Biffa and Bex

Only had a short flight from San Fran but we were both feeling a bit dazed and confused by the time we got to Vegas. Its a bit bizarre to be greeted by gambling machines before you have even made it through customs! The shuttle bus took us around quite a few of the hotels so we got to see a good bit of the strip before we made it to our hotel. The place we were staying in was called "The Orleans" and was a good few miles from the main action but was still a fairly big place. We arrived on a Saturday night so the place was heaving with people drinking and gambling - we just felt a bit out of place! Apart from looking around we did not do too much apart ... read more

We arrived in San Francisco to be met by Jason, Sarah and Dave who had flown out from the UK. It was great to meet some people we knew and have some friendly faces. We picked up our 10 seater Ford gas-guzzler - also lovingly known as the 'Fun Bus' and made the three hour journey from San Fran to Heavenly. Luckily most of the snow had been cleared and it was not too icy - the last part of the journey was a bit nervy as it was pitch black and the road was twisting and turning. Mark turned up about 11pm and was luckily let in by Dave who heard him knocking on the door - the rest of us were fast asleep downstairs, thinking he was going to be arriving tomorrow. The condo ... read more

The flight back to Raro from Aitutaki was on the really small island hopping plane - although it was really packed out this time - but the flight was easy and smooth. The weather was much better so there was chance to see the Aitutaki lagoon and island as we departed - which let us see what we had been exploring for the last week or so. As we were on a domestic flight Vara's (the backpacker hostel for the next few days) would not lay on a transfer for us. The cheapest way was to get on the Island bus - there are two buses; a clockwise and anticlockwise which go round the island kind of hourly! It took us a few goes to get it right, and the bus drivers were a bit tempramental ... read more

Landed at Rarotonga OK after passing over the international date line (yup just regained a day on a 3 hour flight - its mindbending!). Both feeling a little tired after the flight - 3am is never a good time to arrive somewhere! Were greeted by Jake on the ukulele who welcomes all the flights in - it's a bit surreal at that time in the morning. The place is small so the luggage came through OK, but there was no one there from the Rarotongan Backpackers to meet us. Unfortunately the phones only took cards and no money and due to the time there was no where to buy a card. Thankfully a nice lady helped us call the hostel but there was no answer and the phone kept going through to voice mail. As she ... read more

We are heading up the coast to HaHei - but before this we went for a run to stretch the legs. Ran along the beach towards the beach towards the mount. Before having a bit of an argument, involving water, stomping off and a few temper tantrums; good to see that on a world trip there is still a bit of space for childish behaviour! After packing up the car, set off up the coast lots of cars, boats and people out today; we think it is the start of the summer holidays down here. We called in at a town on the coast and had our lunch overlooking the beach with a flock of seagulls looking on. Once we had finished they probably raced for the crumbs! Stopped mid afternoon at another coastal town for ... read more