chuckle as they played the Indiana Jones theme
music. I then walked to the iconic 3 sisters rock
formation, and then climbed 900 steps out the valley
(que another sweaty mike amoungst another bus load of
tourists). I then headed back to Sydney for a few
nights with Auntie Glen.........A hangover assured
destination for all travellers to Aus! Had a great
time though, was going to play golf but was a distinct
lack of clubs, as Glen had left them in another car
(women!!), so had a tour of the southern part of
Sydney, Botnay Bay etc.
Today have been sorting some stuff out and am typing
this from Manly, will stay here for dinner and then
head back to pack and sort me stuff for NZ!!!
the journey in NZ is about to start!
You will be pleased to know that the surfing injuries
are all healing pretty well, the back still hurts and
will probably have to find a physio in Christchurch to
have a look at it cos it might inpact on various
stupid activites I plan to do in NZ (calm down mother
its only a skydive, a very fast boat, some wilderness
walking and throwing myself off a cliff with an
elastic band tied to my legs).
So what have I been up to? Hmmmmm, well have
thoroughly explored the city of Sydney. Very weird to
be in the hustle and bustle of the city but on the
first night went to see the Opera house and harbour
bridge at night - had to pinch myself to realise that
I was there - so weird being next to such a famous
picture! The following days we explored Bondi beach
(bit like a seaside town in England), the harbour
bridge at day time, darling harbour, Imax cinema and
the Sydney Aquarium. Weather was crap for the first
time (I know you must feel sorry for me), did not see
the sun for two days!!! Shocking.
Anyway after that I moved to the Blue Mountains, which
were simply stunning, it was also a chance to dig my
walking boots out of the bag and do some bush walking
(JWWA and Mrs T calm yourself). First day I went
walking along the Grand Canyon walk, which was bloody
hot, but spectacular all the same, walked all day
along a gorge with some lovely waterfalls and wildlife
to be seen. Also saw some fresh water crafish that
were about 8 inches long! Climbed out of the gorge to
be met by a coach load of tourists, wondering why such
a sweaty englishman was gasping breath next to them -
the climb up was hard going. I then walked to Govetts
Leap - another spectacular waterfall, and then timed
it perfectly to get the bus home.
On Tuesday I did a guided walk with a local aboriginal
guide, which was truly amazing!! The whole day
focused on the the history and spirituality of the
aboriginal existence in the area, as well as bush
tucker and medicinal plants. We saw some amazing rock
carvings and cave paintings as well as several ritual
areas. Turning on hippy mode again it was an amazing
day which lifted you spirits and really had you
feeling the magic of the whole area. After 8 hours
walking was truly knackerd, did have room to scoff
down a delicious kangaroo steak.
Following day I took the steepest railway in the world
down to the bottom of a gorge - quite a scary ride,
did chuckle as they played the Indiana Jones theme
music. I then walked to the iconic 3 sisters rock
formation, and then climbed 900 steps out the valley
(que another sweaty mike amoungst another bus load of
tourists). I then headed back to Sydney for a few
nights with Auntie Glen.........A hangover assured
destination for all travellers to Aus! Had a great
time though, was going to play golf but was a distinct
lack of clubs, as Glen had left them in another car
(women!!), so had a tour of the southern part of
Sydney, Botnay Bay etc.
Today have been sorting some stuff out and am typing
this from Manly, will stay here for dinner and then
head back to pack and sort me stuff for NZ!!!
15th February 2006 - Sorry
You were supposed to get a big update today, but the
computer crashed and I lost it all....
So in brief:
Sydney Aiport - Feckin japanese everywhere
Christchurch - Met load of people from home, Chirs and
Dave from Nottingham Uni, and some Swansea uni
friends. Went mountain biking and to the antarctic
centre.
Hired a car yesterday and drove south. Car is a shed,
but the scenery makes up for it! My excitement with
the scenery did however reflect in my pressure on the
gas pedal, which resulted in me meeting one of the
local constabulary!! He chatted, asked me for my
autograph...I must be famous.....and then removed $120
from my bank account.....Bugger!!! Picked up some
hitch hikers and drove to Mt Cook. Set up camp in the
shadow of the mountain, well there would have been a
shadow without the rain. Spent the early evening
watching a presentation on the ascent of Mt Cook,
which was great and very funny. Then spent the night
listening to the rumble of ice falling down MT Cook
and the streams next to the campsite. The peaceful
scenes were destroyed by the Kea (mountain parrots
things) that proceeded to eat the guylines of my tent
and chew the zips! I had only had the tent 16 hours!
After being disturbed by the parrots once too many
times, I went and slept in the car, they could keep
the tent!
Did an amazing walk this morning, up the Hooker Valley
- very beautiful, with ice covered mtn's all around,
made my was to the Hooker Galcier and lake, which was
amazing with big icebergs floating down it! Lots of
glacial till, morains and valley scouring for all you
geography lovers out there!
Drove this avo to Cromwell, no nice policemen today!
Will move on tomorrow to find something to either walk
or throw myself off!
23rd February 2006 - Amazing Highs & Blistered Feet
Well I bet you have all been waiting to here from
me???? Well sit back, grab a cup of tea and gather
round......
After the delights of Cromwell, my tent decided that
it could no longer cope with the excitement of being
my mobile accomodation and the pole broke. Of course
it is sods law that the shop I bought it from does not
have a branch any further south than Christchurch! So
I will have to wait to see if I can get a refund for
the bloody thing!
Anyway was staying in hostels again in Queenstown so
could get a new tent there. Arrived in Queenstown,
and within 20 mins had got myself on a downhill
mountain biking trip. The bus driver was from Coventry
which was weird! Anyway we got bussed to the the top
of Skippers Canyon, and promptly hurled ourselves down
the hill. I had a great full suspension bike with
massive discs, and it was bloody brilliant fun! Hit
some massive drop offs, and blasted through some
streams, ended up with a big grin on my face at the
bottom, and the guide shaking his head at
me......anyway against their better judgement I was
allowed to do it again and overcooked one section and
ended up in an Acacia bush and puncturing the tyres
:-D Still it was great fun doing it, if not a little
prickly! Bike was not fixed so had to take the guides
bike! Not sure he was too happy but nevermind!
Returned to Queenstown and proceeded to drink my way
through the afternoon and evening and ended up
sampling the dleights of Fergburger. These Burgers
are like no other on earth, $15 got me 1/2 lb of meat,
8 rashers of bacon, 3 eggs, a ton of lettuce, tomato
and beetroot, garlic mayo and onion. And it was quite
frankly the best burger I have ever had! Bloody
lovely!
Next day was up very early as I could not sleep, I was
nervous as that day was the day I had decided to hurl
myself of a bridge, a cable car and a ledge, with an
elastic band round me feet!! Bus was silent on the
way to the Kawara Bridge (43m) the first jump! I was
3rd to jump....shaking like a leaf....3,2,1..BUNGY!
OH MY GOD was all I managed to utter before bouncing
around like a yo yo. What a buzz though, adrenalin
was pumping round like mad!! We were then taken to
the Nevis High Wire, a mere 134m bungy jump over a
river valley. You arrive to see this small cable car
suspended over the valley, and the palms begin to
sweat, they get the full harness on you, and then you
make your way to the middle. To settle you nerves the
cable car has a completely glass floor, to enable you
to admire the mere speck of the river below, to take
your mind off you plumetting towards it...... Again I
was 3rd to jump, they get you strapped in, plonk you
on the edge...5,4,3,2,1 Bungy! Well I still get goose
bumps now, the free fall is the most exillerating
thing on earth, all that could be heard is me
woohooing all the way down, you get within about 20m
of the river and then bounce virtually all the way
back up! Bloody brilliant, worst part is the fact
they have to winch you all the way back up to the
cable car, to leave you sat there wondering why you
just did that. You get back to the cable car to be
greated by a load of nervous faces, the only people
grinning are those that have jumped. A 67 yr old
bloke jumped after me, his wifes face was a picture!!!
Returned to Queenstown absolutely buzzing so decided
to go and do the Shotover Jet, which is a jet boat
ride at 90km/h down a very narrow canyon! They skim
down the water just missing the rocks and branches. I
got very wet but it was another dose of adrenalin to
keep me going!
