First stop...Santiago, Chile, South America. It can be a bit overwhelming at the start of every new beginning because there is always so much to do & it´s difficult to know where to start so that you use your time most effectively. Not only do we get a new continent to explore but we also travel back in time & gain a day for our troubles. In fairness I think we´re due a day back cause ever since we´ve been away we´ve been losing time so it´s nice to get something back! So we lived the 11th of March twice this [View Full Entry]

---

---

In typical ¨"Alison & Grace fashion" we thought we were leaving New Zealand on a Monday but it turned out to be a Tuesday much to our delight. The extra day gave us enough time to go to the Bay of Islands. It´s up at the very northern part of the North Island....nice beaches & beautiful blue/ turquoise bays. We didn´t make it as far as the west coast to see the kauri trees though....these are massive native trees with trunks that are meters thick. But you can´t do everything...even when you are travelling for a year. So we hung around [View Full Entry]

---

---

Rotorua- not the place you´d live if you´ve a very sensitive olfactory system cause the stench of rotton eggs is a bit overbearing at times. Nonetheless we did enjoy our short stay there. We arrived that afternoon & had planned to go white- water rafting with a fella we had met again from Tasmania. Small world. There were only 3 of us on the raft plus the 2 instructors. A short trip yes but it was great craic & I never laughed as much; especially when I was saw the 7m drop that lay ahead.....but that was more of a hysterical [View Full Entry]

---

---

Wellington......started off ok. We got to our hostel, late at night after a long 3hour ferry trip with nothing better to do than eat the "not-so-nutritious" food on board because our heads were melted from driving all day & the poor TV selection was causing us more frustration than anything. Cabin fever. So it was with pleasure that we accepted the free upgrade to a private hotel room because someone else made a mistake.....we were more happy to oblige. Wasn´t as fun wandering around the city the next morning looking for our car though. Grace returned from the car meter, looking [View Full Entry]

---

---

You know I write far too much...that´s why I´m here in Chile writing about New Zealand.....you´d think I´d be better at this by now but no......ok I´ve 3 months to improve. So Nelson lakes are nice but what was even more impressive was the lovely hostel we stayed in that was nearby in the middle of nowhere in a place called Glenhope. We had the house to ourselves....it was a beautiful farmhouse. The only pity was it was an overnight stop so we arrived late & were moving on the next morning. It was bliss while it lasted! From Nelson Lakes [View Full Entry]

---

---

From Fox Galcier we went to Golden Bay. We stayed near Takaka, a town where the hippy vibe is alive n´well & in keeping with the flavour of the area we shacked up in a hostel which is eco-freindly & encourages free-loving if you know what I mean. Apart from the limited fridge space it was nice....very remote with a lovely garden overlooking the bay but the elements conspired against us so the magnificent scenery was out there somewhere in the dense mist, not to be seen! Next time. Grace & John-Ross had the pleasure of staying in a hut beside [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ok I'm chasing my tail here.....going to quickly try to recount the last few weeks in NZ even though I've left there for South America already......so excuse all typos etc......could be messy. We're well used to the windy roads of NZ by now & trips taking longer than normal but at least the scenery is a good trade-off for the longer journey time. After Queenstown we motored on to Fox Glacier. Took us the whole day nearly to get there but the scenery coming through Haast Pass is beautiful......so so green and tropical looking as we drove more north through the [View Full Entry]

---

---

Adrenaline pumpimg & it was time to move on. Queenstown next stop. The party town of the South Island apparently. It's not a massive town but there are backpackers everywhere. There are a few nice walks in the area with the mountains all around, so I couldn't complain of boredom even though I was on my own for most of the time. The Fernhill track & the Ben Lomand track are nice. The latter is a killer as you walk the last hour to the summit.....I thought I'd never reach the top. Thankfully I was rewarded with a aspectacular view of [View Full Entry]

---

---

Wanaka. South island. So picturesque. New Zealanders really are spoilt with the scenery. We stayed in the Purple Cow for 3 nights. It was time to give our credit cards a bit of exercise so the adrenaline-filled activities started with a bang. We arrived to a Sunday afternoon of rain, a bit like home.....so we booked to go canyoning the next day. Passed the afternoon at Puzzleworld. I think people who have good spacial awareness & like solving puzzles would really apprecaite it but I have neither & haven't the patience to try to figure out mazes.....so needless to say I [View Full Entry]

---

---

The 3 musketeers never would have got away with all the stuff that we have. Jammed in......if you were thumbing on the side of the road, your thumbs-up would have been wasted on us. Lake Tekapo was our first stop. Overnight only. It's funny how accustomed you become to moving form place-to-place daily & making yourself at home. First you look at the kitchen to see if there are any spices, tea or free stuff, then check out the bathrooms to rate the facilities & the risk of catching something & finally surveying the sleeping quaters to decide if you should [View Full Entry]

---

---