http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Leezy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Leezy en-us Fri, 25 Dec 2009 09:12:02 +0000 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 09:12:02 +0000 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Yasawa-Islands/blog-325177.html 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 Af http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Yasawa-Islands/blog-314169.html 12th 13th NadiArriving 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Yasawa-Islands/blog-314138.html 7th 8th June WellingtonHaving 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/blog-303074.html 30th May 6th June QueenstownQueenstown 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Queenstown/blog-285631.html 27th May 30th May Franz Josef WanakaHaving 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Franz-Josef/blog-285620.html 26th 27th May Lake MahinapuaOur 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Lake-Mahinapuha/blog-285611.html 22nd 25th May Christchurch Kaikoura Nelson WestportOn 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Christchurch/blog-284333.html 18th 22nd May Sydney Byron Bay Again Sydney AgainThe 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-284318.html 14th May 16th May Byron Bay NimbinContinuing 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 drinksNext morning it was an early rise in order to pick up some surf boards and 'hit the surf' Walking down to the beach we we http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Byron-Bay/blog-284297.html 11th13th May Reunion in SurfersAs we made our way further down the East Coast towards our final destination of Sydney we made a two night stop in the party place that is Surfers Paradise. However just before actually arriving in Surfers the Oz Bus made a slight detour to visit Australia's only Zorbing Park. This place is where the strange extreme sport of Zorbing takes place. For those who don http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Surfers-Paradise/blog-276444.html 6th11th May Downtime in Brisbane It felt good to be back in the city Brisbane is the first 'real' city we have seen in Australia after Cairns being a lot smaller than expected and it was nice to be back amongst the hustle and bustle. With most people working the 95 we had a walk around the city and the botanical gardens. After taking some time out we then caught the train over to the Suncor http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/blog-275610.html 2nd 5th May Rainbow Beach and Fraser Island Preparing to celebrate our birthday in style after waking up on a cattle ranch Jonathon and I geared up for Rainbow Beach On arrival we thought we had missed the centre of town as it all seemed fairly quiet....we hadn't This place really didn't have a party atmosphere. However our hostel had a brilliant bar and we had a great night with everyone on http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Fraser-Island/blog-273709.html 30th April 1st May Birthday On The RanchAfter a night with no sleep at Airlie Beach having stayed up until 4AM to watch Manchester United reach the final of the Champions League we were back on the bus down to Kroombit. It is here where the cattle ranch is situated and for the first time we headed inland into the Australian 'outback'. This was to be our longest bus journey yet lasting a tot http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Kroombit/blog-273707.html 24th 30th April Airlie Beach The WhitsundaysLeaving Townsville at around midday we set off on the 5 hour journey down to Airlie Beach After all these long bus journeys I don't think I will ever complain about a trip to Whales or Devon again. Having a quick tour round Airlie in the bus it seemed a small seaside town consisting of one main street where all the hostels shops and bars were s http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Airlie-Beach/blog-273704.html 21st 23rd April Cairns to Magnetic Island and TownsvilleAfter spending some further time in Cairns we finally managed to get round to booking our Oz Experience to start our trip down the East coast towards Sydney. First stop was Magnetic Island just off the coast from Townsville. When the bus arrived it was smaller than I had expected but we all crammed in and met our fellow Oz Experience tra http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Magnetic-Island/blog-273676.html 16th 17th April Cape TribulationDuring our stay in Cairns we had organised a 2 day trip up North towards Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest 'Where the rainforest meets the reef'. Here is the only place in the world where two world heritage sights meet so we were expecting something specialOn Wednesday 16th April our pickup was at 7Am so it was an early rise. Our bus driver was calle http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cape-Tribulation/blog-273670.html 11th 15th April CairnsOur flight over here was one of the best I have ever been on. Flying overnight we had a 6 hour flight with an hour stopover in Darwin. To start things off we arrived at the gate to find James who had supposedly caught a flight to Cambodia waiting for us A delayed flight we thought...not the case On making his way to the airport he had had a serious think about travel http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cairns/Cairns-City/blog-267596.html 4th 10th April Sweating it out in SingaporeThe city of Singapore and our exit from Asia awaits us... Having left Melaka by bus we travelled for 7 hours over the border until we arrived in the city late evening. Taking some time through border control and passing through the border terminal which looked more suited to housing a villain from one of the Star Wars movies it looked evil we we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-264579.html 1st 4th April Back to Kuala Lumpur followed by a short stop in MelakaHaving said our sad goodbyes to the family after a great two weeks away we were on the bus from K.L airport heading back towards central to meet up with the guys. It was late evening by the time we finally arrived into Chinatown where the hostel was located. On arrival we met James who showed us to the room. We quickly threw http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Melaka/Melaka-City/blog-264583.html