In the evening I made my way up to the final bungy
site which is a wooden platform over Queenstown. You
are put in a chest harness rather than around your
feet, and you run out of the platform in any which way
you want. It is conveniently located next to the
gondola, so you can wait for a load of japanese
tourists to come along and sprint out at them :-D
Another great jump, so myself and fellow jumpers
decided to go and party the night away....
Moved to Te Anau the day after, and went to Milford
Sound, a huge Fjord, with stunning scenery, waterfalls
and of course the delightful sandflys! Put here by the
Maori goddess of the underworld (she would be bloody
female) to remind us that we are mortal! So with the
obligatory skin slapping going on I took a boat trip
out through the fjord. The scenery is difficult to
describe, but the mountains just rise up out of the
water and just keep going up. The drive to and from
here was amazing as well, including a very interesting
tunell, which is not very well lit and has bloody
millions of potholes in it! Not to worry I am sure
the car can take it!
I have spent the last 4 days walking the Keplar Track,
one of the NZ Great Walks. An amazing walk,
encompassing beach rainforest, rivers, lakes,
mountains tops and valleys. It really did have it
all. It is indescribable however how much my feet
ache and the size of the blisters is quite amazing!
Through the 4 days I have had 4 seasons of weather
ranging from hot and humid, through to me crossing the
mountains tops in 10m visibility in rain and then a
blizzard! Good job I was prepared!! The forest
sections were full of wildlife, and I even managed to
have a NZ Robin sit on my feet and hat! Finished it
this morning with a great sense of acheivement, and a
hunger for the biggest bad ass steak I can find and
several pints!! Have already eaten my way through a
thai chicken curry pie and a venison one! I will not
be eating pasta for a while I can tell you that much!
Right I best be off, moving on somewhere else tomorrow
but not quite sure!!
5th March 2006 - Continued Pain
Well after the excitement of the Keplar track I have
been walking myself silly wandering through the
landscape with nothing more than my backpack and an
annoying american. Well in fact this american is not
too bad and we have been travelling together since the
Keplar Track. We left Te Anau, the most exciting
place on the planet!!! and headed for Queenstown
again, however this time I merely hobbled around with
my blisters with only a small inkling to throw myself
off something. We got the info we needed and got set
to go and walk the Dart Rees Track with a side trip to
the Cascade Saddle, supposedly one of the best views
in the South Island. We booked our track transport -
small bus to take you to and from track start and end
points - and headed for Glenorchy, very scottish in
every place name and a buzzing metropolis of oooo
around 50 people, the centre was rather non existent.
The following morning we left an intentions card in
the DOC office (so they could come and find our
mangled and twisted bodies if required) and at the
same time enquired as to wether it was possible to
skip the first hut on the track (Rocky Shelter) and
get to the Dart Hut in one go - this is 27km but we
felt we could do it and cos we could not guarantee the
weather for the cascade saddle after the second day.
The kind lady just looked odly at us and smiled....we
could not decipher her meaning...however this would
become all too apparent.....On the bus on the way up
we were sat next to some americans from Colorado,
Brian was embarrassed for his nation and me for the
human race, as one proceed to ask the Maori driver if
they ate a lot of lamb...as we drove past a field of
500 sheep....
Muddy Creek is the start point, and at first it did
very little to live up to its name, however after a
couple of hours, we were crossing what looked like a
little stream, when we sank up to our knees in
mud.......so much for taking the boots off to cross
the other rivers....THe scenery here was astounding,
so many glacier covered hills and pristine forest
hillsides it took your mind of the stench of the mud
on your legs. After a good 5 hours hike up the river
valley we reached the first hut, tired and very
hungry. Wolfing down some sustinance and providing
snacks for the local sand flies, we then repacked and
got on our merry way. If either Brian or I had said,
I think we should stay the night here, I am sure we
would have, however stubboness and our delicate manly
egos had other ideas. We climbed the valley with our
target of the Rees Saddle in sight, with the constant
sound of those pesky bloody parrots all around, they
have really got my number...The pain in our lungs up
here was only matched by that in our legs - we were
both running on empty with at least 4 hrs walking to
go. We reached the base of the saddle to find a 45
deg scree slope to scramble up, this took us ages, and
in the end I ran for it getting to the top with a very
dizzy head. I have never known pain like it, it is
the most exhausted I have ever been, beating the
Polaris MTBing in the UK, which I thought could never
be matched. After a 10 min break though the view
really caught up with us, we were at the top of a
river valley, no one else around and nothing but
mountains, snow, ice and waterfalls - very peaceful
and well worth the effort. The descent to the Dart
Hut took us 1.5 hours as we were practically running -
we arrived at 19.30 and the warden just shook his
head, and most others decided we were mad! I was
inclined to agree. To add insult to injury our dorm
was shared by what can only be described as the snorer
from hell, the wall were shaking it was that bad!
Next day the weather was clear (some final
justification for hiking 27km in a day up a steep
valley), so we headed for the Cascade Saddle, this was
only a day hike so no need for packs, we had another
tough climb past the Dart Galcier and eventually made
it to the saddle, well the views were amazing, words
could not really describe it, a 270 deg panoramic view
of the Dart Glacier, Mt Aspiring, Mt Avalanche, river
valleys, forests, everything - simply stunning. On
the way down we went for a walk on the Glacier and got
stuck in some more mud! The dumb colorado men had
caught up with us and when we returned were trying to
burn the hut down with their MSR stove (some of you
know what they are like, for the oldies they are
modern Primus stoves, and for the rest just nod and
agree), they had not warmed the vapouriser and were
using unleaded fuel, so in the wooden hut 5ft flames
were not the most appropriate! Fire Extinguisher in
hand I eventually got them to turn the valve off and
proceeded to give them, stove lighting lesson
101.....idiots!!!
The followiung day we were heading out of the valley
(still a 2 day walk), and in the morning we were
pleased to see the rain! The pain on the first day
had been worth it everyone else on our bus transport
had missed their chance! Got piss wet through and saw
bugger all due to the rain, excitement of the day were
the sandflies and getting the hut fire going so we
were all taosty warm! Last day was an easy trek out
to Chinamans Bluff, arrived a little early and we were
again visited by swarms of sandflies, so throwing
caution to the fact there may be some attractive women
(or sheep) around I put sandals and socks on (I know
the shame), tucked my trousers in the socks, andput a
hood on, all in the name of hiding from these biting
little feckers!!!
Returned to Queestown that day to a hostel with a spa!
Oh my that was good! Following day was a rest day and
I proceeded to watch 7.5 hours of movies in the
hostel, very lazy but I could not be arsed doing a
thing.
Following day drove to Wanaka to see about Canyoning
(basically abseiling and jumping your way down a water
filled gorge), passed a monster truck centre with a
load of bras on the fence (non my size) and got booked
on a trip the following day. Spent the afternoon
sampling the local vineyard - very nice!! - and
playing Golf Cross. A weird take on golf, a 9 hole
course, played with Oval golf balls, where you have to
dodge the sheep and hit the ball into a big net at the
end of each hole - great fun and beat the yank by one
shot! Victory for the mother country!!! ;-))
Canyoning was great fun the next day, aside from the
fact my luck with injuries continued and on the first
slide of the day I twisted my knee, however did not
let on and carried on regardless - feckin hurts at the
moment though! We proceeded to abseil, jump 50 ft
leaps into deep pools and slide our way down this
canyon. Hands were freezing but we kept the rest warm
with thick wetsuits! Finished the day very happy, but
a bit sore! About to leave we discovered the bus had
a flat battery so had to bump start it along the road,
this did not work, and luckily a local stopped by and
jump started us! About 10 mins later we had a
punctuure so in true F1 style we all got out and
helped change it! Got pissed in the evening with our
group, 2 of the couples were from Chicago and
bizarrely they lived 3 blocks from each other and one
woman was the other womans new dentist as she had just
taken over the practice! How very weird.
Yesterday we left Wanak, drove over the Haast pass,
walked to the Fox Galcier - pretty impressive, and
ended up after a long day in Greymouth. Most exciting
moment was however where we saw a 2 lane bridge for
the first time in 2 weeks! I know how amazing I hear
you cry! Watched the Crusaders Blues game last night
which was pretty good for this nancy boy southern
hemispher pap and got slowly drunk. This morning we
went to the Montieths brewery (a good NZ beer), drank
a bit more then drove to Arthurs Pass. ITs bloody
windy and cold but hopefully the weather we hold and
we will be able to walk Avalanche Peak tomorrow - a 2
day walk.
