No, I can't quite believe I did it either. And I didn't mention I was thinking about doing a skydive just in case I wimped out! Sorry about the photo quality - I'm having problems with this PC. I'll try to put some better ones up soon, but this'll do in the meantime. In fact 3 years ago when I came to New Zealand it wasn't even a consideration, but this time I thought why not? Why should other people and not me... Taupo is a wonderful spot to do it because of the lake and surrounding mountains - not that [View Full Entry]

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People don't really rave about Auckland, but there are lots of great places to go if you know where to look. Tourist information is somewhat lacking. I climbed a couple of (extinct) volcanic mountains - Mount Eden and Rangitoto Island, formed from a volcanic eruption just 600 years ago, and with probably the best views of Auckland at the top (although I couldn't recreate that with my camera). Almost the shape of a fried egg, the climbing is very gentle at first but gets a bit steeper half way through. Well worth it. Only 3 ferries a day go there, with [View Full Entry]

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I don't think Australia and I were destined to live happily ever after. I had some wonderful times there, met some very warm and lovely people, and saw some beautiful sights - but I also found the east coast pretty samey, the weather extreme and somehow I don't feel we were well suited. As I mentioned in the last post, I've been to New Zealand before, so knew to some degree what to expect when I arrived in Auckland - and immediately felt a kind of relief to be here. I came out of the airport to warm (but not overbearing) [View Full Entry]

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Australia has shown its true wild and woolly colours in the last couple of weeks. News of the horrendous bushfires in Victoria has been told around the world, and meanwhile, weeks of heavy rain followed by Cyclone Ellie caused heavy flooding in Queensland. Not to mention 3 shark attacks in the Sydney area within a week. All this certainly strikes it home that this is a country of extremes with many things that can kill you. Which was pretty my opinion of the place before I spent any time here. The floods made for a frustrating time in Queensland, as I [View Full Entry]

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My final day in "Brisvegas" was a very satisfying sort-out day, which sounds dull, but if you know me well, you'll know the pleasure I get from sorting things out, writing lists etc. I went to see Slumdog Millionaire - great film, and good way to escape the humidity for a couple of hours. I also took a ride on the Citycat ferry and ran into Martha and Laurent (who I'd met, by design, in Sydney). The next day, I left a rainy Brisbane, heading for Noosa, where I spent a fairly uneventful couple of days. It was really too hot [View Full Entry]

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I'm melting! Or at the very least, sweltering. The last few days have been very humid and warm, leaving me with very little energy to do much at all. I can break a sweat by just sitting still reading. I've just arrived back in Brisbane after a few days on "Straddie" - or North Stradbroke Island to give it its full name. Its an island about 30 minutes by ferry from the mainland with a population of around 3000 - the bottom half devoted to mining; nobody lives there. The area is famous for the manta rays that inhabit the waters [View Full Entry]

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PHOTOS - now uploaded... Along with several thousand other people I watched the Sydney fireworks on New Years Eve. We were at a great spot, not too heaving because its a bit hidden away and not many people know about it - and while you can't see the opera house, we had a wonderful view of the bridge, and obviously the massive fireworks overhead. Plus we didn't have to sit there all day - I turned up at 6 and there weren't many people there at all - and could have our own civilised picnic with a nice bottle of bubbly [View Full Entry]

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My last couple of days in Melbourne were, as planned, fairly relaxed. I spent time wandering around the St Kilda area - taking in a promenade, pier, a beach volleyball tournament, Luna Park etc, and then just relaxing in my hostel. And fairly early on Sunday 21st, I set off with 2 random Brits, Linzi and Tom, to head for Sydney in a campervan, stopping in Canberra. As it turned out, we drove through Canberra and back again - that was enough really - and found our campsite nearby. After getting used to the automatic gearbox, the van was quite fun [View Full Entry]

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Last Saturday Melbourne had its heaviest rainfall all year - so I was pleased to be here for that. You're not short of things to do here though, rain or not - and alot of them are free, which is marvellous for a traveller on a budget. That rainy day and the day after I amused myself at the Ian Potter gallery, a tour of the Parliament building, a carol service back at St Paul's - much better singing this time, a choir from the local music college. Think thats it for the carols though, it makes me too homesick! Also [View Full Entry]

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Its definitely become chillier recently - and a couple of days ago there was a day of rain!! I was promised non-stop sunshine in Australia...anyway, Melbourne is a great city, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I arrived here last Friday, after a few final days in the west - I signed up for the "Southern curl tour", in a bid to see as much of the country south of Perth as I could in the short time available. It was a fun trip - a small group - mainly Brits, and we set off from Perth for a few days of caves, [View Full Entry]

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