Enjoy! [View Full Entry]

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18th Today we got up extremely early and made our way to Picton for the ferry back to the North Island. Louise took up the duvet, and set up camp on the sofa, sleeping through the entire crossing. David ate the biggest breakfast he could find in the cafe. We left Wellington and headed for Taupo for what was to become a memorable 48hrs of bad luck (or good luck - depending on how you look at it). First, Louise got a speeding ticket, oops - very nice police woman though. Then she bumped into somebody's car, pulling right out into [View Full Entry]

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Road Trip Diary Continued ... 3rd Took the long ferry trip from Wellington to Picton, and drove straight on to Picton for the much anticipated sibling reunion. David's sister and two friends, Dru and Sarah, had been completing a whistle-stop tour of New Zealand to co-incide with ours. We slept in the van in the carpark of their posh hotel (pikey, we know) in Blenheim. Also were treated to a delicious lamb rump dinner at a local restaurant! 4th Made the very long drive to Hokitika on the west coast, stopping off at the Nelson lakes for walks and photos. [ [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Auckland and planned our road trip from the comforts of Bamber House; a homely hostel where we made some great friends. While there, we visited Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World; we saw stingrays, penguins and all manner of other sea-life. We also got involved with a birthday party for Dan at the hostel, which was fun: vodka jelly, party hats and takeaway pizza! However, the most exciting thing that happened to us in Auckland was the 'detective-style' search for a long lost friend of Jimmy's (David's dad). He, and another boy Joseph, grew up together in a home in [View Full Entry]

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Arriving back in Brisbane at the adequate YHA hostel, we were informed that our friend had already arrived and checked in. Geraldine, or Gers, as she is more commonly known, is a larger-than-life, Irish whirlwind of a character. The next few days were guaranteed to be madcap. After an evening of reunion, we took a very early morning bus to Hervey Bay, the departure point for the ever-appealing Fraser Island. This was our first 'Greyhound' bus in Australia (the well-known Aussie coach company that travels all over the place), and we were not in the least prepared for the mammoth set [View Full Entry]

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We took a flight from Melbourne to Brisbane in order to tour the Queensland coast, and to meet our close friend Gers. Brisbane, known to Aussies by the nickname 'Bris-Vegas', is smalltime, when compared to Melbourne and Sydney. Plenty of bargain shops and pokies (gambling dens with poker-type slot machines, very popular in Australia). However, on an impromptu night out with Ahsan (he lives there), we saw a glimpse of the up-and-coming Fortitude Valley district nightlife. After two nights in Brisbane, planning our trip and replacing our camera, we took an overnight jaunt to Nimbin. This [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Melbourne and made our way to meet Ahsan, David's long-time pal, in the pre-booked hostel. We were feeling the cold down in this part of Oz and so we set out to explore the night-life in our jeans. St Kilda is a trendy seaside suburb filled with boutiques, bookshops, and coffee and cake establishments. The beautiful stretch of beach and excellent pier are perfect for an evening stroll. We chose to stay in a typical backpackers' hostel, complete with a noisy bar downstairs, and bagged a five-bed dorm room for just the three of us. Bonzer! Our days [View Full Entry]

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Well, a new continent awaited us, and as we collected our bags at the carousel, our anticipation mounted. We had a good hour and a half to wait, getting through the Australian quarantine, but we were soon set up with accommodation, and off on the bus. We were delighted to have a small kitchenette in our room and wasted no time in stocking up with a few favourites. Microwaved jacket potatoes with tuna, cheese and beans were on the menu, and we loved every bit of it, washing the whole thing down with a nice cup of tea! That afternoon we [View Full Entry]

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After seven highly memorable weeks in Indonesia, we thought that we should provide our readers with some of our insights of this country. So here you go! [View Full Entry]

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To finish off Indonesia, we flew to Java for several days touring. After a short ride from the airport, we were settled in an ideal, and fairly cheap guesthouse in the cultural city of Yogyakarta. On our first full day here, we opted to hit the sights. First, we visited the Royal Palace, which is the home of the Sultan of Yogyakarta. We took a short tour, which came free with admission. The 'fascinating' experience ended with a very dreary performance by the resident Gamelan orchestra (traditional Javanese music). Next stop was the Water Castle. This was not as fun as [View Full Entry]

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