Talk to Frank. It's easy! If you take a break from your refreshments in the Old Town of Bratislava, "I won the World Cup" Frank was found aimlessly wandering the streets as part of his pre-match warm up routine. Chelsea were in town to play Slovan in the old European Cup Winners Cup and as accommodation of a 5 star nature was a bit tricky to locate back in 1997, the team were based right in the heart of the Old Town. Alas we were not, having failed to secure a berth in the old communist icon, the Hotel Kiev! We [View Full Entry]

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The mists had descended as we made our way on to the Otago Peninsula. The main focus was to see the albatross fly at the colony at Tairoa Head. We’d checked into an on site van at a caravan park at Portobello and had some very disappointing Speights at the Portobello Hotel, although the Blue Cod & chips from the fish hut next door hit the mark. It was NZ$24 to get into the albatross colony - we settled for watching them fly from just outside. The tourist infrastructure was back with a vengeance on the Peninsula - they wanted $30 [View Full Entry]

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The tourist dollar seemed to wane somewhere between Te Anau and Riverton and it had definitely disappeared by the time we reached the boundaries of Invercargill. In fact, Invercargill on a Sunday was officially closed. There was little evidence of the much fabled bad hair and checked shirt comments (which have since been withdrawn from all good travel guides presumably on threat of being sued)…………… indeed there was little evidence of anything and certainly no evidence of any chance of an alcohol refreshment after our journey. We checked into the YHA on the m [View Full Entry]

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Queenstown is brash big brother to Wanaka - the self styled adrenalin capital of the world. If you want to practice risk activities in a way that European health and safety probably wouldn’t allow, this is the place. There is every conceivable opportunity to bungy jump, skydive, white water raft, free fall and jet boat - all at a price. If you opt out, they seem more than happy to relieve you of your wedge in the nearest bar. The town has that Oz party backpacker feel to it in a pretty overgrown Alpine village setting. We were mundane in our [View Full Entry]

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It was an early start for shuttle bus to the train station to catch the TransAlpine across to Greymouth. There was a steady stream of hail stones falling as we boarded amongst the massed ranks of Japanese, who were fitting the train trip into their 5 day - it’s Thursday so it must be Arthur’s Pass - NZ itinerary. The fact that most were sound asleep within an hour of leaving, suggested that a combination of the itinerary and the early start had been too much for most. The hail had turned to snow by Arthur’s Pass, which made for a [View Full Entry]

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After a consideration of the alternatives, we bought an Inter City bus pass for the North Island and headed to Waitomo. It was a very different experience to the Greyhound services in Australia and it was like being looked after by a long lost Uncle - with a full explanation of the rules of the vehicle and a fascinating description of how to use a service station. Whilst I am sure there are those who would disagree, there is no reason to visit Waitomo apart from the caves. There are a host of caving options, ranging from the high adrenalin black [View Full Entry]

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The first experience on NZ soil was an unmitigated disaster. What started out as a leisurely mid-morning flight from Sydney to Auckland was delayed beyond all comprehension and eventually landed at about 10.00 pm in the driving rain in Auckland. We’d experienced a mere 3 brief showers in the three months in Australia, so the cold and wet didn’t brighten the mood. The situation was compounded by our failure to book a hostel. We’d decided to wing it, given our anticipated earlier arrival and the first couple of phone calls proved the magnitude of the mistake. The general story [View Full Entry]

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Niagara Falls - another border town, but at the opposite end of the spectrum from Tijuana. The town seemed to have tried to corner the market as Canada’s combined answer to Gretna and Las Vegas. As well as an unparalleled view of the Falls, the opportunity to gamble and tie the knot. The Falls themselves rank in a lowly place in the hierarchy of waterfall height, but represent a pretty impressive wall of water. Whereas our Victoria Falls experience in the “dry” was hardly the smoke that thunders (see Livingstone I Presume) and the Tugela Falls as the second highest waterfa [View Full Entry]

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Mexico - if only for one day. Tijuana is a typical border town that thrives on offering anything imaginable that is either not quite acceptable or down right illegal on the US side of the line. The only qualifiaction required - cash! The formalities were quite straightforward - just walk through the gate. We parked the car in one of the large parking lots just by the border and strolled on through. A combination of seedy bars, over enthusiastic vendors and ladies keen to meet a gringo attract the underage drinkers from California and those just looking another passport stamp. [View Full Entry]

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The flight of the condor across the Andes to the long thin country. Santiago is a sprawling metropolis, tucked in the shadow of the Andes. The similarities were many with Buenos Aires, although in the same way as evident in Montevideo the people seemed less focussed. This was clearly evident in the hotel, where a singular question brought a pause and a measured response, but two questions without time for that measured response brought total confusion. We spent our time mainly in two areas, the downtown city centre and Providencia, the party central headquarters. The two were linked by an u [View Full Entry]

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