Thats about it, hope it has not been toooooo long.
Have fun
Crusty blister tops and sweaty t shirts
10th March 2006 - Driving, Mice & Breweries
Well after the communications issue with the last
update, I hope that this reaches you all, I am sure
you were all worrying about the lack of updates. I
think the last one was blocked on your email filters
so I will try not to swear too much....
Well avalanche peak in Arthurs Pass was a non starter,
gales up in the mountains would have seen me and the
yank blown off the tops to a premature demise, so we
decided to start the journey further north.
We first hit Christchurch where I returned the Kea
chewed and damaged tent, luyckily they did not check
the tent and just gave me the cash back which was
fortunate.... Not wanting to stick around there any
longer we moved north to Kaikora.
Kaikora is the supposed dolphin, seal and whale
watching cap[ital of NZ, but we did not fancy stopping
and going on the boats so optwed for a coastal walk to
see the wildlife. However the seals were out to lunch,
preferring not to put on a display for the camera
laden tourist. These animals have no sense of
priotities I tell you....
Bored of staring at seaweed, we continued north to the
wine capital of the south island Blenhiem. Found a
hostel, supposedly rated 92% by backpackers, only to
discover that they must have been on drugs! The place
was a poo hole, the mouse running around the living
room was an interesting feature as well. We had only
paid for 2 nights but one was more than enough so we
ran away, forgoing touring the vineyards in the search
of mountains and another walk.
We had had a walk recommended too us so we trampised
the packs again, bought the food, and set off on a 3
day hike in the Nelson Lakes National Park. The first
day was an easy one, walking along the lake shore to
Coldwater Hut, a very basic hut, with stunning views
across the lakes. It was pooring with rain, so not
only did it look like Scotland, it felt like it too,
the sandflies filled in well for the midges too....
The hut had two aussi women already there trying to
start the fire, but only succeeding in putting it out
with wet wood. The helpful pervious users of the hut
had also not chopped anymore wood so brian and I spent
the next 2 hours chopping wood and getting a roaring
fire going. Meanwhile these women just sat and
watched and moaned about the rain. Despite being
members of a walking club they were in trainers and
using plastic ponchos to keep the rain off! Crazy.
Despite them being women, obne still snored her bloody
head off all night, so not only were bleediong possums
causing havoc outside we had the musical accompaniment
we have become used to in these backcountry huts.
Following day saw the rain continue, we climbed up the
river valley and the Cascade Track. It did stop
raining at some point and the cloud lifted, to reveal
why it was the Cascade track, as we were surrounded by
hundreds of waterfalls! Beautiful. The final climb
was about 1000m from the valley to the hut on the
mountain. This was another painful climb made all the
worse byt the fact we were climbing up a stream and
there was a freezing cold wind!!! After 3 false
summits we found Angelus Hut, which was perched on the
edge of an alpine lake. People had already arrived
and got the fire going which was a welcome sight. As
the evning went on the wind picked up and the snow
began, makin g the trip to outdoor "long Drop" (they
whistle on the way down :-O) toilet a very cold one,
it was definately the coldest toilet seat I have ever
had the business of doing pleasure with.....The night
was reasonable peaceful as the wind dropped, but as
per ususal the obligatory snorer woke us all up!!!
The morning came with no wind and blue skys and 2
inches of snow. We could not have picked a better day
to walk the 8km ridge home! It was exquisit!! So
beautiful all covered in snow, bit tricky in places
but all in all a fantastic walk. Got back to the car,
with stinking clothes and boots and drove to Nelson.
Nelson is on the north coast of South Island and we
wanted to stop and do some kayaking. Not got round to
that yet though as the first night we were there we
were sleeping soundluy only to be awoken by the most
god damn awful snoring on earth! Bloody germans!! It
got so bad I grabbed the guys toe and twisted it! He
merely stirred, turned over and fell aslepp snoring
and blissfully unaware. I got up and went and slept
in the lounge on the sofa!! With the lack of sleep we
both decided to have a lazy day, so went to Macs
Brewery to sample the loacl brews, the dark and
coppertop being our favourites. Spent the afternoon
lazing on a beach on Rabbit Island, and then on the
way back visited Harringtons brewery for some more
local stuff, getting ourguts rotted at the same time
with some organic dark stuff, which is worse than the
guiness effect!!!
Watched the Crusaders play the Cheifs last night and I
have now become a fully signed up member of the Daniel
Carter fan cliub, as not only is he dead sexy he is a
rugby genius at the same time!! Richie Mccaw is also
a cheating little shyte and boy I wish he was
english!!
Anywa today we are going to more breweries and then
may move to Marlborough Sound to do the sea
kayaking...
19th March 2006 - Relaxing & Heading North
Well what has that little bugger been up to now I hear
you cry, well here goes another update for you all:
At Marlborough Sounds we found a beautiful little
lodge in Lochmara Bay, which could only be accessed by
boat. After a cock up with the transport over to the
island, we proceeded to this Eco lodge armed with 2
crates of beer (we were there 2 nights afterall) and
our food. That afternoon we proceeded to drink our
way through most of one crate and then play boules.
Unfortunately this was a victory for the colonies, I
did however thrash him in the next game :-D. We then
went for a walk around the place, followed by birds
and the odd chicken for some reason. For dinner I
picked some mussells from the beach and enjoyed them
immensely!! The evening was spent going glowworm
hunting, which was amazing in the dark woods, and then
we drunk some more, a little more, and then a bit more
for good measure. In the morning we went fishing in
the bay, as Brian could not cope kwith the excitement
he rowed the boat and I fished. Managed to catch 2,
but neither were big enough to eat, the second one
even barked at us, weird bloody things...
Went for a walk along the Queen Charlotte Track in the
afternoon and climbed to a lookout across the
marlborough sounds, yet another stunning view. And
upon returning we re-engineered a rope swing to swing
out high over the bay, after jumping off a big fence
:-D, good job I let Brian test it as he ended up
swinging straight back into a tree, I was useless in
trying to help as I was wetting myself laughing! Tried
our luck at fishing again in the search of an
alternative to pasta!! But only caught a small one, so
we passed the time drinking and eating while drifting
out in the bay!! We drank the evening away again and
left the next morning back to Picton - ooh what a
buzzing metropolis - to catch the ferry to Wellington.
First had to drop the beloved Nissan Pulsar off, it
did well, but my god what a heap of crap that was!!
Arrived in Wellington, and picked up a Mazda for our
very brief North Island tour. This had less rust and
dents, but it does squeak from every corner and the
brakes are crap. It was a sad day though as my old
Teva sandals after 10 years of faithful service have
died, the sole cracked up and they have been condemmed
on health grounds as they stink! So had to buy some
new jandals (kiwi for flip flops) to last the rest of
my trip! Visited the Te Papa museum and then drunk
our way through the night! Wellington really did not
hold much attraction so drove off north the nest day
to Tongariro National Park. On the way even managed
to be flagged down by a police road block, however
despite my offering none of them wanted my autograph
or $120 like the last nice policeman....
Spent the night in the imaginatively titled National
Park Village, and the next day did the Tongariro
crossing walk over several volcanos. We set off at
the crack of dawn to avoid the crowds and were
rewarded with clear blue skys and stunning views of Mt
Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe. As we had the car we did
the walk in an unconventional way, first climbing a
saddle and crossing a massive crater, then climbing
again up the side of Mt Tongariro to the red crater,
which has to be said had a remarkable resemblence to
female genitalia, although a bit dry and crusty :-O
(sorry).....
We descended to the very smelly Emerald Lakes, through
a few clouds of sulphur steam, and then turned round
to retrace our steps to the base of Mt Ngauruhoe.
This is a conical volcano and a good climb apparently,
so being stupid enought to believe the hype we trekked
up the 45 deg slope for 1.5 hours. This was an
absolute pig of a climb, as the slopes were all loose
pumice whicch moved as you walked. Eventually
reaching the top we had some amazing views of the
surrounding area and could even see the volcano on the
west coast which is miles away. The descent was
however bloody brilliant fun, a massive scree slope to
the bottom! We proceeded to run and fall our way down
reaching the base with massive grins! The climb had
been worth it just for that! Drove to Waitomo Caves
that evening and stayed on a farm in the middle of
nowhere! Bliss.
Next day we went Caving. This was another chance to
don some rubber and get very cold and wet. Had an
initial 30m abseil, and then a zip line through a
pitch black cavern full of glow worms! Magical!!
