Page 2 of Kathleen a reener Travel Blog Posts


Oceania » Australia » Victoria » Melbourne » St Kilda December 21st 2008

We flew into Melbourne very early on Monday December 15...And we probably should not have given NZ such a fond farewell...Luckily, once again...We both were able to snatch a full row and take a proper sleep before arriving in Australia...Our friend Mark picked us up from the airport and took us to a wonderful welcome breakfast...From there we got our stuff settled and headed on a walk to South Yarra to see friendys!!! Noreen, April, Shayna and Lauren are all working and living in the area so we visited them all at there respective works and then headed to a seafood restaurant for lunch...That night Elizabeth and I went to Mexican food with Scotty and returned back to their apt for some drinks...The next day Elizabeth and I went with Mark to the city for some ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch December 12th 2008

Franz Josef was absolutely amazing...and other than the gaping blisters on my heels...the hike was great...We got to the glacier guides office around 9:30 and got kitted out in all our gear...including pants (too hot to wear), jacket (too hot to wear), boots (very uncomfortable), hat (too hot to wear), gloves (once again, too hot wear) and my favorite part of the outfit CRAMPONS...Then they shuttled us over to the base of the glacier where we had to hike 2.5k to the ice...We were walking through rivers and up and over waterfalls...Once we got to the glacier we stapped on our CRAMPONS (I'm looking into buying a pair) and headed up the ice...Whilst we were hiking our guide would have to stop periodically and hack steps into the ice...We went through caves and this really narrow ... read more
Enlightened
Squeeze!
Wanaka

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Otago » Queenstown December 8th 2008

We went bungy jumping today!!! It was the 3rd highest jump in the world!!! 134m and I am speechless!!! It was a total adrenaline overload and think my brain went into sleep mode!!! Anyways the videos won't upload...but we will post some pictures soon!!!... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef December 4th 2008

New Zealand has really turned Elizabeth and I into quite the active little hikers...After spending a relaxing few days in Taupo we hopped back on the bus to head to River Valley...On the way we stopped at Tongariro National Park to go on a hike...It was through a forest to the base of a huge waterfall...Although the water was freezing we threw on our suits and trudged through the falls...I fell and we were both screaming cause it was sooo cold...The hike took us past 3 different volcanoes...One of which was used as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings...From there we headed into River Valley which is a lodge located in a basin right next to a river...From there we headed to the pub for happy hour and the owners of the lodge cooked up ... read more
Taranaki Falls
Jet Boating in Westport
Cape Foulwind

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Taupo » Hilltop November 26th 2008

When we got to New Zealand, Elizabeth and I had no idea of what to do...So we headed to the travel desk at our hostel and they did everything for us...literally...After the fact, we both kind of realized we were on a tour...It's called Kiwi Experience and it's a hop on/hop off bus company...You can make it as touristy as you like or travel on your own if you want...They help you choose where you want to go, what you want to do, and how long you want to stay in a location...We stayed in Auckland for a night and then took a bus the next day to a spot called the Bay of Islands...We went to a small town called Paihia and took a ferry over to Russel (it has the first licensed pub in ... read more
Cathedral Cove
Sheep Show
Baby Lamb

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires November 19th 2008

Elizabeth and I have to catch a flight at 2:30am on the 19th...So we are both scrambling to pack our bags before heading out...Surprise, Surprise but we were both confused on the date and almost completely missed our flight by 24 hours...Although we are both sad to leave South America we are excited to travel to a new place...(Secretly, I think we are both a little tired of the language barrier)...Yesterday, we went to this huge drum show...It´s a band of like 24 drummers that perform in an open air setting...Everyone is jumping around and dancing to the music...Some last pointers about Argentina...Counterfeit bills are common...In total Elizabeth and I received some where around 250 pesos worth of fake bills...Also, many places are the void of change, and banks only give out 100 pesos bills...So, some ... read more

South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires » Buenos Aires November 17th 2008

From Iguazu we took a 20 hour bus ride to Buenos Aires...Apparently, Argentina is the king of bus companies...We got three meals and they played English movies...which was AMAZING...So based on the advice of some English guys we met in Florianopolis...We booked tickets to a concert in Buenos Aires called Creamfields...Our friend Preston is living in Buenos Aires at the moment so we met up with his friend Rory and caught a cab to the event...It had 4 stages and tons of house music and lasted till 6am...We of course did not last until then but it was the craziest music festival we have been to...ever...The next day we went to a nearby open air market called San Telmo...There are tons of vendors selling antiques, jewelry, food and trinkets....There were also a ton of people dressed ... read more
Park in front of Presidential Palace

South America » Argentina » Misiones » Iguazú National Park November 8th 2008

Hey all...We are in Buenos Aires at the moment and having an awesome time!!! We arrived from Iguazu about a week ago...After an 18 hour bus ride from Florianopolis we got to the bus stop on the Brazil side of the falls...Iguazu is on the border of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay...It was pouring rain and we had to walk with all of our luggage to find the bus to the Argentine border...Once we arrived there, we went through the really inefficient border control...It´s quite obvious why people can smuggle things across...Then we dropped our stuff at the hostel and took the bus to the falls...Iguazu is one of natural wonders of the world...It put Niagra to shame...There is a gang plank across the rushing river to a huge drop off called the ¨Devil´s Throat¨...It was soo ... read more
Not a Racoon???

South America » Brazil » Santa Catarina » Florianópolis November 7th 2008

Hey everyone...So we just left Florianopolis and are in Iguazu Falls...For anyone who loves to surf...Floripa is the place for you...When we arrived it was really rainy but the next two days were beautiful and sunny...The hostel we stayed in was called Traveler's House and it was located a short walk from a beach with a great break and tons of surfers...We mostly just layed out and played cards...It was a really relaxing stop...Not to mention we had to work on our tans of course...The food in Brazil has been great too!!! A lot of meat filled pastries...But we are definitely not complaining...There was this great bakery down the street...And we went there everyday to get lunch and some other treats...Elizabeth wants her wedding cake imported from there...So we made sure to the address before leaving...Our ... read more
View from our Hostel

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro » Copacabana November 3rd 2008

We only planned on staying in Rio for 3 nights and ended up staying for 7...When we went to the reception to extend our stay that offered us a free night because we had been there for so long...Once again we traveled for like 20 hours and got into the city pretty late and decided to get to bed...The next day we got up and headed for the famour Copacabana beach...Immediate observations...We are really spoiled because they are a lot like beached in California and there are a ton of thong bikinis...really no shame at all...you could be overweight and 65 or 14 and all were wearing this skimpy little numbers...The wind picked up a little so Elizabeth and I decided to walk to Ipanema...The walked ended up being like 5 miles so we took a ... read more
Favela
Copacabana




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