http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Rick-and-Steph/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Rick and Steph en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:20:21 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 00:20:21 +0000 New Zealand South Island 27th Nov 22nd DecWe caught a flight from Aukland to Christchurch on the South Island where we picked up another hire car. We first visited Banks Peninsula to the east of Christchurch. The peninsula was formed by two volcanoes and the scenery was spectacular with steep sided hills dropping into blue sea inlets. We then headed south and up into the hills of the Southern http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Christchurch/blog-371118.html New Zealand North Island 12th Nov 27th NovSo as you can tell we're pretty far behind with our blog now. A lot of this is to do with the amount of camping we've been doing where the only internet is our built in flysheet. Now we are in Bangkok waiting for our visas for India to be processed we have the chance to get up to date so we'll be taking you on a whirlwind tour of the highlights of our http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-370238.html Fiji Mainland 30th Oct 12th NovAfter returning to the mainland from the Yasawas we stayed at the travellers beach resort near Nadi for three nights in a backpackers room that looked more like a hospital ward. Here we planned our remaining time in Fiji. we decided to travel around the bottom of the island to Suva the capital stopping at a few backpacker resorts on the way. Our first stop was http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Suva/blog-370235.html Fiji The Yasawas We left Honolulu at 1200 on the 21st October and after six and a half hours flying we arrived at Nadi airport in Fiji where it was 1630 on the 22nd October. We had crossed the equator and the dateline and completely missed out on Tuesday night We took a taxi to the hostel we had booked for the first two nights and after sampling a couple of the local beers headed to bed for http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Fiji/Yasawa-Islands/Naviti-Island/blog-347971.html Hawaii FIne thanks. The 6 hour flight from LA to Honolulu arrived just before midday. As we approached to land we were surprised at how big Oahu was and how many high rise buildings there were. At the airport we boarded the bus to Waikiki where we had booked a hostel just one block from Waikiki beach. After checking in we went for something to eat before getting our first taste of Hawaii's be http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Hawaii/Oahu/Waikiki/blog-341481.html California road trip part 4After cleaning up the mess left by the racoons at our campsite we headed towards San Fancisco. The route in from the north took us over the famous Golden Gate Bridge which provided great views over the city and the bay. After a short drive through the city centre we headed over the Bay Bridge to the university town of Berkely where he hoped to find some cheap accomodat http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/Alcatraz/blog-341477.html California road trip part 3 YosemiteYosemite another one of Americas national parks was our next destination. As we crossed the hills from Death Valley into Owens valley we could see the Huge Mountains of the Sierra Nevada where the park was. We headed North and camped for the night in the foothills near Lone Pine which was a beautiful site but which quickly reminded us that high means cold and http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Yosemite-National-Park/Yosemite-Valley/blog-336000.html California road trip part 2We left the campsite at Sunset Crater and headed off on the long drive through Arizona to Nevada. By mid afternoon we reached the famous Hoover Dam which holds back the Colorado river and provides energy and water for most of Southern Nevada as well as creating a huge lake for fishing and boating. We crossed the dam and parked on the Arizona side. We walked along the to http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Nevada/Las-Vegas/blog-335996.html West coast road trip part 1We picked our car up from LAX airport and headed off on the highway. On the way out of LA we drove up to the Hollywood hills to get a closer view of the famous Hollywood sign. We couldn't go too close though as we'd heard that the letters were protected by many security cameras and anyone wanting a close up view would soon find themselves on the wrong side of the LAPD http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Grand-Canyon-National-Park/blog-333861.html Southern California 1st September 2008Our first stop back in the States was San Diego just a short tram ride from the Mexican border. We had booked a hostel in the centre of town for three nights which was right next to the Gas Light district where all the restaurants and bars are. Although San Diego is quite a large city it never seemed too busy and it was easy to get around. While there we vi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Diego/Ocean-Beach/blog-333135.html Here's a page of some of the videos we've made on our camera they include the magic hat video and roller blading Richard enjoy http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/San-Francisco/Alcatraz/blog-327997.html Baja California MexicoIt was time to leave mainland Mexico so after having chicken and chips for breakfast we headed to the ferry port at Mazatlan to see if there was going to be a ferry that day. Thankfully there was one due to leave at 5pm the journey being 12 hours long. We didn't board the ferry until 4.30pm so we knew we were going to be behind schedule. The boat eventually left the harbou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California/Ensenada/blog-327728.html Pacific coastAugust 15th August 24thWhen we had arrived in Taxco we immediately attempted to purchase tickets to our next destination Zihuatenejo. Unfortunately unlike as we had thought there was no direct route. This meant we had to get a bus from Taxco to Acapulco and then Acapulco to Zihuatenejo meaning an extra 5 hours on our journey time... hey ho The buses were pretty comfortable and http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Guerrero/Zihuatanejo/blog-315756.html Central Mexico 7th August 14th AugustAfter filling up on the great Hostel breakfast we left Oaxaca and caught the bus North to Puebla. We were headed for a small town outside of Puebla called Cholula which the guide book had recommended. From the huge bus station in Puebla we took a local bus service to Cholula and started looking for the hostel we had booked via email in Spanish and everyth http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/blog-315755.html Palenque Oaxaca 30th July 6th AugustThe night bus to Palenque was fortunately very comfortable and we managed to get a fair amount of sleep. Our guide book told us of places we could stay in the jungle just outside of the main town so we took a taxi to El Panchan and found ourselves a Cabana at El Jaguar which was actually very nice and not like the jungle tree huts we had expected. There was http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Chiapas/Palenque/blog-315753.html The Yucatan Peninsula. 22nd July 29th JulyAfter 13 hours on a bus that seemed to make more stops than was really necessary we arrived in Campeche bus station glad to be able to stretch our legs again. We took one of the local minibuses into town to get to the Hostal Pirata Pirate Hostel i.e. a hostel with loads of pirate related ornaments and artifacts which was on a quiet street within the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Campeche/Campeche/blog-315750.html Gulf Coast 12th July 21st JulyFrom Victoria We took the bus to Tampico on the Gulf Coast. The buses we had got so far in Mexico were very comfortable with reclining seats and clean toilets and were also quite cheap. When we arrived in Tampico we caught a bus into the Centro to try and find a hotel. The one we tried first was called Hotel Capri and had rooms available that were pretty cheap s http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Tamaulipas/Tampico/blog-310301.html Arrival in Mexico Monterrey. 7th July11th JulyWe packed up our camp in San Antonio and had breakfast at the Chuckwagon. Appropiately as we were off to Mexico we had tacos. We were both feeling a bit nervous as we boarded the bus that would take us over the border and into Mexico. Neither of us could speak much Spanish and we didn't really know what to expect of Mexico. This was really going to t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Nuevo-Leon/Monterrey/blog-307656.html San Antonio 30060607We were now getting closer to Mexico but wanted to stay in the US for the fourth of July so we dropped the car off in Austin and took a bus South to San Antonio. We had booked a week in a campsite on the edge of town so when we arrived we caught the local bus to the campsite where we pitched out tent in a nice spot under some pecan trees and spent the rest of the evening r http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/San-Antonio/blog-301603.html Galveston oh Galveston 23062906We fancied a week at the beach and Galveston on the Gulf Coast wasn't far away. It wasn't going to be much more expensive to hire a car than it was for the buses so we went out to Austin airport to pick up a bright yellow Chevy. We drove past Houston and over the bridge to Galveston Island and arrived in the weather beaten and slightly run down resort. We found o http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/Galveston/blog-301598.html