CHILE T - Buses, buses, buses – the best budget method by which to travel Chile, and our final overnight bus journey in South America comes to a halt at the northern border town of Arica. The last time I was here I had a great time, my travelling friends and I had met up with a local surfing champion (sponsored ‘n all) and his best mate, the captain of the local rugby team, and we’d have fires on the beach, BBQs of huge steaks, wine, nightclubs and drive about town in their pick-up truck. My memories are a little jumbled and so it’s with some sadness that the Arica I now visit is looking a little worse for wear. Thirteen years haven’t treated this town well and buildings still listed in the guidebooks as must ... read more

CHILE K – After a surprisingly enjoyable 12 hour flight across the pacific we arrived in Santiago – Chile looked dry, barren and sunny but you could see the gigantic snow-capped Andes in the distance which was pretty cool. We made our way into town and the tiredness kicked in. Due to time zones we were living the 27th Feb twice as well as gaining 7 hours (T – You only live twice Mr Bond…or however many times you cross the International Date Line from west to east.) Having not carried our bags (which were now even heavier due to our warm NZ gear) for a month we were finding it tough going but somehow we made it to Barrio Brasil and the lovely Blend hostel – our home for the next four days. The owner ... read more

South Island K- And so we arrive on the South Island! Actually we have been here for well over week now but we haven’t stopped for more than 5 minutes to write an account of our adventures. After a 30 minute drive we arrive in our first destination – the small village of Renwick, just outside Blenheim and right slap bang in the middle of the Marlborough wine region. We hire bikes and armed with a map of free tastings, hit the wineries! There is a huge wine festival in town so thankfully most of the places are really quiet – we don’t feel remotely guilty about filling our boots for free! We buy a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc from one place and decided NZ does great white wine (especially Riesling) but fairly rubbish red ... read more

FIJI K – On our last night in Sydney we bump into one of my aunt’s neighbours who tells us ‘Oh, I heard there was a coup in Fiji, but I guess if there’s a coup they’ll probably look after the tourists’. Slightly fazed by this, Tom decided to check the FO website who helpfully informs us that the neighbour was confused with Papua New Guinea, but whilst there is no risk of such a coup, Fiji is experiencing its worst floods for the past couple of years and that the Fijian government was about to issue a state of national disaster! Well our week was bought and paid for long ago so we boarded our Nadi bound Air Pacific flight for 4 hours of non-stop turbulence. I decided the only way to cope with this ... read more

T – It’s green out there – really green. That’s the view from the Greyhound bus as you head north from Sydney. Large, lush valleys and thousands of trees surrounded by distant mountains and hills. I didn’t think too much about what I might find in Australia, but for some reason I didn’t expect that! Too many adverts on tv depicting familiar arid outback landscapes – but not here on the east coast!! Also, I’ve have fallen into the habit of adding exclamation marks everywhere (!) because that’s how all backpacker/tour deals are advertised and it really rubs off!! … ! We were on our way to Port Macquarie, a smallish town with a great coastline dotted with beaches and great for cycling, surfing and swimming. Getting off the Greyhound - RIP Kiran’s #2 prescription glasses ... read more