Lovina, Northern Balinese coast Wednesday 25th February 2009 Since returning to Bali from Flores, we have been chilling out in Lovina on the North coast. We were a bit concerned that, having left Flores sooner than planned, due to washed out roads and travel difficulties there, we would be disappointed with our final Indonesian week in Bali, since Flores is so scenically beautiful and we would have liked to spend longer there. We needn’t have worried because northern Bali is so very different to the frenetic tourist hubs of the south and the scenery across the central mountains is p [View Full Entry]

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Gilli Trawangan Friday13th February 2009 Last Monday (9th February) we took the island hopper boat from Gilli Air to Gilli Trawangan, the largest of the three Gilli Islands off Lombok’s northern coast. The sea was benign, the high swells of the last week having subsided with the waning of the moon; it was such an enjoyable trip being on calmer waters. Gilli Trawangan is far more “touristy” than Gilli Air so it made a pleasant change for a day trip, however, we much prefer Gilli Air as a place to stay. One sad thing about these islands, however, is that despite [View Full Entry]

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By Fokker to Flores to see the Komodo Dragons Sunday 15th February 2009 We got to Dempasar airport from Padangbai after a two hour journey with a driver who believed that a single white line in the centre of the road approaching a roundabout uphill with heavy oncoming traffic meant one had to overtake! On arrival at the domestic air terminal we asked for two tickets for the midday flight to Labuan Bajo in Flores. The conversation went something like this… Girl in Booth: “No, you cannot go!” Me: “Is it fully booked?” GIB: “Not booked” Me: &ldqu [View Full Entry]

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Braving Indonesian seas in the Rainy Season! Wednesday 4th February 2009 When we left the port of Padangbai in Bali, the sea was blue, the sun was shining and the public ferry, despite being ancient and tatty, didn’t give us too much cause for concern. Once the shelter of this pretty Balinese bay was left behind, however, we knew that we were in for a very rough crossing. These old ferries don’t seem to have stabilisers and she rolled about relentlessly on the grey swell. John was OK but I had to stop myself looking at the horizon, which disappeared from [View Full Entry]

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Getting online isn’t easy in Indonesia so we are a bit behind sending the blogs; so here is the first of two, which was written a week ago, to be followed by the one written on 8th February… Up early in Ubud Sunday 1st February 2009 At 6 a.m. I heard a soft shuffling of feet outside the bedroom door on the balcony; tea delivery, a huge thermos flask of weak but refreshing green tea (available all day on the house).So here we are, sitting on big wicker balcony chairs, sipping our tea at dawn in Ubud in a small nine [View Full Entry]

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Beautiful Bali Saturday 31st January 2009 Last Saturday we were snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef and now we are sitting in a shady tropical Balinese garden; it requires quite a cultural adjustment. We are staying in a “losman” (small traditional hotel around a courtyard garden) in Seminyak on the south west coast of Bali about 5 kilometres north of the tourist hub of Kuta. It is beautiful, laid back, chilled, hot, humid, and exhausting! The hotel is adorned with stone sculptures, wooden Hindu goddesses covered in gilt, woven bamboo screens and wooden roof tiles. It is [View Full Entry]

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Kakadu, no can do! Wednesday 28th January 2009 Darwin is a bit of a dump; a nothing place. It is drab, boring and full of Aussie backpackers on walkabout, or rather sit about and drink about. There are very few other nationalities here, unlike most places on the usual global travel routes so it is entirely lacking in any charm whatsoever. We have been here just twenty four hours and hate it. The shops shut at 5 p.m., the restaurants offer little variety, the hostel kitchen is as dirty as the people using it and we are checking out tomorrow. Darwin [View Full Entry]

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G’day Kangaroo! Monday 26th January 2009 Its Australia Day, its Chinese New Year and best of all it’s the day we saw kangaroos! Last night we had a raging thunderstorm and left washed out Mission Beach early at 7.15 a.m. to drive north back to Cairns. Just five minutes after we left the campsite, we saw about thirty kangaroos grazing in a field near the roadside. Some were a bit camera shy and bounded away, but others just eyed us inquisitively and then carried on with their breakfast. What a great start to our last day in Queensland. We are now [View Full Entry]

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The Great Barrier Reef Saturday 24th January 2009 We made it! Last year when we were deciding where to go on our travels we both agreed that we wanted to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef. This was the dream and the reason we came to Queensland and today that dream was realised. We thought, due to being here in the wet season, the recent cyclone and the abundance of Box Jellies, we might not get the chance but we did! Today all the weather gods worked in our favour, it was the perfect sunny day out on the reef for [View Full Entry]

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Kangaroo, where are you?: the Atherton Tablelands Friday 23rd January 2009 We’ve been in Australia exactly one month today and we still haven’t seen a Kangaroo! We’ve made our eyes ache looking for them. However, when we zoom in on some of our photos on the computer, we can see some blurry images of small Tree Kangaroos peering at us through the bush on the Atherton Tablelands. Hopefully we’ll get to see some properly in the next few weeks before we leave Australia. We’ve seen some dead ones on the road. We spent a long time stalking quietly through the rainfor [View Full Entry]

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