"Kung hei fat choi" have a happy and prosperous new year! Just as the Chinese were heralding the new lunar year of the rat we were arriving at Hong Kong airport ready for our asian part of the trip which for us signified an end to the easy travelling. Hong Kong during this time of year is awash with kumquat trees and bright red and gold decorations. The red represents the colour used for scaring off an old legend "Nion" who is said to have terrorised people every new year and the gold represents wealth and good fortune. The kumquats symbolise prosperity - something we wished we had more of! We missed the new year parade however wondering around Tsim Sha Tsui we managed to see most of the parade floats on display in the New ... read more

Keen to see some more of Australia rather than the sameyness of the east coast we booked ourselves some flights to Darwin to explore the top end of the Northern Territory. We flew with Jet Star on the way up there and decided there and then that we wouldn't bother with them ever again. They have a rigid policy about not checking in until exactly two hours before the flight which results in everyone hanging around until the exact time then crowding the check-in desk. After a 3 hour flight sat next to a screaming baby we arrived in Darwin late so we didn't get to see any of it until the following morning. After a very pleasant and cheap night in the YHA we headed out to explore Darwin. At this time of year its ... read more

First stop after Cairns was Dullsville otherwise known as Townsville, the gateway to Magnetic Island. We arrived late in Townsville so decided to stay a night and head off to the island in the morning. Our room was in a hostel where we got free dinner and breakfast however we also got free mouse poop in our room. We made a quick exit the following morning to Magnetic Island. The ferry was very quick, it only took 20 minutes aross the water and luckily it was a good contrast to Townsville. We stayed at the far end of the island so it was fairly quiet. The weather seemed to be getting hotter and hotter which was making venturing out a real task. Between lots of breaks and sitting in the shade we did manage to climb ... read more

Continuing down the west coast adjacent to the Southern Alps we arrived at glacier country with the sun shining and not a cloud in the sky. Within this area there are two glaciers Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, both formed during the last ice age. The glaciers were turquiose in colour and up close looked dirty from the rock deposits. The rivers of ice carved impressively steep valley's, the photo's don't do the imposing glaciers justice. From the glaciers we ambled through the middle of the island to Jackson. We stayed our final night in the campervan in the best park so far; Jackson's Retreat. Although raining heavily the covered pitches were just the touch with windows looking out across the mountains, foot mats and sinks made our final night all the more pleasureable. During evening ... read more

After leaving Rotorua two and a half hours earlier we arrived at Waitomo Caves. It was teeming with tourists hence our visit of the glow-worm caves felt a bit like we were on a conveyer belt one group in one group out. During our descent into the cave we were shown several limestone formations then the guide suggested we have a sing song to demonstrate the acoustics, random but it seemed everyone was up for it so we belted out the cheery christmas carol 'we wish you a merry christmas.' To see the glow-worms we had to board a boat and float through a section of water in complete darkness. The ten thousand worms looked like tiny dots on the cave ceiling, quite stunning. The worms are actually fly larva which emit a glow from their ... read more