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Michael Clapham
Lisa and I are both on a belated 'year out' which will take in Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Australia, NZ, Chile, Bolivia and Peru. We are currently in Melbourne making the most of our last week in Australia :-(Lisa and Mike
I'm afraid there has been a problem with this site from 7th-16th April and thus the majority of our photos for Milford Sound, Queenstown and The Glaciers plus the Nelson Region have been lost. Our rafting and skydiving photos were put on the week before so they are still there. Unfortunately we have no longer got the other photos on our camera - we burnt them on DVD and sent them home so have no way of re-loading them until we get home! We are very upset about this, but will endeavor to put them back on our blog once we are back....
Travel Blog Posts
Arequipa to Lima 23rd May - 2nd June
Published: July 5th 2009South America » Peru » Arequipa » Arequipa
May 27th 2009
Cuzco to Arequipa It was "adios" to Cuzco and "hola" to Arequipa on Saturday 23rd May. News quickly spread that we were not going to be travelling by bus, but instead we were going on a local flight which made a few members of the group very happy indeed. Unfortunately I lived to regret saying "I love flying" because our short 1 hour flight was one of the worst I have ever taken. It was that turbulent that the airhostesses did not even walk down the aisle let alone give out refreshments! When we landed in Arequipa I think the whole plane sighed with relief! We arrived at our hotel close to the centre of the city around 3.30pm and then after a briefing we had the rest of the day to ourselves. Mike and I ... read more
May 22nd 2009
A Long and Winding Road on the Inca Trail Day 1 The start day of our South America highlight was finally here and despite being woken up several times during the night by some raucous cockerels, Lisa and I had both managed to have a reasonable night’s sleep. In fact, we woke up raring to go! The rules of the Inca Trail/GAP stated that we could each pack up to 6kg in a duffel bag that would be carried on our behalf by a porter. Anything in addition to this we had to carry ourselves. For this purpose we had been supplied with red duffel bags which we had packed the day before, thankfully coming in below our weight limit. At 08:00 we were on our minibus to Piskacuchu which was accessed via a bumpy, dirt ... read more
May 22nd 2009
The second half of our tour began by meeting our new Peruvian guide called Aleks plus 4 new members of our group. Like Christian, Aleks began by going through the itinerary he had prepared for the next 20 days. He was very thorough although he did not give us too much information about each individual day because he said he wanted it to be a surprise. Later that evening we went out with Aleks and the new members of our group to a nice English pub serving wholesome pies. Puno The following morning we left La Paz and travelled to Puno in Peru on the shores of Lake Titicaca. We travelled mostly by public bus, but also had a 10 minute boat ride across Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at an altitude ... read more
Potosi to La Paz 2nd - 11th May
Published: May 30th 2009South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » La Paz
May 8th 2009
The journey from Uyuni to Potosi was unforgettable, but not for the right reasons! The windy mountainous roads were glorified dirt tracks so made for a very bumpy ride and despite asking him not to, the driver insisted on playing terrible Spanish music throughout the bus. Luckily we were sat at the front so had some decent leg room - essential for the 6 hour journey. Also the scenery was pretty spectacular too. We arrived at Hotel Jerusalem around 6pm and decided to have an early night as neither of us was feeling our best. It took a long time to get to sleep - haunted by rumours of bed bugs from a previous GAP group! However we woke up free from bites and ready to explore the highest city in the world at 4070m! Potosi ... read more
3 Day Desert Crossing into Bolivia 29th April - 1st May
Published: May 22nd 2009South America » Bolivia » Potosí Department » Uyuni
May 5th 2009
Leaving Chile Three Large vehicles waited outside for us and our bags. It was a short ride from San Pedro to the border and we were soon getting our Chilean Exit papers stamped and proceeding into no-mans land. Not long after that we were approaching a run-down stone building bearing the flag of Bolivia. I must mention that the road here was not paved. The facilities consisted of an old bus that would not be going anywhere other than on the back of a truck. Not surprisingly people passed up the opportunity of a toilet stop. We spent about 15 minutes getting our papers for Bolivia (basically filling out our name, address and passport number) and we each had to hand over 22 Bolivianos (about 2 pounds) for the stamp. Back outside and into a chilly ... read more
