Wanaka and France Joseph Glacier. As predicted Sunday was a white wash. All the plans made by Burto for kayaking, horse riding, sky jump etc all had to be cancelled. It rained almost non-stop all day. There was no point even driving up the hills to have a good view of Wanaka as the low clouds almost obliterated the view. He changed plans quickly and we went to see the "Puzzle World" an assortment of curious things starting with 3D images, faces of famous people with their eyes following you, a room which fools your sense of proportion another which mocks at your sense of balance and gravity etc. There was also a large maze where you have to negotiate your way to four coloured havens and finally find your way out of the maze. There ... read more

Christchurch and Lake Tokapi There was small delay in the connection at Sydney. There were only a couple of flights to Christchurch. I was booked on a 1930 flight with a flight time of three hours. With the time difference of two hours I landed in Christchurch at 0030hrs. With the fog at the airport it was a touch and go affair, the first landing had to be aborted. But then it seem to have lifted slightly and we landed safely only a few minutes late. At that hour the only option to get to the hostel was by airport transfer service. The coach took you to the hotel door. Greg (owner) had left the front door open with instructions on the desk how to get into the room. The room was spacious and only next ... read more

Lima the Peruvian Capital. I was sorry to leave Cuzco on St. Pat's Day. Even though I had 4 days in the city, I was away for 3 days on treks and tours. One day can not do justice to Cuzco. I could not even go to the Irish Pub for a pint of of the black stuff on St. Patrick's day as I had to be at the airport by 0900hrs. I also did not realise the airport was inside the city unlike in La Paz. The flight to Lima was pleasant and short. As we soared through the valley I could see the the tracks of the Inca trail hugging the slops of the mountains. Lima was far removed from Cusco and Arequipa. It was hot and humid. Even though it rains very little ... read more

Cusco and the Sacred Valley. I had often wondered why there was no major conflicts in the Andean countries between the Spanish descendents and the indigenous population in spite of the fact that the former had intellectual supermacy and occupied top echelons of society, the latter forming the lower rungs of society. My Cuzco tour guide gave me an insight into why this is so. She was very passionate about her Inca heritage hated what the Spanish for what they had done to her (may be stupid) forefathers and their heritage, but she could not deny her staunch Catholic beliefs the spread of which was the main reason given for the distructioin of their Inca Culture. Like the ideotic Muslim zealots of Bhoomiyan, distruction of ancient statues of Buddha in Afghanistan, and Timbuktu recently the Spanish ... read more

Rurre, as the locals call Rurrenabaque, is a small town of some 10,000people. The airport is in the town but the landing strip is 2km away. It appears to be an old settlement, on the banks of river Beni, one of the myriad of "small" tributeries of Amazon river. It is approx. 700m wide and fast flowing. The tour operator was waiting for me at the airport, but as the flight from La Paz was more than an hour late the tour had already left. He was very apologetic and was helpfull in rearranging my return flight and hotel accommodation so that I can still get my 2 days in the jungle trip.The hotel was on the outskerts of the town but was very scenic and environmentally friendly. It was a resort style hotel with all ... read more