First guy to go down the zip line, descended into the
dark, and all we heard was a massive bang! A guide
shouted "little more to the left next time"....next
guy went (another bang) "too far left" "Is there much
blood?" All but our minds nicely at ease as we flew
through the dark! The next part was a rafting section
so we travelled along in black rubber rings beneath
glow worm covered ceilings, there was so much light
you could see the outline of everyone as we travelled.
We then proceeded to climb, swim and along the cave
network, spotting eels, weta's and the odd whale bone.
Even tried our hand at cave humming, no this is not a
way of becoming a cunning linguist, it is merely a way
of causing an echo in a cave. Fantastic fun! Ended by
emerging from the cave next to a group of tourists, I
think we made them jump as 6 of us all clambered out
soaking wet next to them!
Travelled up to Auckalnd yesterday via Raglan where I
went to see a friend from home, her bloke and a very
smelly dog! Man that stunk!! Got here in the evening
and watched the Blues take on the Brumbies. Shyte
atmosphere at these S14 games but did manage to hurl
some abuse at George Gregan which was worth it. Got
pissed with some irish in the evening and now have a
lovely hangover.
24th March 2006 - The End of the Land of the Long White Cloud
Well I am now behind you....
Spent the last few days in NZ in Auckland not really
doing much, selling my tent and mobile phone, explored
a little and went up a sky tower which was a rip off
and very lame. Treated myself to a Highlanders shirt,
could not lower myself to an All Blacks one. On my
penultimate day I was tired of not having enough
adrenalin flowing around my body, so went and did the
bungy jump off the Auckland Bridge!! Only 40m this
one so relatively small, I told the Jump Master that I
missed the water in Queenstown to which I was told "I
never miss, how deep do you want to go? Is up to the
waist okay?"......Sure......5,4,3,2,1
Bungeeeeeeeeeeeeee, fantastic fun, and as promised was
promptly dunked in the harbour up to my waist!
Excellent!!! Buzzing I returned back with Brian to
the Hostel, packed, posted stuff home, and then went
out and got exceedingly drunk......even found a zip
line in a park on the way home, which provided much
drunken entertainment, although me nadgers took a bit
of a battering.......
LAst day in Auckland consisted of eating my last
Subway sandwich ' not sure I mentioned this but there
are millions over there, if the popn is over 50 they
have one, so it would be odd not to have a final one!
Then scoffed a few NZ pies which are pretty good as
well. Then time for the 11 hr flight to Chile. Was a
dull flight and managed to land before I took off
which has sent my body clock into meltdown, I get
hungry in the middle of the night and fall asleep at
lunch time!!
Arrival in Santiago brought about the biggest culture
shock ever, all on the wrong side of the road, all
speaking spanish, and little old me only able to
remember my french!!! Damn evening classes.....None
the less managed to negotitate my way to the hostel,
around the city centre and to a bar! Quite successful
all in all. Did manage to sleep for 16 hours that
night though. Santiago was pretty dull, walked round
the cathedral and the museum, and then left for Lima.
Will be back in Chile in a few weeks and plan to head
straight for the mountains to try some ice climbing or
something like that.......Flew to peru on Wednesday I
think, arriving at midnight and being dragged by taxi
driver to my hostel through the ropiest area.......so
with me contemplating running through a foreign city
centre chased by stray dogs and the odd axe weilding
madman, I was pleasantly suprised at the lovley
spanish esque villa, that my hostel resided in with
very helpful staff. The next day it was time to join
my tour in the centre of Lima, decided to walk it, got
lost quite successfully but the amazing peruvians came
to my aide and promptly directed me`, fantastic
people!!! Found the hotel.....a room to
myself.....what a novelty....so excited was I....I
fell asleep. Wandered around Lima in the afternoon,
revisited the catacombes in the San Fransisco
Monestary, which still make me laugh on the second
visit. Basically they have excavated the catacombes
so people can visit and with all the dead peoples
bones they have found they have arranged them in nice
patterns: thigh bones in herring bone patterns, skulls
in circles, ribs all lines up, and pelvi (plural
pelvis´s) all awaiting a new owner.....lovely.
Met up with the tour group in the evening, a grand
total of 3 of us! Went out in the evening in
Milaflores in the evening and had some great lamb,
then to bed as this morning we left at 3.30 am for
Cusco, the Inca capital, and that is where I am at the
moment, I start the Inca trail on Sunday, so have a
bit of exploring to do before then.
Temples, Heavy Breathing & Rain - 31st March 2006
Well after my last mail I have been a busy boy!
Before leaving for the Inca Trail I managed to get a
taxi driver to take us to some of the local Inca
ruins, so have seen the temple of the earth (Qenqo -
the first q is pronounced like you are choking on a
fish bone), temple of water, and the temple of the
monkey. All great with lots of different features and
pretty amazing architecture. The driver did not speak
much english, but we managed to get along okay, and he
gave us a guided tour of it all, for a grand total of
8 quid, so for an afternoon´s visit I did not think it
was too bad.
The next day I visited the temple of the sun in Cusco,
as the stone work is pretty impressive, and then I
went to bed and slept off a horrible hangover! The
altitude and drinking with yet another irishman is not
good, one day I will learn to steer clear of these
people....
On sunday I left at 5.30am for the inca trail, a group
of 24 of us in total, with about 30 guides and
porters. Quick stop in Ollayantambo, to stock up on
the esssential....bamboo walking stick, coca leaves
and plastic rain poncho, and then we were off to KM82
the start of the trail.
That days walking was not too tough, nothing too steep
and the altitude was only 3000m ish so was not too out
of breath. The tramping in NZ obviously helped as I
was way ahead of the group, so far in fact that the
porters had not set up our flag so I knew where to
stop, and I proceeded to hike up the mountain we were
supposed to do the day after. I turned back after all
I kept hearing was our tour leader Daniella shouting
"michael, michael", and on the way down I met a few
porters who all laughed while mimicing the "michael,
michael" cheeky little buggers. The campsite looked
down a green valley which was lovley, and I am sure
the mountains around about would have been good, was
it not for the low cloud.
The second day started with a 1200m climb up to Dead
Womans Pass, the highest point on the trail. And
although I only had a small pack on the altitude made
this an absolute killer. I was seeing stars on the
way up, due to lack of oxygen, and sweating quite a
bit. The rain joined us as well, so in my lovely
green poncho I cursed my way up the Inca steps to the
top. First up :-D....And then proceed to freeze me
nuts off waiting for the rest of the group. We did
cheer them on the way, and I saved some special abuse
for two american girls who have been taking the piss
out of me since the start of the trip!! (these 2 girls
act like a pair from a sweet valley high book or
something - total americans, funny, but could get
annoying). I even partook in the local habit of
chewing the coca leaves along with soime black gunk,
and after a while all this proceeded to do was make my
mouth numb....where was the high??? We descended 400m
to our campsite, and had a great, but cold night,
being introduced to the porters, drinking and watching
the stars. It was a cold night and pretty much rained
the whole time - bloody wet season!!
The next day we climbed about 200m to the pass, saw
some good ruins on the way, I am sure the name began
with R but who knows. The view from the top was
amazing in my mind, but the cloud only allowed a
little glimpse only so often.....We descended to some
more ruins with original water works still in tact and
a great rock carving of an Inca god. Since we as a
group were pretty quick walkers we missed the usual
lunch stop to press on and get to our final overnight
stop. The ridge top walk was good fun, but again
clouds stopped us seeing anything spectacular. We
descended via the 2000 steps, which killed my knees,
and 2 hours later arrived at the camp ground...which
had a bar....excellent. Visited some ruins in the
afternoon and then served the porters what should have
been our afternoon snack, to say thank you. The work
these people do for 20 quid for 4 days is amazing,
they carry packs of 25kg all day, sometimes running in
only a pair of sandals. We doubled their money in the
tips we gave them. That night I proceeded to drink my
way to bed and then wake up after 4 hrs to begin the
walk to Machu Picchu.
We climbed up to the Sun Gate as daylight arrived, to
be greeted by another cloudy view, it did clear for a
moment and we got our first view of the ancient city.
