We had decided to stay in Hamilton for a couple of reasons - firstly, it was very close to the towns of Rotorura and Lake Taupo and also the Waitomo caves (all of which we intended to visit) and secondly, we had heard there was a reasonable about of nightlife and as it was a Saturday and it had been a while since we had been out we decided to head for there. The drive down from the Coromandel was pretty uneventful although once again the scenery was great. We arrived into Hamilton at around 6 and immediately saw it was quite a lively town when we passed a large pub, which was holding it’s annual Oktoberfest (German beer festival) as well as several other bars/clubs and nice looking restaurants. We managed to find a private, ... read more

Once we had done our food shop and (successfully) got petrol, we headed up north about 4 hours from Auckland to an area called The Bay of Islands (BOI) and the coastal town of Pahia. Scott did the driving and took to it like a duck to water, quickly getting used to driving a large automatic vehicle and overtaking slow drivers, made easier by the fact that in NZ they drive on the left like at home. After getting out of the city and onto the quieter roads we soon saw that the country actually did have more sheep than people! On the way to BOI we passed through a town called Whangerei which looked pretty sweet and they even had a place called Sheep World which was full of bright pink sheep! Very strange. On ... read more

After an amazing 5 weeks in South America, exploring Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina (plus short stops in Paraguay and Chile) , we thought we’d write a final review on our highs and lows about what we experienced and saw. Don’t feel you have to read this, its more for our memories! Our top 3 favourite places Scott 1- Buenos Aires, Argentina 2- La Paz, Bolivia 3- Cusco, Peru Vic 1- Cusco, Peru 2- Rio, Brazil 3- Buenos Aires, Argentina Our top 3 favourite activities Scott 1- Salt Flats tour - Uyuni, Bolivia 2- Iguazu Falls, Argentina 3- Horseback riding - Bolivia Vic 1- Iguazu Falls - Argentina 2- Salt Flats tour- Uyuni, Bolivia 3- Favela tour - Rio, Brazil Things we won’t miss Scott 1- Altitude sickness 2- Squat toilets 3- 4 day treks Vic ... read more

Hola from Buenos Aeries, So after arriving at the BA bus terminal after our marathon 17 hour bus ride from Iguazu Falls (seriously, no where near as bad as it sounds) we had decided to treat ourselves and check into a rather nice boutique hotel in the fashionable district of Palermo in Buenos Aeries - It actually had a bath tub (our first since we have been travelling and Scott was very excited about this, it’s amazing how the little things we take for granted can be so pleasing when you have been without them for so long). So after a quick freshen up we decided to explore the area and have a bite to eat as it was now early afternoon - after a fairly pricey burger and chips and a bit of window shopping ... read more

After 3 planes and 36 hours we finally arrived in the world famous city, Rio de Janeiro! We left La Paz on the 28th and had an early morning flight to nearby city Santa Cruz, where we spent a few hours in the centre (very hot, humid and not much to do) before a flight to the capital of Paraguay, Asuncion. We then spent the night there (Tam airways put us up in a 5 star hotel with dinner as they changed the flight schedule- was a pain but good to have a few hours of luxury!) before our early morning flight on the 29th to Rio. When we arrived we jumped in a taxi to the hostel we were due to stay in to find they were full, but as it was based in a ... read more