TravelBlog » Lisa and Mike

Lisa and Mike - 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 :-(

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....

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Joined on: May 16th 2008
Last Login: November 25th 2009

Blog Entries: 47
Photos: 546

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Lisa and Mike, order by Date newest first.

By Lisa and Mike
May 27th 2009

Arequipa to Lima 23rd May - 2nd June South America » Peru » Arequipa » Arequipa

Colca Valley
The view made the uphill hike worthwhile!

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 [View Full Entry]

A very large hummingbird by hummingbird standards!

By Lisa and Mike
May 22nd 2009

Puno, Lake Titicaca and Cuzco 12th - 17th May South America » Peru » Puno

On our way to Puno
Lisa is sporting the latest Bolivian trend!

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 [View Full Entry]

By Lisa and Mike
May 22nd 2009

The Inca Trail 18th - 22nd May South America » Peru » Cusco » Inca Trail

Beginning of the trail

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 [View Full Entry]

By Lisa and Mike
May 8th 2009

Potosi to La Paz 2nd - 11th May South America » Bolivia » La Paz Department » La Paz

The Exploration Team

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 [View Full Entry]

By Lisa and Mike
May 5th 2009

3 Day Desert Crossing into Bolivia 29th April - 1st May South America » Bolivia » Potosí Department » Uyuni

Green Lagoon
The first of many great lakes we would encounter on our 3 day adventure...

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 [View Full Entry]

By Lisa and Mike
April 26th 2009

North Chile 24th - 28th April South America

The Elqui Valley

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 [View Full Entry]

Spitting Llama in Parque Pedro de Valdivia

By Lisa and Mike
April 21st 2009

Santiago 19th - 23rd April South America » Chile » Santiago Region » Santiago

Plaza de Armas
This sqaure is a hive of activity day and night.

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 [View Full Entry]

By Lisa and Mike
April 16th 2009

Back in Auckland 13th - 18th April Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

Auckland from Rangitoto

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 [View Full Entry]

By Lisa and Mike
April 15th 2009

Geothermal Week 6th - 12th April Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Taupo

Stream of acid flows under our feet
Our trip to White Island.

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 [View Full Entry]

By Lisa and Mike
April 3rd 2009

The Nelson Region 31st March - 6th April Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Nelson Region

A picture postcard!
Nelson Lakes National Park

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 [View Full Entry]

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Lisa and Mike - Michael Clapham

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