Due to the rain we had has, we had to negotitate a
quite serious landslide on the way down, but we all
made it safe and sound to the end! The weather
imporved for our tour of the site, which was just as
good as I remember it last time, steep sided valleys,
green hills, and stunning stone work. Pepe our guide
was awesome. We had lots of free time so as I had
always said if I returned I would climb Wana Picchu,
the second peak....just what I felt like doing after 4
days hiking. Nevertheless I climbed it with two women
from our group, and man that was not for the feint
hearted. 500m drops on either side, and very wet rocks
to climb up. Why they built a sttlement up here god
knows, it was scary just standing there. Jane was
afraid of heights so spent the time hugging rocks,
while I edged close to the terraces for a peak down.
Unfortunately the cloud was not going to be kind and
the view of Machu Picchu was a little obscured....so
we came down. On the way down I met Nick another one
of our group on his own and not wanting him to walk up
and down the 50-60 deg steps on his own I went back
up, just what my legs wanted....however the cloud
cleared this time and I got a beautiful view of the
lost city - well worth the effort. We descended to
the very bottom of the valley to Aguas Calientes,
where I devoured what can only be described as a
massive pizza all to myself. We then got the train
back to cusco.
Today I have been to the Sacred valley, Pisac, and
more temples / ruins - I am now all templed out - they
are all the same after a bit
I leave for the jungle tomorrow so am fully dosed on
malaria pills!
Jungle, Sickness & Potatoes - 5th April 2006
Buenos Dias
Well after the excitement of the temples...it was time
to head for the jungle, however not before a rather
large night out In Cusco. It started with an amazing
fillet steak at a very posh restaurant (the meals were
8 quid and not 2), then lots of drinking, dancing (in
my own amazing style), more drinking and then a fair
bit of staggering. We were due to leave the hotel at
630am and I arrived back at 605am, so a quick load of
packing and a sprint to the bus, thoroughloy knackered
me out.....and then the bus promptly stunk of booze
and smoke, much to the delight of my fellow
travellers. The flight into the jungle was delayed
which meant more drunken staggering around in the
airport. Eventually we were underway and before we
knew it it was 30 odd degrees, I was sweating like mad
and then I fell asleep on our canoe ride to the lodge.
Much to the dleight of the fellow passengers I became
a tourist attraction, so bananas were inserted in
various areas (no not that area, ouch) to provide many
comedy pictures. I was of course oblivious.
Our Jungle lodge was lovely, 2 bed cabins set in the
rain forest, pool, hammocks by the river...all very
pretty. After a brief nap again, we went on our first
visit, to a monkey island in the middle of the river,
saw plenty of the buggers, and my gortex coat has the
scratches to prove it where one lashed out at me. Saw
some spider monkeys as well which were very
inquisitive and noted the pendulous clitoris of the
female of the species (some of you will remember the
last time these came up in conversation, for the rest
of you, it was very funny and should not be repeated
in front of small children.....oops).
Anyway that night, not that I was feeling particularly
perky we went cayman hunting, which was pathetic, I
have seen bigger fish in the pond at home.
The next day we did a 8km trek in the jungle, spotting
loads of tarantulas, a very poisonous snake, an
eletric eel, some noise birds and some flocking
parrots.....quite a few flocking parrotts. The lake
we had a tour on as well was named after our local
guide, who had a marvellous set of gold teeth. We
returned intime for lunch, which was another amazing
selection of local produce, and then we went fishing
in one of the side rivers to see if we could catch
some pihrana´s. However I think we were too noisy as
we spent most of the time making smutty comments
about, meat and rods, and nibbling meat...etc.....you
get the picture! We visited a family living in the
jungle on the way home, had a go at shooting stuff
with bows and arrows and I got attacked by another
monkey which sat on my hat!
That night was spent drinking cocktails and admiring a
wild Tapier (about the size of a very large pig!)
which had run into the bar! It had the largest set of
male genitalia ever, and provided much amusment to all
and sundry!
Flew back to cusco the next day, went to watch Cusco
play Lima in the football, I know its a poor
substitute for rugby but it was an experience!
Fireworks, Flares, Riot police, firemen, crazy
fans...it had it all....well apart from the football
which was shyte! I could abuse them all I wanted to
as well as no one had any idea what I was going on
about.
Had a quiet evening as I was coming down with a fever
and sore throat! Next day after much sweating in my
sleep I had to go to Puno in the south of Peru.
However I felt soooooo bad I just slept and sweated my
way along the 8 hour joiurney. When we got to Puno I
was promptly whisked to a local pharmacy where in a
back room, with a blood splattered table cloth I was
given a penicillin injection in my bum
cheek......which has not been the same since....
And folks I am going to have to leave it there as I am
off to see a temple of willy´s, I shall describe the
Lake Titicaca bits in my next update.
(cont.)
Anyway never made the temple as some stupid spanish
woman managed to lose 600 pictures on my memory card
when moving them to CD, so consequently all pictures
from the second half of NZ and beyond are no more.
Annoyed was not the word, Daniella my tour guide went
off like a rocket at them it was very funny to
watch.....But on the plus side when I show you all the
pictures on my return, you will not be as bored.
So back to Lake Titicaca and the adventures on the
worlds hieghest navigable lake!
Started with another early morning, and a race down
the hill in some 2 seater push bike things! Ours
broke so we came last, but I did have about 4 near
death experiences with traffic on the worng side of
the road. They don´t seem to care which side of the
road they are on as long as they miss the pot holes!
We then caught a boat out onto the Lake, on the 3 hr
journey we had a Qechua lesson to learn the local
lingo, as the islands we were visitng and staying on
did not speak a lot of Spanish. The lake was
beautiful, and the islands reminded me of the
Mediterranean! Late in the afternoon we rocked up to a
small island, with 4000 people on, and were allocated
out families for the night. Typically my house was at
the top of the hill so another climb at at altitude of
4000m plus was just what I required! The rooms in the
mud brick buildings were very comfy, and the family
very welcoming! Not satisfied with the altitude I
climbed the remainder of the hill and ended up at
4200m looking our over the lake as the sun
set.....another good view. After that it was back to
the house for dinner. We sat around their clay oven,
talking in my now fluent Qechua, pigeon spanish and
English. The young boys of the family were very shy
but did practice their english with me. For dinner it
was a delightful combination of potato soup, potato
mush and potatoes.....the staple diet of the island
(there are 1500 varieties! How exciting). After
dinner we got dressed into some traditional clothing
(poncho and hat for me) and went to a dance held in
our honour! My dancing as some well know is up there
with the best of them, and at 4000m a heavy breathing
mike was soon wooing the local talent.....well sort
of...did sleep well after that though, with only a
thunderstorm to diusturb me!
Breakfast was a choice of potato soup or
pancakes.....and then it was a very very rough ride
over to the floating reed islands of Uros. The waves
rocked the boat quite a lot but fortunately there were
no technicolour yawns! The reed islands were quite
amazing, completely moveable, with lots of families,
local schools etc, all floating around! The houses
were lovely and cosy as well, and most even had a tv,
which apparently had given rise to lots of babies
calle d Ronaldo and Beckham of all things!!! Why
anyone would want to be named after a floppy haired
poofballer god only knows!
We returned to Puno, and as it was the last night for
some, went out and got drunk!
Next day was a 8hr bus journey to Bolivia. Crossing
the border was a joke as they had no interest in the
passport whatsoever. We then stopped at Cococabana
for lunch.....not a beach side paradise, but a
complete toilet, lunch was crap, and then we boarded
the best bus Bolivia had to offer, complete with
engine fumes in cabin, water leaks, and sweaty
bolivians! The ride to La Paz was horrendous, loads
of potholes, the bus conking out, and the traffic in
the city a nightmare! We eventually got there though
and here I have been since!
Am now back to living in hostels and with no guide to
help me! Anyway I am off mountain biking the worlds
most dangerous rd tomorrow, so hopefully after 63km of
downhill I shall still be in one peace!
Going down has never been so much fun... - 17th April 2006
Well thats what the T shirt says! The worlds most
dangerous road in Bolivia was brilliant fun! I bagged
myself a big full suspension Kona bike, nick named the
pink panther, and proceeded to put it through its
paces with 60 odd km´s of downhill. This all started
at 4700m on the hills above La Paz, and finishes at
Coroico at approx 1500m, so its a pretty good drop!
