ok friends, it has been too long so we're telling you about Fiji now since it isn't too out-of-date. We've been in Oz previously but since a/Queensland didn't blow us away, except Brisbane with Cheryl and Troy and b/ we've been robbed and all our valuables including memory card with Queensland photos, are gone, we'll cover that at a later date. Early start on 5 Feb to return our hire car at Sydney airport - still baffled by Aussie signage after a month, we end up in bus lane being beeped at and getting generally lost, but still manage to check [View Full Entry]

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L writes: Well, actually, this is rather misleading since there was only one cold night probably in Melbourne so far this year, what with the 45C heatwave this year and all, and it was on NYE! More to come on this. As you guys will know by now, since one of our memory cards was stolen from our hotel room in Sydney end of Feb, all photos are courtesy of Nicky (thank you Nicky!) and the blurb is from memory. More feelings than facts therefore.. Well, clearly we had such a great and leisurely time in Melbourne that we found it [View Full Entry]

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It is with a heavy heart that we leave New Zealand: we loved the place so much! Our arrival to Sydney airport starts with a little surprise: it does not appear to have an airport shuttle service! No board, person or information point to tell us how to go into town! We just couldn't believe that there was no efficient easy way to go from the airport to the town center, but no, this basic service is not there. So we are left boarding a long-winded suburb bus which eventually drops us about 75 min later to Bondi Junction, the large [View Full Entry]

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M writes: Ready for more New Zealand love-in from the South Island this time? We arrived in Picton after a windy and hot crossing from Wellington, through the stunning inslets, bays and basins of the Malborough Sounds, and drove straight to Blenheim: wine country. Although the campsite we decided to stop at for general sorting-out was next to the busy overpass, we had a site next to the Wairau river, surrounded by the usual ducks and birds. Next day involved 2 post-breakfast winery visits (Cloudy Bay and the boutique Huia), through fields of kiwis and cherries (yum!) and orchards, and a [View Full Entry]

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Our first day, on arrival in Auckland at 4am on 22nd November (no, no 21st for us - odd!) summed up the rest of our stay in NZ. What incredibly friendly and laid-back people! We were staying a few nights with a friend's (Murray's) sister and her family, south of the City in Drury. Don, Lynn's husband got out of bed to collect us, 2 strangers, didn't moan once, and then the family took us out on their boat in beautiful Auckland harbour for the day! After South America, just driving down the highway to the house, it was clear that [View Full Entry]

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M writes: After the most horrendous 12hr bus journey from Potosi (Bolivia) we were mightily looking forward to arriving in what we had been told what a relatively comfortable part of South America: Argentina. But "fresh" off the bus, first we had to deal with customs and immigration in Villazon (Bol), involving joining a queue of literally hundreds of traders who constantly cross the border to sell their wares. Fortunately we were soon spotted by an immigration official who came and took our passports somewhere and disappeared, which is when we realised everything the books/websites tell you - [View Full Entry]

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M writes: Reluctant to leave Bolivia we decide to see a little more of the country for a week or so, and head south towards Argentina. Having experienced tranquil Lake Titcaca, the jungle and the relative affluence of La Paz, we weren't really prepared for the difference in standards of living and poverty we witnessed off the beaten track. First of all we headed down to Cochabamba - 8 hours on a shit bus with no loo, loud rubbish music and a poor, winding road through the Andes. Surprised when the driver stopped to pick up an Indian family - perhaps [View Full Entry]

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M writes: Enjoyed our last moments at our La Paz 5* in the morning, as our flight to Rurrenebaque, in the Bolivian jungle, has been changed to late PM. After chatting with an annoying europhile Argentinian in a cafe on the Prado, who insisted we could not be French & English and be together and that he knew better than we did where we lived in London, off to the little La Paz domestic airport. The propeller-plane is tiny! 18 people - we get the 2 seats at the front with view on pilots and cockpit; for someone who doesn't enjoy [View Full Entry]

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After a fantastic if short stay in Copacabana, we booked our bus ticket to La Paz and from the village centre were asked by the bus company to get onto a "Collectivo" bus taking us to the actual Bus. Obviously, althought we booked with a known reputable company, we ended up having to board the bus of a totally different company to the outrage of a family of french fellow travellers swearing that "this country is shit and it is a trick to take profit of us tourists"! We found out after the event that there is only this company going [View Full Entry]

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M writes: After a sleepless night (both sick), rose at 6 for the "tourist bus" to Puno on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca - 10 hours. The description did not disappoint - 5 stops en route at tradicional Aymara villages, ancient ruins and museums, with an irritating guide let loose with a microphone at the front of the bus! Had to keep sitting down to avoid keeling over in the heat each time we had to get off the bus, but at least the benefit of many loo stops! Scenery beautiful - lush then desert, passing through a bizarre town [View Full Entry]

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