You couldn't really call it backpacking, not as I've known it - but the last week of my travels, spent in one of my favourite cities, was a fantastic way to end the adventure. After flying from Halifax with my parents I left them at JFK, where they were staying at a nearby hotel before flying home the next day, and headed into Manhattan. My hostel was well located on West 60th street, near Central Park, Carnegie Hall etc. My first morning in the big apple was spent....at the laundromat. Not very exciting but necessary. From then on though, things got [View Full Entry]

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The first day in Toronto, I was EXHAUSTED. Totally wiped out. This was exacerbated by a bad night's sleep on the final night in the RV (wonderfully located as we were at a campsite by a train track), and then a long day of flying from Albuquerque, via Chicago, to Toronto. All I managed to do on day 1 (of 2) was catch up with my life (laundry, finances - eeek, blog, grocery shopping etc). Day 2 wasn't much more exciting - I walked around a little, but Toronto didn't seem to offer all that much to do in any case. [View Full Entry]

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I left a fairly chilly and wet San Francisco and arrived in a warm and wet Albuquerque - unseasonal weather was following me, at least in the short term. But it was soooo nice to be met at the airport by Jessie, a friend from home, her gorgeous baby girl Livia who I hadn't met yet (she turned 4 months while we were on the trip), and her mum Lynda. Lynda was kind enough to put me up at her place in Santa Fe for a few nights before we embarked on our adventure, and what a treat it was to [View Full Entry]

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Its been rather liberating to be out of touch for a while - although it was slightly scary to discover how reliant one becomes on modern technology. I've logged on to lots of lovely messages from friends and I'm desperate to reply to all straight away but first things first - the blog. Road trip details to follow shortly, but first, San Francisco! The train ride - I was all set for 11 hours from Los Angeles, and even though we were 50 mins late leaving, it was all good - big comfy seats, lots of leg room, the waitress from [View Full Entry]

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After a week of relaxation and calm in Fiji, a week in LA totally shook up the senses. This was a place I'd been to before, but I was 11 and all I really remember of it is Disneyland and Universal Studios. So I was looking forward to getting to know the place. Which is really not very easy to do, especially in a week. I hadn't quite registered the vastness of the place until I started trying to get around it. A bus from where I was staying, in Santa Monica, to LA's Downtown - which basically involves travelling down [View Full Entry]

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It seems a long time ago now, but back in Wellington I was looked after brilliantly (again) by Janina and her housemates. There wasn't much sightseeing this time, I mainly made plans and bookings for the US, which took up quite alot of my time. There was a party though at the house, for Sharon's birthday, and I took in another play at the tiny Bats Theatre - a modern adaptation of Hedda Gabler, not bad. One of the highlights of Wellington for me was the fact it is teeming with culture of all sorts. If I was to live in [View Full Entry]

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I'm back in Wellington now - after Queenstown, I stopped in Christchurch, Kaikoura, Blenheim and Picton before heading back over the Strait to the north island. The days have been relatively uneventful, apart from highlights listed below, filled mainly with forward planning for next stages of the trip and taking exploratory walks around the various towns. Weather wise things have taken a turn - it is proper Autumn in New Zealand now, so the temperature has cooled and the cloud has thickened a bit. As I write this, New Zealand is pretty much covered in thick rain cloud! Hopefully it won't [View Full Entry]

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I think it was the day after my last blog that I set off on the Routeburn track, one of New Zealand's "Great Walks" - and it certainly was. Walking becomes an expensive activity, once you've paid for a bed in the huts en route, transport to/from the beginning/end of the walk, hiring of rucksack and cooking gear, etc etc. And I thought it was free! It was all worth it though. Day 1 I was picked up from Queenstown and taken to the beginning of the walk near Glenorchy, then it was just 4 hours of walking to the first [View Full Entry]

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On the bus for the Abel Tasman National Park, the weather deteriorated somewhat, and by the time we reached our home for the next few nights, the very outdoorsy and pretty basic Old MacDonald's Farm in Marahau, things were pretty grey and drizzly. Thankfully by the morning, things were a bit brighter. Myself and Lucie, a Liverpudlian from the Stray bus, took a water taxi up the coast, passing the amazingly golden sands of the bays that make Abel Tasman special, and then hopped off at Bark Bay to walk the track back down to our farm. I have to admit [View Full Entry]

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Its hard to follow a day where you jump out of a plane, but actually the following day I did the most fantastic walk, called the Tongariro National Crossing, considered by many to be the best day walk in New Zealand. The walk passes over (live) volcanic craters and between 3 mountains, including Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe - known as Mount Doom by Lord of the Rings geeks. Ahem, I mean fans. The forecast was a bit touch and go, with wind and a few showers predicted. We were told it would be extremely windy at the summit of the [View Full Entry]

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