Ryhanna

Today was the day, the main event, número uno, den perfekta dagen!!! As it was Lava day! This was the single, most important, natural event I wanted to see and I had been worrying about the possibility of not seeing it for some time. The day prior our tour guide Brandon, who called himself "Mr Lava Lava", had said there is no 100% guarantee but if you are with him then he would do his best to find it.  The group of people travelling with us today were an Australian couple, Helen and Martin, and a couple from Atlanta US of A, Duncan Nugget and his wife. He was pretty funny, talked out the side of his face and was a motivational speaker to kids aged 12 to 19. Quiet a character! The destination was Hawai'i ... read more

Iao Valley was about a 15 minutes drive from our hostel and was a lush green valley covered in rainforest laden hills. Famous for it's large rock pinnacle called "Iao Needle" which stands 2,250ft tall over the Iao stream which winds down from the surrounding mountains. Before all this however we were going to visit some heritage gardens which celebrates the many different influences that Hawaii has had. From the Polynesian to the Portuguese and not forgetting the British. The gardens were nice with a largely Japanese influence but had some nice plants and flowers. The British "influence" however wasn't the most impressive. It was meant to be a cottage but just looked like a typically old style Hawaiian house. Still after a nice walk round it was time to head for the main event. When ... read more

After a brilliant month in Brisbane with Kate and Gary the big day had finally arrived. We were all packed and regrettably having to leave the brilliant land of Australia to the paradise of Hawaii.  The pass 11 months had been amazing and we had seen so much and met so many brilliant people. From the first experience of Australian super camping, to water skiing to the thrill of the great barrier reef we feel we have seen it all! Along the way there has also been some sad sights, the storms of Melbourne and the Brisbane floods have helped us draw a bit more life perspective, but we will hold the memories with us forever! It was a sad time for reflection at the airport but sure we will be re visiting in the future.......... ... read more

For some time now I had been planning a surprise trip for Hanna’s Birthday and had invited Kate and Gary to visit us from Brisbane for a long weekend trip to the Grampians. The plan was amazingly complicated but would hopefully result in a unexpected surprise visit for Hanna. I started constructing the plan back in February and got Kate and Gary to book up some flights ready for Hanna’s Birthday weekend. Then with a bit of searching found a suitable place to stay for a night and set about finding the best parts of the Grampians to visit in 1 weekend. Because we would have a few nights at our flat we needed some essential things such as extra sheets. Getting Hanna to buy smilingly unnecessary items was a challenge and at times impossible. The ... read more

Today was Kowloon day! Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong, comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is located north of Hong Kong Island and south of the mainland part of the New Territories. The peninsula's area is approximately 47 km2 or 18.1 mi2. Together with Hong Kong Island, it contains 48% of Hong Kong's total population. To get there we headed for the tram and this took us to the financial district of Hong Kong Island. From there it was a short walk made long to the star ferry port. On the way we passed some interesting and sad sights. Firstly, there was a sign/poster on a bus stop which seemed to give rules of how you must live in Hong Kong. Luckily, the government had foreseen that even people with the ... read more