http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/NibbyandMatty/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from NibbyandMatty en-us Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:50:37 +0000 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:50:37 +0000 We had arrived Back to paradise It had been a year since we were last here and we could already see the change in the island. It had got a lot busier and there was quite a bit of development going on. We managed to get a room at the same place we stayed at last year Mohsin Chalets which gives excellent views over the sea although it was being run by new management and had lost its party vibe qu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Terengganu/Perhentian-Kecil/blog-443523.html After a few relaxing yet busy weeks back home we decided it was time to head off to Asia once again. We decided to return to Bali for the summer so Matt could spend his time surfing and I could get on with some art work. On the way we stopped off in Malaysia to spend a month on our favourite beach island but ended up spending a week of that in Kuala Lumpur sorting out our Indonesian visas.We staye http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/Bukit-Bintang/blog-443519.html We arrived early on Monday at Hong Kong airport and had to find our way into the city. We hadn't done any research or planning for Hong Kong and it suddenly became a bit of an issue We spent ages trying to find our way into the city and by the time we got there we were both so bored with aimlessly wondering around we ended up spending a night in a really posh for us hotel with a pool which set http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-441627.html Hello people Just thought I'd give everyone an update on how things are going in Bali. Well up until a couple of days ago we were both having a lovely time. We've got a really cool apartmentvilla on the outskirts of busy Kuta which is the tourist hub of Bali. We are much happier being here coz it's fairly quiet and has a nice community feel about it. I've been getting on with my painting as plann http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Seminyak/blog-423388.html Salamat Datang everyoneOur new address untill october 8th is FAO Matt NibbyPondok Alit BungalowJl. Lingk. Batu Beli No. 9Kerobokan KelodKutaBaliIndonesia Nibbys new mobile number is 6281236838912Matts mobile in case you diid not read the last entry is 6281236913762we will be expecting a postcard from anyone who goes on a holidayThings are going well here Nibby is doing lots of painting http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Seminyak/blog-421724.html Hi EveryoneWe have moved onto Bali and after several days home hunting we have found a really cool place to live and have rented it for 3 months we have not sorted the internet yet but its on the to do list in the meantime here is our new mobile number 6281236913762 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Canggu/blog-419672.html So the main reason for visiting Hamilton apart from seeing Kylie was to do some work experience with her at Hamilton zoo. She is a vet nurse there and was able to sort out a weeks work exp for me. I was a little nervous on my first day as I havenrsquot done an honest days graft in a while and thought I might struggle. I spent the whole day with Kylie and she was in change of Rhinos Bison che http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Hamilton/blog-417051.html Being so close to Australia and probably not going to be this close again for a long time we decided it would be worthwhile taking the short up and down flight over the Tasman to see some friends we missed on our last trip here. First stop was to see the recently emigrated Joe Sheppard. The day to get there started very early the flight was seamless and we picked up a cool little hire car at t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Roma/blog-417045.html To get back to Christchurch we decided to take Lewis Pass as we hadn't driven the whole of this road before. We planned to stay in Hanmer for a few nights before we were due to fly to Australia for a week. Unfortunately we hadn't done our homework and it was the school holidays. There is probably one place in the whole of New Zealand that you would want to avoid in school holidays and its Hanmer S http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Kaikoura/blog-417039.html Hokitika was the next town of any substance North of the glaciers and we stopped in to say hello in the morning we went to a Jade factory for a free tour to see how they carved and shaped the Jade stone into Jewellery amongst other things we didn't buy anything as it was all too expensive and Nibby had seen a flyer where you could carve you own Jade. We went to check it out and Nibby decided to http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Hokitika/blog-413309.html The drive into Glacier country was pretty scenic we finally made it back to the coast after being inland for several weeks but no surfing for Matty not yet There are two big glaciers and glacier towns the FranzJosef and the slightly less touristy Fox we decided to stay in the Fox. Our first full day was a Sunday and it rained lots it was the first time we have had a Sunday experience in a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Fox-Glacier/blog-392534.html Leaving our cool hostel in Manapouri and arriving two hours later in a dump of a hostel in Queenstown was a bit disappointing we had to change rooms after an hour because the bed broke twice and we weren't even getting up to any mischief. When we went to the information to see what we wanted to do Matty booked himself onto the Nevis Bungy jump 134m from a suspended platform in the middle of a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Queenstown/blog-391756.html Nibby You've got to love it a vast wilderness of lush forest and blissful lakes. On the other hand you can also hate it Not the place but the dreaded blood thirsty Sandfly We found the most amazing backpackers in a place called Manapouri that was up on a hill and looked out over the lake with the mountains behind it. We had our very own hut with a kitchen and everything It felt very spe http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Milford-Sound/blog-391753.html Nibby Moving on from Dunedin we headed further south to the Catlin Coast. I hadn't travelled here before so it was a new experience for the both of us. The Catlin coast is thriving with wildlife.The first place we stopped off was Surat Bay where we found some massive male sealions chilling on the beach. For ages we wondered what the difference was between NZ fur seals and sealions and now we know http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Curio-Bay-/blog-391751.html After some Z's Z Z Z Z's we drove to Dunedin Gaelic for Edinburgh stopping on the way at Moeraki where we went to see some Yellow Eyed Penguins. There was quite a lot of them and we got some great photos. We also went a bit further down the beach to see some rare naturally formed boulders they were almost all perfect sphere worn that way by the sea and wind some had what looked like veins in t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Dunedin/blog-387543.html The drive to Mount Cook the largest mountain in NZ standing at about 4000m was pretty long. We stopped along the way at Lake Tekapo it was not the picture perfect scene there was a lot of low cloud meaning you could not see the mountains in the background but with a little imagination it looked great Tonight was the first night of Nibby cooking for 7 days and we head baked fish. Lovely onl http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Mount-Cook-National-Park/blog-387542.html Nibby How wonderful to have a base at John and Margaret's up on the hill overlooking the city of Christchurch. They have only been living there a few months and there were a couple of things around the house still to do so Matt spent one morning helping John put up his fence around the driveway while I lazed around the house. We popped into the centre and had a look around the art museum before h http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/blog-387536.html Did you know that all comments on this blog will be inserted into it and when we finally reach home and make it into a book they will make it in too so get commentingNext day we headed east and once at the east coast drove south a bit to the town of Kaikoura the weather was miserable we stopped to see lots of seals on the coast and got some more good photos.Matty had to get running repairs o http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/blog-387533.html First landing on the South Island and we drove to Nelson a small town in the North of the Island we found a market had a look around but we managed to keep our wallets in our pockets and not buy anything. We also went and checked out where the rings from Lord of the Rings were forged and it was not Mount Doom it was a tiny little shop and workshop and everything in it was way to much money for hu http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/blog-385698.html Nibby From Taupo we headed south of the lake to a place called Turangi. The next day was a tough one even by Matts standards. We had booked onto a shuttle to take us into the Tongariro national park for the popular Tongariro crossing trek which takes you up and over some volcanoes giving you spectacular views over Taupo and the surrounding areas. It takes around 78 hours and is 18.5kms in which http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/blog-375485.html