From Ubud, I had planned to go to Lombok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombok), an island just to the east of Bali and so I booked a shuttle bus and boat to get there, for 250.000 IDR (I booked it with Ketut, the woman who ran the hostel I was staying in). It took about 1 hour to get to the small harbour in Sanur, get the ticket and then 1 hour ride on the fast boat (a ferry takes about 5 hours, but it's cheaper). The boat stopped in all 3 Gili Islands (Trawangan, Meno and Air) and then stopped in Lombok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gili_Islands). In Lombok, I was the only person disembarking and then had to negotiate a taxi to get to Senggigi, a popular beach in Lombok and where I thought I had the best chance to book other ... read more

So, after my stay in Queenstown, I took a bus to Christchurch so that I could catch my flight to Indonesia the next morning. The bus left in the morning and it was due to arrive at about 5:30pm. My flight was at 6am, so there was no point in getting a hostel for the night; instead I decided to wait it out at the airport. I gave a call to Jim Worthington, a friend of Rob Hacking (with whom I had stayed in Auckland). I called him mainly to meet up for a drink and also because I wanted to return a book that Rob had lent me. Anyway, Jim asked me about my plans (I told him I was going to kill time in the airport afterwards) and he invited me to stay at ... read more

I left Auckland early in the morning and from Ignacio's house I took a train to Britomart Station. I had spent two more days in Auckland than initially intended and I needed to break the inertia and get going. I got just in time to board the bus that would get me to Waitomo. I bought a bus pass, valid for 5 rides, from the "Naked Bus" company. I had to change buses in Hamilton and arrived at around noon in Waitomo. The main attraction of Waitomo are the "glowworm caves". This is just a fancy name for larvae that glow in the dark. I had heard it was worth a visit and these larvae are endemic to New Zealand and Australia, so I decided to check it out. For more information on these "bugs", wikipedia ... read more

Tasmania was an excellent destination and totally exceeded my expectations. Even though I stayed for less than I had initially intended and got to see just a little bit of it, the stay there was well balanced between sightseeing and socializing. I arrived in Tasmania without much plans at all. When I got off the plane in the small airport, I saw a shuttle that could take me to the city. I had seen a few backpacker hostels online the day before, so I opted to go to the Brusnwick Hotel and book a single room. After I settled in, I grabbed my cameras and went out for a walk around the city. Hobart is the smallest State Capital in Australia and it has a “small town ambience”. There are a lot of buildings with façades ... read more

After I left Port Douglas, I flew to Sydney, mainly to do a few dives, catch up with friends and get organized to travel for the rest of the year (main thing was that I had to loose baggage). I stayed the first days in Sydney with a couple that I met while I was working for “Poseidon Reef Charters” in Port Douglas; Ben and Naomi, two professional divers that have been traveling the world the past year and are going to keep at it for the next few years, so it seems. Ben’s a Canadian dive instructor, part musician/writer and Naomi's an Australian Divemaster and full time artist, her website here: http://www.naomigittoes.com/. The day they went out on Poseidon I was leading the dive and that’s how I got to know them. After the dives ... read more