http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/CG/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from CG en-us Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:48:50 UTC Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:48:50 UTC Five minutes after the train departed Niagara we reached the border to the USA and were made to wait 2 hours while they conducted their checks and searches. Then at 12.30pm on Tuesday 27 November we set off for the 10 hour trip to New York City. After passing through Buffalo Rochester Syracuse and Albany the train arrived at New York Penn Station at 10.30pm. I jumped in a taxi and went to http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/blog-227853.html Arriving in Vancouver at 3pm on Saturday 10 November I took the train a couple of stops before walking to my hostel in the downtown area. I spent the next few hours walking around the local area before returning to my room to read my book and have an early night. On Sunday I took the train the SeaBus and then a bus to Grouse Mountain on the North Shore of Vancouver but the weather turned bad http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/blog-227852.html We woke up at 5am on Tuesday and took a shuttle bus to the airport. After saying our goodbyes Ian got his flight home to London and I flew to Phoenix. With an hour wait at Phoenix airport I then got my flight to Portland. On arrival in Portland I took the Light Rail for 45 minutes and then walked to my hostel. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the shops downtown before gettin http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/blog-227851.html We stepped off the bus at 7.30pm on Saturday 27 October at Customs Immigration for getting into Mexico. After collecting our bags from the bus we literally just walked to the border gates and through the turnstile where we had arranged to meet Ian at the McDonalds across the street. Ian arrived from LA 15 minutes later and the three of us took a taxi to our hotel. After quick showers we wen http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Mexico/Baja-California/blog-227850.html We arrived in LA at 9.30pm on Thursday 11 October and we took a taxi to our hotel in Venice Beach. Steve and I went out to Santa Monica and had dinner and drinks in an Irish bar. We then walked down the street to O'Brian's another Irish bar before going to Circle where we stayed until 2am closing. On Friday morning we all walked along the beach from Venice to Santa Monica Pier and then went http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/blog-214586.html We touched down at Honolulu Airport at 7am on Sunday 30 September after a 6 hour flight from Fiji that departed at 11pm on the same day talk about travelling back in time. After getting through immigration and customs I took 500 out of the ATM but the machine only gave me 120 so this delayed us by a couple of hours. We eventually left the airport at 11.15am and took a shuttle bus to our hot http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/United-States/Hawaii/blog-208695.html We arrived at Nadi airport at 4.30pm on Wednesday 19 September and Ian picked up his hire car and I got a transfer to my hotel. After finding my bed in the 32 bed dorm I had dinner and then went on the internet before going to sleep at 10pm. I got up at 8am on Thursday and had breakfast in the hotel bar on the beach. Then I sat outside writing my blog and chatting to other guests until I had l http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Fiji/blog-203832.html We left Queenstown on Monday 10 September and caught our 8.30am bus to Christchurch. We made a couple of short stops and a stop for lunch before we arrived in Christchurch at 5.30pm. We checked into the 'Penthouse' at Base Backpackers the top floor of the building that included a large living space with 2 sofa's 8 big bean bags 2 big TV's with loads of channel's a playstation a sundeck a http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/blog-203831.html On Thursday 30 August we caught our 8am bus to Wanaka but the weather wasnrsquot great so we made few stops. We did stop to stare at a rapid for a few minutes and then look up at a mountain which gave a lsquotrippyrsquo effect of the mountain moving. After stopping for lunch we continued driving to Wanaka and arrived at 3pm. I spent the afternoon walking around the town and enjoying the http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/blog-199975.html Our first stop was the Nelson Lakes National Park where we went for a walk alongside Lake Rotoiti surrounded by snow capped mountains. After a BBQ sausage by the lake we drove to Murchison for lunch. We continued through the very scenic Buller Gorge and arrived in Westport at 4pm where we watched an exciting last 15 minutes of the local rugby game. Then we walked around the