They gave out the safety gear, passed some alcohol
around (97% - a tribute to pacha mama, mother earth)
and then you are off. The first 20 km or so is easy
down a road, you get up some decent speed! after that
you have a brief uphill, which at 4200m is an
interesting affair, and had me breathing like a prop
forward in a dash for a pie stand!! After that its
dangerous rd territory! This is a gravel rd, used by
all the local traffic and mountain bikers, it has a
shear drop on the left hand side of anywhere between
100m and 600m, and is quite frankly pretty feckin
scary!!! You add to this that you fly down on your
bike, dodging oncoming traffic, and silly women
dawdling down the hill on their bikes, and it makes
the plams sweat nicely! You descend through
rainforest, waterfalls, past some stunning views and
plenty of car wrecks far below and then you pop out in
the warm tropical sun of Coroico!! I managed to get a
puncture on one corner which caused the bike to lurch
all over the place which got the heart going, which
was luckier than a girl in the other group as she
actually went all the way over the edge and was
fortunately saved by a tree, otherwise it would have
been only a scraper required.....At the end of the day
there was plenty of beer consumed, and then a bus
takes you all the way back up the road to La Paz,
allowing you once again to see how feckin steep the
sides are, and when you meet a speeding articulated
lorry coming the other way its a real brown trouser
moment!!
Next day I think I left La Paz, from the worlds
heighest airport, and then flew to santiago, via an
arduous 2 stop route! So Back in santiago I found a
lovely hostel, in which I remained for a good few
days, chilling and recovering from the last 3 weeks
where I have hardly stopped! Visited Valparaiso on
the coast, which was not the greatest trip on earth,
so returned and drowned my sorrows in muchos chilean
wine, which by the way is beautiful, and when its
between 50p and 4 quid a bottle its a bargain as
well!!!
After a few days of resting I was feeling the need to
get some more physical activity in, so arranged for a
3 day cycling tour in the Andes! For some reason no
one else wanted to go so it was me and my own personal
sherpa/guide Toby!!! Unfortunately the weather meant
we had to shorten the trip to 2 days, so on Friday we
went on a cycle tour of the city! A great way to see
the place, cycled up a few hills and saw siome of the
rich areas and the other districts, covering about
45km in total. Not too saddle sore we decided on the
plan of attack for the next 2 days, toby carried all
my stuff, so me being me I managed to devise a
wonderful plan of condensing a 4 day trip into 2!!!
Possibly something to regret....
Anyway so saturday we set off later than expected due
to some problems with my bike, The chain and sprokets
were incompatible and it took forever to fix!! In the
end we did get going (btw my bike was probably as old
as me), we headed south of the city, to the canjon de
majipo, and proceeded to slog our guts out climbing
from 500m in Santiago to as high as we could get in a
day.....fuelled on some great chilean cornish pastie
things and a lot of biscuits! After 7 hours of
climbing up tarmac and then dirt roads, and approx
80km covered we called it a night at a roadside fossil
stand. The family who owned it offered us their field
to camp in. The family were great and even fixed an
outside electric light for us, the little girl of the
family thought I could speak spanish so proceeded to
tell me all about her dogs that were around, after a
bit toby collapsed in laughter as the girl explained
the name of one dog as Como Kaka - which literally
trabslated is Poo Eater - apparently this dog has a
liking for the brown!! Anyways after a pasta fuelled
meal, we promptly crashed out!!
After 12hours sleep for the both of us and a
reasonably lazy breakfast the plan was to head up the
valley further to some hot springs, however the father
of the family who had leant us the field offered to
take us mining in the local mine.......well it sounded
fun, so with headlamp, and pickaxe we walked into this
100 yr old copper mine, searching for rocks and
minerals for him to sell on his stand! It was a great
little trip, descending 150m or so into this mine, the
calcite formations, the sparkling copper, iron and
other sulphate bits made for some amazing colours, and
after about an hour of scratching around we finally
made it back out with loads of salt roacks and other
odds and ends! A truly unique experience....
After that I could not be bothered with the 20km to
the springs so we packed up and descended back towards
santiago, even using old Pinochet´s private railraod
for a bit! The ride back was 20km longer so it must
have been about 100km by the time we made it back! My
knee gave up at km80 is so the last few hours were
pretty painful! We got back though and I got whisked
to Toby´s local family and was treated to a great
chilean meal will all the relatives, not sure what
they thought of a very dirty and smelly englishman,
but I had a great time!!!
Am now back at the hostel and leave for Argentina
tomorrow!! Should be a whole new experience!
Steak, Vino, Steak, Vino - 22nd April 2006
Well have been in Argentina nearly a wekk now and
still I do not seem to be getting anywhere close to
eating them out of steak. I have tried my hardest but
to no avail!
Spent a few days in Buenos Aires, had a bit of trouble
with the hostels, but got it sorted in the end! Its a
really relaxing place, and has a really nice
atmosphere. Spent the time walking around the city,
looking at the now obligatory cathedral, and various
other buildings....there are also lots of memorials to
those that dies in the Falklands....You also have to
settle into the fact that every day there is at least
one protest that grinds the capital to a halt,
speaking of which another one has just gone past the
internet cafe where I am in Patagonia!!! Not quite
sure what all their angst is about but they seem to
enjoy it.....
I tried to get a flight to the far south of the
country to see the glaciers, but they were all fully
booked, so had to settle with a coach for Puerto
Madryn. It was only 18 hours....but the coaches here
are fantastic! Loads of leg room and very comfy, even
serve you food as you go!!
Arrived at Puerto Madryn, to find that the whale
watching, which the place is famous for, is out of
season, in fact nearly all of the species you can see
here have fecked off! Marvellous! So on my first day,
I went for a walk to some caves the Welsh dug when
they first landed here. The guidebook said it was
windy and desloate here, and they are not wrong, I got
sand blasted in places I never knew could chafe!!!
The caves were mightly unimpressive, looking like
little holes in the mud, apparently the leek munchers
lived here for a couple of years until they could find
a place to settle! They were however very close to
the water line, not quite sure what possessed them to
build them there, but there again they are welsh ;-)
After that I went back to the hostel and drunk some
vino!!
Yesterday I went to the penguin colony to the south,
which was wicked fun! 1000´s of penguins everywhere,
and you get to walk amoungst them, and they are all
very cute, scratching, yawning, flapping, farting, and
pooping! It was great fun, so now have a camera full
of very cute penguins! After that we went to visit a
couple of the original welsh settlements, were quite
possibly the most uninspiring tourist attractions on
earth! You could get yourself a welsh tea, and there
was the odd flag about, but it looked like any other
south american town! So thoroughly unimpressed with
that returned to the hostel, consumed half my body
weight in steak and a couple of bottles of vino, and
then passed out in bed!
Today I have no idea what to do as this place is
pretty dull, but I leave tonight on a 15 hr bus
journey to Bariloche in the lake District of
Argentina, hopefully the weather will be good enough
to do some walking!
A bit more steak, some mountains, more steak - 28th April 2006
Well after I typed the last email, I managed to not
only eat a steak sandwich for lunch but also got
invited to an Argentinian BBQ where I ate more beef
than I am sure is healthy for me!!!
Anyway on some other news, I am sure you will be glad
to hear that all the wonderful people at Fuji managed
to rescue my pictures from the memory card. So you
will be glad to hear that you will not be missing out
on the 609 pictures on that card!!!
Erm so what have I been up to.....?
Well made it to Barlioche, going from the vast
desloate plains of patagonia to the mountains, which
was a welcome change, cso despite patagonia being
beautiful in some ways with the vast expanse of not a
lot, it is much better to be seeing trees, mountains
and snow again. The town has a great setting on the
side of the lake, with lots of snow capped mountains
all around. The town also bizzarely has been set up
like a swiss ski resort so has loads of stone and
timber buildings. The hostel was very nice too, with
some nice views across the lakes.
In my journey west I had not however managed to lose
the wind, natural not man made......the lake was very
very choppy, and climbing one of the mountains that
afternoon was rather fun when you got to the top. Not
wanting to miss out on night of steak, we went to
Alberto´s which served the best fillet steak I have
ever eaten!! It was as rare as they come and
delicious!!
Following day went to Villa Cathedral which is one of
the premier ski resorts in the area, and were going to
take a cable car to the top of the mountain and do
some hiking....alas like a lot of Argentinian
engineering it was not working, so we had to walk
up!!! Never realised ski slopes were that steep!! We
made it about 3/4 of the way up before the weather
closed in and we decided to come back down....up until
that point though the views of the lakes, and the
autumnal trees in the valley were lovely.
