Thursday, July 30th Our plan for the day was to drive to Hamilton and meet up with Siubhan and Tony, our Irish friends. Before heading that way we went shopping for supplies at the Pak n Save (like Makro in SA). We were lucky to have Mel with us. She showed us all the best value brands to buy, so we didn't have to spend too much. Back home we had a quick lunch and packed all the stuff into the van. At 1pm we set off south for the 140km to Hamilton. Before we got far Mel phoned saying the courier company had delivered a note saying that Ferdi's guitar was ready for pickup at their local offices. We turned around, picked up the slip and headed to their offices. It was only a small ... read more

Friday, July 24th We spent the morning researching campervans and came to the conclusion that, for us, hiring a van is a better option than buying, even though there are a few good deals out there. The hire is really affordable and includes insurance and 24 hour roadside assistance which will come in handy if something should go wrong on those deserted south island roads. There were a few vans to choose from and after a bit of thought we decided to get one without the toilet and shower because it's cheaper and requires less maintenance. Later we went for a hike to Grannies bay. On the way we had to cross a little river. Talita made it across the loose rocks but Ferdi managed to slip off and had to hike the rest of the ... read more

Saturday, July 18th We left Sanur early and headed for Kuta, Bali's party town, located to the west of Denpasar. If you're looking for a party scene with drunken college kids and surfers, this is the place for you. We, however, only came to drop off the Jimny and see what it's like before leaving Bali. Most importantly, it's conveniently close to the airport. On the way we took a wrong turn and ended up at a big surf shop. We both needed a pair of long trousers for NZ so we checked it out. Talita got very cheap jeans and Ferdi got a pair of cargo pants. Then we continued on to Kuta. We drove around and around and around, trying to orientate ourselves. Finally we got our bearings but then missed the turn-off because ... read more

Tuesday, July 14th Today we had to say goodbye to Ric and the nice people at Ocean-Sun because we were off to climb the volcano, Gunung Agung. When we tried to pay, their credit card machine didn't work and we didn't have enough cash, and since this part of Bali has very few internet providers and no ATMs at all, we had to take their banking details and promise to pay the balance into their account when we arrive back in Denpasar. Pain in the butt, but what can you do? We were told that the nearest ATM was in Amlapura, a town en-route to the volcano. After a few wrong turns we eventually found a bank but we couldn't get any cash. We continued driving around in the hope of finding another ATM, because if ... read more

July 8th This morning we snorkeled the Drop-Off. It was an interesting spot with little shallow coral and plenty of fish. Highlights were one Nudibranch, three small Black-Spotted Toadfish and one big Barracuda. Back at home we napped and read most of the afternoon, then went hunting for wi-fi airtime. We were unable to locate a place where we could buy some credits but ran into a South African guy. We started chatting and soon his girlfriend joined us. Sean and Wendy live in the UK and they're also traveling for an extended time. After a brief chat we said goodbye and went home for dinner. When Sean and Wendy went on the prowl for dinner they found us sitting in our restaurant and joined us. They've traveled extensively and have the craziest stories. After hearing ... read more