April 26th 2009
La Serena Our first day as a group was on Day 3, Friday 24th April when we left Santiago and travelled north to La Serena in North Chile. We travelled via public bus which took 7 hours and included a stop for lunch. It was a very pleasant journey - comfy reclining seats, free pillows, air-con and even a film to watch. By 3.30pm we reached the seaside city of La Serena, Chile’s second oldest city in terms of foundations (Santiago being the oldest). Residential Suiza, our hostel was not a patch on the hotel we had stayed at in Santiago - we had a dark dismal room full of damp, broken walls and rotting tiles. However we had our own room and ensuite so could not really complain. After settling in we had a talk ... read more
Santiago 19th - 23rd April
Published: May 10th 2009South America » Chile » Santiago Region » Santiago
April 21st 2009
Arrival in Santiago Our flight from Auckland left at 17:30 on Sunday 19th April and we arrived in Santiago 10 hours later at the local time of 12:30 - we had officially gone back in time! A short taxi ride later and we arrived at our pre-booked hostel in the Plaza de Armas, the main square. We were pleasantly surprised by our accommodation - we had our own separate apartment which we shared with another room. This came with a large kitchen, dining/living room, balcony and free Internet!! Later that afternoon we took a short walk around the plaza and found a supermarket that was open late on Sundays. For dinner we ate a typical Chilean snack food, the tasty empanada de piño, a pastry turnover filled with mince beef, olives and egg that was quite ... read more
Back in Auckland 13th - 18th April
Published: May 3rd 2009Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland
April 16th 2009
Back in Auckland After returning our rental campervan without a hitch despite it having gained a hole in the floor (we could actually see the road until Lisa improvised and stuck a plastic bag in to stop the draught!) and a thick layer of dead insects, we checked into our hotel which was slap bang in the middle of Auckland. Not only did we get our own bathroom and kitchen, but it was $10 cheaper per night than the YHA! Our first day was spent buying essentials for our trip in South America and booking boat trips for later in the week. Rangitoto Island Our first highlight of the week was a visit to the young island of Rangitoto said to have erupted just over 600 years ago. We took a boat from Auckland and 20 ... read more
Geothermal Week 6th - 12th April
Published: April 26th 2009Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Taupo
April 15th 2009
We had a lunchtime crossing back to the North Island on Monday 6th April which was once again very smooth, but twice as busy compared to our outward journey. It was around 4.30pm when we docked into Wellington and then we began our mammoth drive to Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island some 380km away! We arrived at our pre-booked campsite just after 9pm absolutely shattered, but glad we had completed the last of our big drives. Lake Taupo The next morning we went to check out the lake, the largest in New Zealand at 606km2. It lies in a caldera or area of subsidence that was formed by one of the biggest ever volcanic eruptions over 26,500 years ago. We had a brief stroll along the lake stopping to watch hopeful golfers ... read more
The Nelson Region 31st March - 6th April
Published: April 19th 2009Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region
April 3rd 2009
The Nelson Region Nelson Lakes National Park We made a brief stop here intending to do the lakeside walk around Lake Rangitoiti. We had prepared ourselves for a 7 hour walk and arrived late morning at the Department of Conservation Office (DOC) for some more information. We were told that the 7 hour time only applies if you are prepared to wade through a river. We were not prepared to do this as it was not the warmest of days and the experts were forecasting snow in the upper echelons of the surrounding peaks. Our other option was to undertake a 3 hour detour to a swing bridge making the total walk time 10 hours. We decided to do a couple of short walks instead. We had places to be, people to see, things to do, ... read more
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