Guess what we cooked for tea that night.....you
guessed it...steak....I also have developed a worrying
capability to consume 2 bottles of wine without much
side effect......
Following day I went mountain biking on the Cerro Otto
mountain - not the best of days, but the biking was
excellent, some superb climbs and even better
downhills, was onyl thwarted by a fallen tree at some
point, but the momentum I had carried me over it!!!
returbned to town to go and watch Arsenal in the
European cup....not exactly a great game, but it
turned into a 13 hour drinking session whcih involved
some weird green drink....a very dodgy
beefburger....some chips that ooooozed grease....a
rabid dog....and some rather bad dancing which
invloved knocking the keyboard player of the live band
over....The followuing day was not pretty, and it was
an expensive one as well as some bugger had nicked the
saddle of the bike I hired the day before....that cost
me 90pesos....not a lot in real terms, but man thats a
lot of steak!!! this day was also my first without
steak since arriving.....I just could not face it!
Watched a couple of movies and went to bed
early....left bariloche yesterday on a 20 odd hour
coach journey back to Buenos Aires...a very
comfortable coach it was as well, so I am back in the
capital and leave for Sao Paulo on Sunday, where I
meet up with my ickle sister!
Dont Cry for me Argentina, and the land of the tight buttocks - 5th May 2006
Well just before leaving buenos aires I had a bit more
touristing to do, so visited the grave of Eva Peron,
more commonly known as Evita. Which is in the most
spectacular graveyard!! Everyone was dying to get
in.....and of corpse I was excited as well....thats
enough of these grave jokes....
Anyway the graveyard is full of amazingly constructed
family shrines, where they just come in and leave
their coffins to find a better path to god....well it
was all very impressive....and the brass plaque on the
side of Evita´s grave was just
spectacular...hmmm...spent the remainder of my last
day in Buenos Aires, first eating steak for lunch, and
then going out in the posh end of town, and managed to
eat....sirloin steak, fillet steak, chorizo sausages,
balck puddings, and kidneys, all washed down with more
red wine and a goos decent helping of mashed potato!
Left the hostel to get to BA airport, all very easy,
had to yet again pay a shed load of departure tax!!
Little buggers! Flight to Sao Paulo was EARLY!!! and
even my sister had managed to negotiate 3 planes and a
stop over in Rio to be there at the door when I
arrived! Not bad even for her. Was great to see her
after such a long time....
Got to the hostel in Sao Paulo, on the way seeing two
people being arrested at gunpoint....always nice to
have a welcoming comittee. Anyway hostel was pretty
comfy, after sorting our stuff out, went to find some
dinner. With it being the sunday of a bank holiday,
not a lot was open, so we resorted for an all you can
eat pizza place, which stuffed us to the gills. You
even have pizza dessert with chocolate, banana´s and
tons of other sweet stuff!
Next day we went to do a walking tour around Sao
Paulo, but firstly we went and sorted our bus tickets
out to get to Florianopolis that night. Managed the
tube okay, but trying to converse in
Spanish/portugeuse and English was quite a fun
experience. In the end got what we were after. The
walking tour around Sao Paulo was pretty rubbish, Sao
Paulo is the 3rd largest city on the planet, so it
should have some nice parts, however we did not manage
to find them. All we managed were streets lined with
homeless, weird people loitering around protesting,
and this was all accompanied by the rather strong
odour of pee. Having had our nostrils offended by one
too many puddles of piss, we scuttled back to the
hostel, packed bags and got to the bus station.
Bus was okay, not quite as good as Argentinian buses
though....we had been told we had to change buses at
some random place at 4 in the morning, so as we were
told we got off.....only to find out that as our bus
left, we were supposed to stay on that
bus....marvellous...luckily the dumb tourist act
worked a charm, and we got upgraded onto the next posh
bus with big seats to come in and had a nice
comfortable ride to Florianopolis. More pubic
transport beckoned as we were transferring to the Ilha
de Santa Catrina, just off the coast.
The island is a popular holiday resort in the summer,
so at this time of year it is quite quiet. The
backpackers is in the most fantastic setting as well.
Just at the south end of a massive beach, over a
rickety foot bridge, up on a hill overlooking the
coast and the fishing village....you could not get
much more peaceful and relaxing....
So the first day, I think we managed to walk around
the village....eat some food..read and sleep....oh and
I went for a swim. Yesterday we went out to the main
town on the island to look around, and then in the
afternoon went to Joaquina beach to watch the surfers
(not as good as me...honest) and then went sand
boarding on the massive dunes along the coast. For
the unaware sandboarding is basically snow boarding
on.......you guessed it...sand. So after a few gental
practice runs, I was flying down the dunes and falling
over in a perfectly graceful and rather gangly manner.
Even managed to persuade Bun to have a go, which was
even funnier than my attempts...
Spent the evening in the hostal, which cooks meals in
the evening for you...last night was roast beef,
mashed potato, beans...oh and loads more....it was
delicious, obviously needed a few beers to wash it
down with...and I needed it as my curse with sharing
rooms with snorers has returned!! The little bugger
was going all feckin night...
Today we hired a car and went touring round the
island, the beaches were lovely and the mountains and
atlantic rainforest all pretty spectacular. Late in
the afternoon stopped in a seafood restaurant, and
managed to eat.....(between 2) 3 crabs, 4 fillets of
fish, a pile of steamed shrimps, a pile of garlic
fried shirmps, some breaded shrimps, fried potatoes,
chips, salad, and some rice...needless to say we were
both stuffed, and we have been lounging around ever
since....
Its a bit cold here tonight, have had to put some
trousers on, leave for Iguazu Falls tomorrow...
Water, Water, Everywhere - 11th May 2006
Firstly, this internet cafe is continually playing
James Blunt so if I seem a little tense or start
ranting, please forgive me, if i hear the album of
that little whining runt one more time in south
america I am going to go mad!!! And so....
Well we managed to safely negotiate the buses to make
it to Foz du Iguacu in Brazil, the coach was not that
comfy and freezing cold. It was also late so it meant
a nice 18hrs on the bus. Arrived in Foz and got to
the place we were staying, where the owner hugged Bun
(for those not aware that my sisters nickname) and
took us to the room, she was a bit like a mother to
us, feeding us and making sure we were comfy, before
we passed out for a couple of hours sleep...
Woke up and went to the Itaipu dam, which is a 8km
long dam, designed to provide hydroeletricity for
Paraguay and Brazil. The lake it created however is
very controversial and has caused a fair few issues, a
subject that I am sure I have studied and I am sure
some bloke in nottingham did some surveying on
it....Anyway....The tour was free so we spent the
afternon admiring a shed load of concrete, some big
turbines and a large patch of water. The tour also
included a tour of a woldlife reserve where the big
nasty electricty corporation are providing areas for
breeding of endangered species, primarily those
affected by the lake they built. Still it was very
interesting and was a great way to spend the day!!
That night we went to an all you can eat BBQ place!!!
You could basically eat any part of the cow that you
wished, and you also had a free salad bar, and various
other bits of meat. Needless to say with all my
training in Argentina I did pretty well and so did my
sis. Finished it off with some superb fillet mignon.
We went home absolutely stuffed!!!
The morning after however was not a pleasant one!!!
Bun had not realised the problems that quantity of red
meat can cause, so she woke up feeling pretty rough.
With me being the wonderful brother that I am I went
and got her some medicine. Upon taking it she
promptly threw it all up all over the bathrom floor!!
Some people have no gratitutde. While she collapsed
back in bed, I was picking chunks of beef off the
floor, all with nice aroma of corned beef.....It was
all a bit much so as I was scrubbing the bath mat I
was retching myself....(do you like the description??)
Anyway needless to say that day was a bit of awrite
off so when she was feeling better in the afternoon we
walked to a small free local zoo, and that was about
the day!!
Next day we went to the Brazillian side of the Iguassu
Falls. We first saw a long stretch of tiny falls,
which in themselves were pretty good, and after
turning a corner were presented with the Garganta del
diablo (the Devils Throat), a horseshoe of water
pouring 70metres down into a hole, the noise, the
spray were incredible!!! You could even walk on a
small walkway out into the edge of the
falls.....Amazing!!! After this we went to a Bird Park
which was on the edge of the falls national park, this
was excellent as well!! Loads of parrots, tucans, more
parrots, the odd snake, and some flutterbies and
hummingbirds!!!
Returned throurghly knackered and prmptly slept the
evening away, missing dinner, which for me is a
rarity!!!
