Leezy
Nicholas Lees Joined: December 22nd 2007
Logged in: August 29th 2011
Logged in: August 29th 2011
THANKS FOR VISTING MY TRAVELBLOG PAGE. THIS SUMMER I AM SETTING OFF ON ANOTHER TRAVEL ADVENTURE...BUT THIS TIME ITS DIFFERENT! I WILL BE CLIMBING MOUNT KILIMANJARO IN AID OF THE CHILDRENS CHARITY, CHILDREACH. EVERY PENNY WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDRENS LIVES...SO PLEASE GIVE WHATEVER YOU CAN FOR THIS WORTHWHILE CAUSE.
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THANKS SO MUCH...AND REMEMBER...'THE WORLD IS A BOOK, AND THOSE WHO DO NOT TRAVEL READ ONLY A PAGE'
I have set my blog up so all you guys back home can follow me on my travels...and hopefully get very jealous!!!
My fellow travellers are:
Jonathon Lees Jonny's Blog
Richard Huntington Rick's Blog
James Caroll Caz's Blog
Ross Macfarlane Mucs Blog
The route is:
Manchester to London - London to Beijing - Beijing overland to Hong Kong - Hong Kong to Bangkok - Bangkok overland to Singapore - Singapore to Cairns - Cairns overland to Sydney - Sydney to Christchurch - Christchurch overland to Auckland - Auckland to Nadi - Nadi to Los Angeles - Los Angeles overland to San Francisco
'The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.'
This is just the start....
Happy reading!
'The Gap Year Crew'
Travel Blog Posts
Backflip off the boat
19th - 21st June - The Wanna Taki Cruise It was time to board the Wanna Taki Cruise which many people picked as the highlight of their trip. We hoped it would live up to expectations! Having only had fairly basic rice dishes for the last week or so we were definitely looking forward to the BBQ buffets promised! On board we joined the crowd as we were shown our beds in the 24 person dorm. This was going to be fun! After a few introductions we moored up and were taken to an offshore reef for some snorkelling. Unfortunately my mask wasn't up to much so, after feeling like a goldfish for half an hour I retired. That evening the fun really began as after an amazing dinner we played several games ( some of ... read more
Sunset Fiji Style!
15th - 17th June - Long Beach Two hours further North we arrived at Long Beach and were taken in by a small boat. The shallow waters extended way beyond the beach, hence the name, and allowed us to walk into the beach from a long way out. We were given a warm welcome yet again and were shown to our most remote accommodation yet...a wood hut with a sandy floor and no electricity. This was basic! After spending some time on the beach we readied ourselves for a mass game of volleyball with most of the village. We were teamed with an older man named Noah who definitely still had a spring in his step and Joe. The opposition included a healthy looking Fijian woman who took a fancy for Jonathon with his every touch ... read more
Lifes a beach!
12th - 13th - Nadi Arriving at Aukland airport we discovered our flight had been brought forward by an hour so it was a rush to get through...but we just made it! On landing in Nadi we were taken by bus towards our accommodation for the night. It was a wet day in Nadi and the humidity was unbelievable. We passed locals selling fruit by the sides of the streets and the driving was chaoctic...it was just like being back in Asia! At our hostel we were greeted with a friendly welcome by the people working there. 'Bula!' which translates as hello yet means so much more. 13th - 15th - The Yasawas, Kuata Having left our hostel early morning we headed down to the port of Denrau on an open air bus. We then boarded ... read more
Back up the Coast
7th - 8th June - Wellington Having spent the night in Christchurch we were on a flight to Wellington early the next morning. Crossing the Cook Strait between the two islands on a windy day is not a pleasant experience, especially when on landing the pilot asks you to remind yourself where your nearest emergency exit is! Putting the flight behind us we checked into our hostel and then set off round Wellington on foot. First stop was the waterfront where we visited the Te Papa Museum which has many exhibitions on the Maori culture. We watched a performance by Tama Wapapi who was a solo artist on acoustic guitar before seeing how New Zealand was formed in the Extreme Forces exhibit. That evening it was time to see the All Blacks! We had managed to ... read more
Queenstown
