HVK

So here it is the final installment, the final few days of a trip of a lifetime! After arriving into la guardia airport and meeting a lovely New Yorkian on the plane who gave us an ideal itinery, we made our way to the hostel for one last time. The first few nights we were situated in the area of Chelsea, known for its Art galleries. On our first day despite the horrible weather we caught the bus down to lower Manhatten and Battery park. We had been told of an alternative trip out to see the statue of liberty, so unlike the hundreds of people who waited in a mile long queue in the rain, we nipped onto the FREE Staten island ferry, which ok doesn't stop at either the statue or Ellis island but ... read more

San Jose was our first stop on our 2 weeks tour of Costa Rica. Compared to its South American counterparts, San Jose is a lot smaller and has a feel of a large town rather than a capital city. We had also heard reports of it being quite dangerous but the time we spent there, we met some very friendly locals who made us feel really welcome. We stayed in a local Tico (Costa Ricans) couple´s hostel, which was basic but had all the necessities. We also met up with a friend of ours from back home, Sophie. It was lovely to see her again and know that we were starting her grand adventure with her! It is true though that there isn´t a whole lot to do in San Jose; we used it mainly as ... read more

Wow....talk about major culture shock! After our longest travel time to date (3 days including sitting in an airport for 12 hours!) and managing to battle against the smoke filled city of Buenos Aires we arrived in Miami ready for a dose of reality. I definitely got a dose of something but I am not sure I can honestly use the word reality....It took us 5 hours just to travel up to Fort Lauderdale where we were staying for the first night. It seems that Florida may not infact be used to backpackers, as remarks such as "are you hikers?" and "are you lost?" were thrown in our direction! Finally however we made it to the land of the rich, the famous and 90% of the time the beautiful! The beach and its surrounds were just ... read more

It took a while to settle, once I arrived in Santiago, as the flight from Auckand over gave me crazily awful jetlag! I didn´t know whether I needed to eat, sleep or cry for about 3 days! Nevertheless, I ploughed on with 2 days of sightseeing within the city centre. Santiago is a lot more cosmopolitan than I had imagined it to be. We were staying in the area of Provedencia, with its little streets of cafes and bars lined with trees. Although the city divides itself into various suburbs, the main ones around the centre feel relaxed, friendly and safe. We spent a whole day walking around the colonial buildings, visiting museums and searching for delicious menu del dias! Some of Santiago´s buildings are simply beautiful. The Plaza de Armas has an unsurprinsing real Spanish ... read more

So here comes country number ten! Arrived at Christchurch airport after probably best flight so far; Qantas seriously get 10 out of 10 for their food and ability to make decent goblet sized G & Ts! Now I am not going to blame either those at the quarantine station or indeed those who made the goblet size G & Ts; though what happened next might have something to do with one or both of these factors! Whilst my tent was being thoroughly inspected for obvious various diseases bought over from Australia (nevermind the clothes from south east Asia!) I swung my rucksack onto my shoulder and heard a strange crunch coming from the collar bone. Bugger.... So a little trip to A & E started our New Zealand adventure. Though I must say such trips are ... read more