Lozzle

For the love of Tokyo... Tokyo is one of the best cities in the world. We arrived on the bus (after passing Mount Fuji on the way) and was soon part of the hussle of Tokyo. Coffees will set you back $12 and beers cost a fortune, but somehow all is forgiven here. Shinjuku area is covered with neon lights, tall buildings and hundreds of people walking round. We headed out for our first night out and picked up some Aussies along the way. We headed for a sushi train dinner and had the best sushi in all of Tokyo and for only 100Y a piece. A mixture of raw fish and eggs (Oz!) and we were ready to start drinking. Luckily for us, one of the Australian girls spoke fluent Japanese so we were pretty ... read more

There are lots of things that make Japan great. For instance, the rice maker sings twinkle twinkle little star to you to let you know your rice is cooked, the pedestrian lights play a nice song for you whilst you cross the road, you can smoke everywhere including Macdonalds, and everyone wears faces masks without anyone looking twice. AND, to top it all off, there are snow monkeys. The snow monkeys hang out in the onsens (natural hot springs) and soothe away their stress. The monkeys are all around you, they are around your ankles, walking past you and just chowing on some food whilst you kneel down next to them. I have taken some pics of the snow monkeys. They look like little people wearing monkey suits. They are now my favourite type of monkey. ... read more

3 days of no sleep later, we arrived in Japan. Immediately the temperature change was apparent and we were looking forward to the snow. On arriving at Tokyo airport, we joined a busy and noisy line for the limousine bus to take us to Shinjuku to catch our next bus. The airport is conveniently situated 2 hours out of Tokyo city, which is just great. A taxi would have cost us hundreds of dollars, so the only option for us was the bus. The Japanese are highly efficient and had our bags whipped out, on the bus and ticketed before you knew what was happening and all transport leaves on the dot, by the second. A few hours later, we arrived into Shinjuku station, which is the biggest station in the world. Already we could see ... read more

Abel Tasmin was the main last stop on the Oz and Lorraine grand tour of the South Island before facing work. So we made it a good un'. Abel Tasmin is a National Park at the top of the South Island. Beautiful blue waters and bush walks. We arrived at the Kayak company at 8.00 in the morning bleary eyed, but ready to go. Once we had put on our waterproof tops and lifejackets, we had to climb into a water taxi with the kayaks on the back of the boat. The only problem was that the tide was too low, and there wasn't enough water to start the motor for the boat. So what do the Kiwis do? They tow us in a tractor of course. And my oh my do the kiwis like their ... read more

Marlborough Sound is a stunning place at the North of the South Island. The Queen Charlotte track is a (quoting from The Beatles) long and winding road with stunning coastal views. Kean cyclists were huffing and puffing up and down the hills, whilst me and Oz just whipped past them in our awesome wagon. A lot easier! We managed to take loads of photos, and the water wasn't just blue, but turquoise. It looked truely stunning, espcially with the sounds in the distance. As it is turning into Summer, we thought we would save some money and camp for the night. The farm we stayed on was very friendly, with welcome muffins (that pretty much sold it for us). The night was freezing...........we had about 16 layers on each. Camping was a bad idea!! The next ... read more