small town and bou http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/West-Coast/blog-196654.html We woke up at 5.15am on Monday 9 July to begin our 3 day tour from Darwin to Alice Springs. Our first stop was for breakfast at the Adelaide River and then we drove for another couple of hours before reaching Katherine Gorge part of the Nitmiluk National Park. A few of us went on a walking trail that gave great views of the gorge. However a wrong turn meant that we added 5km to our walk and http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Northern-Territory/blog-195535.html We arrived in Darwin at 6.30pm on Tuesday 3 July and checked into Melaleuca on Mitchell hostel. After freshening up we met a few of our group at the hostel bar for a couple of drinks before walking to the Old Victoria Hotel to join the entire group for dinner and drinks. On Wednesday morning I walked around town and got some breakfast before spending the afternoon on the internet. In the even http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Northern-Territory/Darwin/blog-195530.html We boarded our tour bus at 6am on Saturday 30 June to begin our 2939km 4 day road trip to Darwin. We traveled west across the Atherton Tablelands with its lush scenery and headed into the remoteness of the outback. After stopping at a waterfall we continued on via Mount Surprise and stopped for a unique snake show where we sat in the hot sun and had lunch. We continued on through the Gulf Sava http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-194925.html The Cook Strait crossing took 3 hours and we passed through the Queen Charlotte Sound where I saw seals from standing out on the upper deck. At midday we departed Picton and headed through Marlborough Valley with its lines of vines and steep hillsides. We stopped for lunch and wine tasting at 'The Village' before continuing on to Nelson where we checked into Fern Lodge. This 4 12 star accommo http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Nelson-Region/blog-194924.html We boarded our bus in Alice Springs at 5am on Friday 13 July and set off on a 6 day tour to Adelaide with our group of 23 people. In the first few hours of driving we stopped for breakfast and each person introduced themselves on the bus. Our first stop was Kings Canyon where we checked out the Amphitheatre Lost City the lush and ancient Garden of Eden and the sheer outcrops of the North and http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Northern-Territory/blog-194330.html We departed Auckland at 9am on Saturday 11 August and our first stop was to the top of Mount Eden. This gave us 360 degree views of Auckland before we left. Not long after we joined the motorway smoke started pouring out from under our bus and we were pulled over by the police. A couple of hours later we were on a replacement bus and heading south towards the Coromandel Peninsula. We stopped http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-193223.html Our tour group departed Auckland at 8am on Monday 6 August and headed north into the Bay of Islands. We arrived in Paihia at midday and checked into Base Backpackers before having lunch at the cafe next door. At 1pm we went on a 90 minute jet boat tour of the 144 islands and even took the boat through the 'Hole in the Rock'. The boat was so fast that we were bouncing along the water and the com http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Paihia/blog-193216.html We left Adelaide at 7am on Sunday 22 July with our tour group of 22 people. We drove through the Adelaide Hills stopping at a 'Pink Lake' before entering the Grampians National Park. Here we hiked up Hollow Mountain giving us great views of the surrounding area. After some more driving we stopped in a small town for lunch before continuing to Mackenzie Falls. We spent an hour at the Falls an http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/South-Australia/Adelaide/blog-189749.html We arrived in Melbourne at 7pm on Tuesday 24 July and checked into Melbourne Metro YHA at the northern end of the city. After walking to the supermarket for groceries we cooked dinner and then sat in the TV room for a while before going to bed. On Wednesday we took the free tourist shuttle bus around the sights of Melbourne. We stopped at the Shrine of Remembrance and walked around the ground http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/blog-189746.html We arrived in Sydney at 8am on Tuesday 31 July after our 12 hour bus journey from Melbourne. After breakfast we walked to Darling Harbour and around some shops before returning to Sydney Central Backpackers YHA to check in. After a quick shower Robbie picked us up and we drove to a nice Italian caferestaurant that's hidden away in a warehousefood distribution building. Lunch was tasty and my http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-189745.html