I am now in Australia!! And despite all the romantic notions of coming Down Under for Christmas the summer weather hasn't joined me yet and its been raining and not too warm since i arrived! In fact the day that i arrived in Melbourne they're 4 month long drought broke and it tipped it down! But i haven't let that put me off and luckily being a geographer i always carry a waterproof jacket where ever i go... Melbourne was a great city, but due to the torrential rain while i was there i don't really have any photos to show [View Full Entry]

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So, i am back in New Zealand again (my home away from home) and as some people expressed concern that i hadn't updated my blog for a while i thought i would let you all know that i was safe and sound... The conference was last week and so not much exciting to report really - my presentation was on the first morning and so good to get it out of the way, it was okay not the best i've ever given but then again my preparation has been fairly limited! But all in all the conference was good - interesting [View Full Entry]

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Part 1: The Atacama Desert The first place that i visited was the Atacama Desert. After a tiring night travelling, as i forgot about the time difference between Chile and Peru and so the flight was only 3 hours and not the 5 hours i was anticipating, i arrived in my second South American country! The Atacama was amazing, although very very hot - even in the evening the temperature was over 25°C! San Pedro was a beautiful little town, full of white wash buildings. On my first day i saw the massive Salar de Atacama (salt plane, which is 200 [View Full Entry]

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So, the last adventure i had in Peru was to head into the rainforest, which was excellent. We flew into the area and then had to take a rickety bus for an hour to get to the river and then a 2 hour boat ride to get into the area we were staying in. Just amazing, but the heat and humdity were a killer. We had a guide for various activities and so got to explore the rainforest at day and night and saw loads of amazing creatures - mackaws, snakes, spiders, caymans, a variety of bids (although the tucan´s remained [View Full Entry]

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I can't believe how quickly my time in Peru is going! So i have now returned from the Scared Valley of the Incas and Macchu Picchu, and it was amazing! The rainy season has started but luckily its not in full swing yet and so its limited to short very heavy downpours. So i still got to see all the major sights - it was a little disconcerting at 6am to be faced with a cloud bank that was meant to be Macchu Picchu! And i was very relieved when after an hour it began to clear and i got my [View Full Entry]

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So i have finally arrived in Cusco and it is beautiful. This will just be a short blog, as i am running out of time on the computer and so will let the photos speak for themselves. I have explored the city and some of the Inca ruins on the outskirts of town and i love it! Luckily i have a free day here today as have a stomach bug and so feel terrible and didn't sleep much, but i'm sure after a day resting and visiting museums etc i will be ready for the Sacred Valley and then Macchu Picchu!! [View Full Entry]

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Next stop was Lake Titicaca. We had a day free to explore Puno, the city on the edge of the lake. And as luck would have it we arrived on the anniversary of the city and so there was a huge parade through the streets of the town from lunchtime through to about 7pm. It was fantastic, Puno is the folklore capital of Peru and has over 300 different dances each with a different costume, and we got to see all of them as they danced through the streets. Then in the evening i climbed Condor Hill (4,200 m.a.s.l and 613 [View Full Entry]

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So after Nasca it was off to the Colca Canyon (the deepest canyon in the world and home to Condors). A 6 hour overnight bus journey to Arequipa, made me realise that if i try to sleep upstairs on a bus that is flying around windy mountainous roads then i get travel sick, really travel sick and so spent most of the night ill in the bathroom! Luckily Arequipa was so beautiful that i managed to explore and felt much better by the afternoon. The next day we set off to Colca Canyon and a place called Chivay. We are now [View Full Entry]

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So i am now in Nazca, and hopefully will be able to upload some photos to accompany this blog. From Lima i travelled south down to Pisco to try the famous Pisco Sour, not the best town as it was destroyed by an earthquake last year and is still recovering. But just next to it is the Paraca coastline, which is stunning, and the Ballestas Islands which are home to all kinds of sea birds (penguins, pelicans, cormarants etc) and also sea lions and are famous for the large quantities of guano they produce! Had a speed boat ride out to [View Full Entry]

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So i am now in Peru!! After a very long journey i made it to Lima yesterday morning and spent yesterday exploring the city, which is lovely. Despite my reservations i do like it but looking forward to getting out and exploring the rest of the country. I am heading down the coast to Pisco today and then onto the Nazco lines. I will try and upload some photos when i do by next blog entry but for now just wanted to let you now that i got here okay and i´m loving it... [View Full Entry]

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