30th May - 6th June - Queenstown Queenstown was recommended to us as 'the best place on earth' and having spent a week there I can say it definitely comes close! We arrived on the Friday evening with everyone on our bus thrilled to finally be here. After a group picture at the lake what better way to celebrate our arrival than party on in Queenstown on Friday night. With 100's of free drinks coming complementary of the Kiwi Experience the whole bus had a great night partying in Altitude and World Bar, sampling some of the traditional drinks served in Teapots. Day 1 in Queenstown was kicked off with the first high adrenaline activity -The Canyon Swing. This consists of jumping from a platform overhanging a canyon and experiencing a 60 metre freefall before the ... read more
Guard Goat
27th May - 30th May - Franz Josef - Wanaka Having woken up covered in bin bags at the Poo Pub we all managed to stumble onto the bus to continue our journey down the West Coast to Franz Josef. Our first pit stop has got to be the most interesting yet...the Bushman centre. Just outside Lake Mahinapua, the Bushman Centre is dedicated to showing people how people hunted traditionally and has to be one of the quirkiest museums I have been to. Bushman Pete, the owner, referred to the old days of hunting as 'When men were men, and sheep were scared'...A little disturbing! We spent a little time watching a video about how Deer have been captured over time in New Zealand with various methods of capture being shown. One of the most original ... read more
Cape Foulwind
26th - 27th May - Lake Mahinapua Our journey down the West Coast had begun and according to Pam, our driver, the weather was the best she had ever seen (Or in her words it was 'Primo!') We set off from Westport early on in the morning and arrived at Cape Foulwind and Touranga Bay shortly after for a quick walk around the headland, passing by one of the largest seal colonies in New Zealand. Back on the bus we continued on our journey towards Punakaiki. It was here we had another brief stop to walk around the strange rock formations shaped like several layers of pancakes. Then at Greymouth the real fun began. Tonight we would be staying at Lake Mahinapua and a place known to travelers all over New Zealand as the 'Poo Pub'. ... read more
Dolphin kiss
22nd - 25th May - Christchurch - Kaikoura - Nelson - Westport On arrival in Christchurch I had been up for 48 hours straight, so I went to bed! The next morning our Kiwi Experience began and the first destination was Kaikoura, further North up the coast. Leaving a drizzly Christchurch we set off on the spectacular scenic drive up the East coast to Kaikoura. Evertime I looked out of the window I was met with a scene straight from a postcard. It was amazing! Whereas in Australia we had passed the time on buses by putting on movie, our driver didn't bother because of the spectacular scenery straight out of the window. This has been the case throughout New Zealand and I have never seen a more beautiful country. Kaikoura We arrived in Kaikoura mid ... read more
The Harbour Bridge
18th - 22nd May - Sydney, Byron Bay (Again!), Sydney (Again!) The final leg of our journey, Surf Camp to Sydney, and it didn't pass without drama! Originally we were scheduled to leave Surf Camp at 7 in the morning, however, the Sydney Swans were playing in an AFL game at 2pm in Sydney and we were determined to get there! Having done a survey of the bus on the previous day everyone, after a little persuasion, was prepared to set their alarms for 3.30 in the morning! We made the decision not to bother going to bed and had an 'all nighter'. Feeling a little bit worse for ware, we set for Sydney at 3.45 in the morning. After 2 hours on the road we hit a problem. A further 2 passengers needed picking up ... read more
Surfs up!
14th May - 16th May - Byron Bay & Nimbin Continuing our journey down the east coast we arrived in Byron Bay in the early evening. Having checked into our hostel, Holiday Village, we crossed the street to the reknowned backpacker bar, Cheeky Monkeys for some well deserved drinks! Next morning it was an early rise in order to pick up some surf boards and 'hit the surf!' Walking down to the beach we were a little disapointed to find the sea was relatively calm. However, further down the long stretch of beach the surf seemed a little better. Once in the water it was great! Having only surfed a few times in the cold waters of Cornwall it made a difference not having to wear massive wetsuits! Whilst off shore we spotted some fins very ... read more
Still to go! 
I'm here! 