Took the bus over to Argentina the following day, to
spend a few days over there as its a damn sight
cheaper than brazil!!! Hostel was again deserted, as
they all seem to be down here. Spent the evening
eating steak...oh how I had missed it!...and then got
pissed on Caipirinha´s - these really are an excellent
drink!!!
Yesterday we visited the Argentinian side of the
falls. This was another full day, walking loads of
tracks through the rainforest, taking a million and
one pictures of waterfalls. We then took a boat trip
to the falls, and under them, and considering they
gave you dry bags for your stuff, that was a pretty
big hint!! We got soaked as we went under the second
biggest falls (San Martin). We then walked a few more
trails looking over the falls.
no bravery...no bravery...DAMN BLUNT!!!!
We ended the day with a walk to a platform overloking
the whole of the deviles throat. The water here was
incredible, so much pouring over the edge and the mist
and roar of the water was incredible...all very
powerful and mother nature at its absolute best!!!
Went out for more steak that night, and then today we
walked to the frontier of Argentina, Brazil, and
Paraguay. 2 rivers meet and divide the boarders of
the 3 countries. As you can visualise this is
spectacularly exciting! You can see trees in
paraguay, trees in Brazil and you can hug the trees in
Argentina.....excellent. With enough excitement, we
walked back to town, and I attempted to back up my
photos onto CD!! And guess what, another card when
loopy, so after a few hours panicing, the nice people
used some recovery software and rescued the pics,
unfortunately though the videos and me and sis showing
our sandboarding moves have been lost!!! Nevermind,
at leat the pictures are safe!!!
Anyway so thats it for now, man I can waffle. We have
a nice 22 hours on a coach tomorrow, cos we are going
to Rio! Plan on spending the week there, partying and
sight seeing!!
Down at the Copa - 19th May 2006
Well folks this is it the last email of my
travels.....please don´t cry.......I am sorry that I
will not be able to distract you from your work with
anymore of my daft tales.....
Anyway getting back to my final week...
We travelled to Rio...eventually after waiting 3 hours
for the coach to arrive, I had a slight hangover as
was persuaded to go out for a few drinks....which as
usual turned into a few Caipirinha´s....Coach journey
was pretty uneventful, but we were shocked to find
that we actually had some decent films to watch, a
first for south american transport!! The company were
also kind enough to provide us all with what can only
be described as a quadruple whisky before we went to
sleep - don´t get service like that on National
Express!!
Arrived in Rio and took a taxi to Ipanema which is
just south of Copacobana (named after a cr*ppy little
town I passed through in Bolivia for some unkonw
reason). Spent a bit of time wandering around trying
to find a decent hostel as they are very expensive.
Settled on one with a good host (who would later
describe my feet as sexy, well if she likes a black
toe nail, dry skin and a general traveller odour she
is welcome to them), but the rooms were pretty
shyte...also was the most I have paid for accomodation
all trip! Went out in the evening, but failed
miserably to pick up any enthusiasm for a late night
as the bus journey knackered us out! Sunday we
wandered around Ipanema and the neighbouring Leblon,
visiting a hippy market (where I spent too much on
stuff), meeting some people we keep bumping into round
Brazil, and that evening went out to the bar on the
corner just 10 metres from the hostel (always a bad
sign). So a few beers, turned into a full reunion
with some aussi´s we met in Barro de Lagoa, which
turned into 5 or six Caipirinha´s, by this stage Bun
was staggering and I was having trouble focusing.
Nevertheless it was time to go clubbing, so we
attempted to trust the Rio Taxi service, which
promptly tried to drop us miles from no where with the
promise that the club was just round the corner, after
some arguments in spanish and portugeuse and a ]few
choice englush insults we got where we wanted to get
to. It cost me a fortune to get in as the Brazillian
policy of charging men to get in but not women
continued. By this point however the Caipirinhas had
taken affect and all I could muster was sitting down
slumped against the wall. Bun managed some dancing
but at around 3 we retired gracefully....well sort of
staggered out demanding a taxi. This driver was no
better than the last and after running us round the
block a few times dropped us at a police checkpoint
for us to be frisked for drugs....my sister bless her
has no recolection of this and was only standing due
to an aussi holding her up. Got back to the hostel in
the end and passed out in one of the best drunken
stupors I have achieved on this trip.
That morning I woke with a headache that felt like I
had a herd of elephants running around inside, and the
constant need to regurgitate anything in my stomach.
During the proceedings of last night we found out that
a hostel down the road was much cheaper, so in a still
drunk haze we packed and ran out of the hostel. Moved
into the new place, and between retching, sleeping and
vegetating the day passed reasonably quickly. To make
up for the lack of food suring the day we went out to
a good restaurant that night and I ate a BBQ meat
platter for 2 all to myself, the waiting staff were
all a little amazed.
Tuesday it was time to do some proper touristing, so
we went to the Pao d Azucar or the Sugar Loaf. This
is the mountain at the entrance to the bay of Rio de
Janiero, it and its cable cars were also used in the
James Bond film Moonraker, so whistling the Bond tune
we took the two cable cars to the top. The views were
amazing as the sun came out after the rain that
morning! The beaches of Copa and Ipanema spread before
us, the sprawling city of Rio, the green and grey
granite peaks, and Christ the Redeemer looking down on
us from the distance. The afternoon was spent
wandering through Copacobana, spending more
money...another quiet night was had just drinking at
the bar on the corner, even being chatted to by the
locals, not that I could tell what they were saying!
Weds was time to visit the impressive statue of
christ. This was not before boarding on of Rio´s
buses, the guide book describes the drivers as wannabe
F1 drivers.....this is an understatement, if the bus
could wheel spin I am sue it would...these guys are
mad, its all or nothing, brakes full on or all
acceleration, this is while driving through masses of
traffic like this 40ft bus is a moped! Crazy! Anyway
we got there in the end and hired a taxi to take us up
the mountain. Stopping on the way for a few views of
the city, we got to the top to have another one of
those I can´t believe I am standing here moments, 75
metres of the man himself and all Bun could say was
"Christ thats big!!"....there is no helping some
people. The views were even better than the day
before. Rio really is in the most spectacular setting
for any city, they say got created it on the 8th day,
and from this vantage point who is to argue!!! Simply
stunning. Had a lazy afternoon and evening saving
money for the final few days.
Yesterday I had the urge to do something daft again,
so was booked on a dual hang gliding flight. Awoke a
little nervous, but was no where near as bad as the
morning before the bungee jumps. Met my pilot Ruy, who
insisted on calling me his English Prince, not sure if
he was after more than me holding onto him as we ran
down the runway into thin air but there we go. Take
off was incredible, from the side of one of the
granite peaks, you just run until you can no longer
feel the ground, and then you float around with
nothing but the sound of the wind in your ears. It is
all peaceful and very calm, caught a few thermals
which meant we climbed really quickly. Also took
photos with the sugar loaf in the back ground, after a
few nose dives, which were real pucker moments, we
were whizzing out to sea and then along the beach for
a nice soft landing in the sand. It was nowhere near
the adrenaline buzz I was expecting it was a different
high, very calm and relaxing!!
That afternoon we went on a favela tour (shanty
towns), this was also an amazing experience (aside
from the little hitler of a guide). We saw some real
poverty but also the way in which the majority go
about working to better themselves. Crime is nearly
non existent due to the overseeing by the drug lords,
they prefer to concentrate their efforts on making
sure the real police do not catch them. We did walk
around them for a while but were then ushered quickly
back to the van as apparently the lords were having a
bit of a barney that day.....and for some reasons a
load of tourists taking pictures are not that welcome.
Had another lazy night last night, and today we are
going to laze about before blowing all the remaining
funds on a night out in Lapa, the samba capital of the
world.
Tomorrow I catch the flight home...both sad the
holiday is over, but excited about seeing Mum and Dad
and friends. If you fancy arranging a greeting party
at Heathrow I expect nothing less than the England
Rugby team got when they got home.....
Things I will be doing/looking forward to when I get
home are
A really hot bum burning curry
A pint of decent beer, non of this nats pee pap they
have made me suffer all the way around
A bacon butty
Being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet will
be a real pleasure
Being able to understand what the hell is going on
Watching Where Eagles Dare again....Broad Sword
Calling Danny Boy....
Sleeping in a room by myself for a change
Not being woken by someone snoring
