After leaving the Australian Zoo, my next stop was to make my way down the Gold Coast and do some surfing. I've wanted to try surfing for a long time, and although I wasn't expecting to carve any waves on my first go, I did want to see how I could get on. My first stop along the Gold Coast was a town adequately named "Surfer's Paradise" or Surfers as everyone refers to it. Surfers had nice long sandy beaches and a decent nightlife. There seems to be a never ending queue of skyscraper condos waiting to be built here. Although [View Full Entry]

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So the plan was to pick up my camper van and just start driving south down the East Coast of Australia. I used my trusty Lonely Planet guide to tell me if there was anything that might interest me in the next few days of driving before I'd head out that day. I knew that Australia was big, roughly the size of the US or Europe, but the driving has seemed to take longer than I had anticipated. Partially because my camper van has the aerodynamics of a brick wall, and partially because I have been advised not to drive at [View Full Entry]

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My journey to Cairns took a few days. My flight out of Christchurch was delayed a few hours because some mental lady had stabbed a pilot. It was just a small 12 seater plane, but it had knock-on effects for the rest of the flights. I didn't really mind though. My American Airlines Platinum status got me into the lounge, so I enjoyed a few more hours of free food and Internet. Most backpackers dread going to the airport, but I like to go early now:) I had a night in Aukland before heading to Sydney the next day. Aukland airport [View Full Entry]

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Here is the recap of the South Island in New Zealand. It was pretty fun-filled with lots of adventure. I changed bus drivers when I left Wellington and crossed the Cook Straight to arrive on the south island. My new driver was called Catwalk, and he kind of looked like Tommy Lee, but without the tattoos. The first stop on the trip was Nelson. I stayed here an extra night so that I could go to the Abel Tasman National Park. New Zealand has 14 national parks, making up over 10 percent of the land area of the country. The Abel [View Full Entry]

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Did you ever wonder what ever happened to the El Camino? The El Camino was Chevrolet's love child between a car and a pickup truck. It had 2 seats in the front and a pick-up bed in the back. It tried to be the best of both worlds and ended up just looking silly. I remember seeing these driving around Illinois in the 80's and then they slowly just kinda faded away. Well, I can report that the El Camino is alive and well and careening down the roads in New Zealand. It may be by another name, but Kiwis can't [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday I went on an amazing adventure by going underground and exploring some caves in Waitomo. I did it with the Black Water Rafting Company, and they were a really good crew. Check them out: http://www.waitomo.com/ One of our guides, Dan, kinda looked like AC Slater from "Saved by the Bell", only with a Kiwi accent. It was a 5 hour caving experience. We got kitted out with wetsuits and rope harnesses before we made our way out to the cave. We received some brief training on how our repelling gear (absailing gear for you Brits) works, and then [View Full Entry]

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After a day in Aukland, I was ready to get out of town and see some scenery. I headed north to Whangarei to do some pre-arranged scuba diving at the poor knights islands. Whangarei is a small town with it's own bay full of sailboats. My hostel turned out to be a 30 minute hike from the bus station, with the last part of it being uphill. This was the first test of my backpack, and it passed with flying colors. It just so happened that the hostel I was staying in was also where my dive master was living. Originally [View Full Entry]

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The adventure has begun! I arrived into Aukland early Tuesday morning, fresh off my business class flight on Quantas. The seats were amazing; much better than American Airlines. It was my first time on a 747, and I was seated upstairs, three rows from the cockpit! The seat reclined into a bed, and I think it was the first time I've ever got a proper sleep on a flight. I didn't want to leave:) My sleeping accomodation was about to be downgraded as I headed straight to my first hostel. I met a Canadian on the bus who was headed to [View Full Entry]

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The round-the-world ticket is booked! I've got the general outline of my trip planned. Now I just need to fill in the details along the way. Below is my timeline of locations. I would love to have visitors along the way;) Itinerary --------------- 15/01/2008 - 09/02/2008 : New Zealand 09/02/2008 - 31/03/2008 : Australia 31/03/2008 - 29/04/2008 : Japan 29/04/2008 - 12/06/2008 : China / Hong Kong 12/06/2008 - 05/07/2008 : Indonesia 05/07/2008 - 25/07/2008 : Philippines 25/07/2008 - 24/10/2008 : Malaysia, Thail [View Full Entry]

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