Page 5 of SineadandPhilippeRTW Travel Blog Posts


Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Milford Sound October 17th 2009

We overheard someone say that the massive amount of sand flies present in Milford Sound is God's way of ensuring that the place is not destroyed by over development. It was an excellent idea because you simply couldn't live there for any length of time without the flies driving you crazy. The population of the village in winter is 30 people and only jumps to 100 in the summer months, mostly made up of crewmen for the various cruises and flights on offer. We left Queenstown early the day after our activity packed day out and made good time to Te Anau, where we stopped to have lunch by the lakeside. In Te Anau we were warned to bring good insect repellent with us to Milford Sound and to put it on before we got there. ... read more
Don't stop here...
Milford Sound
The light at the end of the Homer Tunnel

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown October 15th 2009

A lovely DOC camp site at the northern edge of Lake Wanaka was our home for one night. After an afternoon in the sun Philippe turned cub scout on me and made a camp fire out of twigs and a cornflakes box. We cooked a simple meal on our little gas burner and baked potatoes in the heat of the camp fire. Occasionally Philippe would disappear to collect driftwood from the beach to keep it burning. As the stunning evening views of the lake disappeared into the night sky we were able to pick out the stars we had seen in Chile. It was a truer form of camping than we have so far done on this trip and we just settled in to enjoy the peaceful surroundings. Sadly we were not the only residents of ... read more
Philippe at Puzzleworld
Queenstown
Sinead with the pod in the background

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Wanaka October 11th 2009

Getting up in the early morning is never nice. Getting changed in a van with a cold wind blowing through it is even worse! At 6am we rolled out of bed, grabbed our clothes and began driving towards the ferry. In true Counet style we were quite early for the ferry, so having checked in we made our breakfast in the back of the van. I have a new appreciation for the common snail - it is really useful to have your house with you everywhere you go! When we got on the ferry we found a quiet corner and I promptly fell asleep while Philippe wandered the ship. When I awoke about forty minutes later the first thing that hit me was the strong whiff of vomit. Two seats over a small child had just ... read more
Beautiful surroundings near Picton
Abel Tasman Park coastline
Sinead in Abel Tasman Park

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island October 5th 2009

We left Auckland in Bitsy armed with a list of the places we would like to visit (thanks to Elisha) but with no clear schedule of where we would stay. We had booked the ferry for early on the morning of the 6th, but that was our only deadline. We headed south. Our first scheduled stop was at the Waitomo Caves however en route we passed by the Kiwi House in Otorohanga. We shrugged at each other and said why not? We are not bird lovers, but the Kiwi bird only comes out at night, so we were unlikely to see it under any other circumstances. And we were curious to see the bird that all New Zealand Nationals are named after. We swung Bitsy into the carpark, paid out 16 dollars each, and did the ... read more
Philippe birdwatching...
Waitomo Caves
Thermal streams in Rotorua

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland September 29th 2009

Never underestimate the value of seeing a familiar face. We certainly won't after this trip! South America was an amazing experience, but we were definitely ready for a change and for a few weeks of speaking the same language as the locals. After getting nice New Zealand stamps in our passports, the first 'local' that we had the pleasure of conversing with was a pleasant lady on the customs desk. As we declared to be in possession of some hiking boots, she checked our soles and then as us if we had a tint. This did little to sooth my paranoia about the botched hair job I received in Santiago. But after a dumb-struck glance at each other and a nice little teepee signal from the lady, we realized that she wasn't actually being incredibly insensitive ... read more
Elisha and Paul
Auckland
This is how far away from home we are...

South America September 24th 2009

Our South American tour took three and a half months. We visited 7 countries, took 24 buses, 7 internal flights and stayed in 35 places of accommodation. The low-lights for us were: -Realising the true nature of our accommodation in Vitoria, Brazil -Being ill on the Machu Picchu trek -Nearly being pick pocketed in Salvador, Brazil -Various bouts of deli-belly -Missing family & friends and events back home -Living in Fleece clothing! But the highlights made it all worthwhile: -Surviving Machu Picchu, Peru -Standing above the Iguazu Falls, Argentina -Watching alligators in the Jungle in Puerto Maldonado, Peru -Whale-watching in Puerto Madryn, Argentina -Walking on the Perito Moreno Glaciar, Argentina -Catching up with old friends (Flavia in Sao Paolo and Alex in Buenos Aires) -Chilling out in Sucre, Bolivia -Experiencing the Maracana stadium in Rio ... read more

South America » Chile » Santiago Region » Santiago September 23rd 2009

Having recharged our batteries in Bahia Inglesa we set about discovering Santiago de Chile in 48 hours. We took our last overnight bus for at least a month. We could only buy semi-cama seats, so fittingly enough, it was quite an uncomfortable journey, thus increasing the appeal of our impending camper-van travels. When we arrived in Santiago at around 8.30am, we were stiff and lost. A kind lady pointed us in the direction of the metro station and we donkeyed our bags over. Having bought our tickets we were stopped in our tracks when we saw the hoards of people that were queuing four deep the length of the train track. It dawned on us that it was rush hour and all of these people were trying to get to work for nine o clock. We ... read more
Playing chess on Plaza de Armas
Statue of Mary on San Cristobal
View of Santiago from San Cristobal

South America » Chile » Atacama » Caldera September 21st 2009

We took a bus from La Serena to Caldera and upon arrival in the little town, we decided that its sister city a few kilometres down the coast had more to offer. We hopped in a colectivo (shared taxi) and a few minutes later we were dropped on the beach walk of Bahia Inglesa. Our wish-list was finally fulfilled when we reached this summer tourist hot spot. The sun was finally shining and there was a lovely little beach with turquoise water. After our encounter with partying Chileans in Valparaiso, we decided that we wanted to be as far away from shared dormitories as possible for the upcoming Independence Day. After a quick walk around the small town, we spotted a sign for Cabanas and inquired within. The owner of the mini-mart showed us around the ... read more
Desert around Bahia Inglesa
Reading on the beach
Blue skies...

South America » Chile » Coquimbo Region » La Serena September 15th 2009

The further north we get the more arid and deserty it becomes. It's such a contrast from the lush Lake District down south. La Serena isn't far from the beach, but the weather still wasn't warm enough to get our shorts out. The first thing that happened in La Serena was that we got fleeced by the taxi driver. Gringo prices and all that, but I wasn't in the mood for arguing it. We'd had an early start and a long eight hour bus trip. It was only by a euro in the end, and in the grand scheme of things it was better to let it go. He brought us to a funky hostel called Aji Verde. We grabbed some dinner from the local deli counter and arranged the two tours that we wanted to ... read more
Star gazing at the Mamalluca Observatory
Another picture of a picture of a star being born
On the way to Isla de Damas

South America » Chile » Valparaíso Region » Valparaíso September 13th 2009

Valparaiso and Vina del Mar are supposedly the places where the Chileans go when they need to get out of the city. We decided to visit Valparaiso, or "Valpo", as apparently most people go to Vina del Mar. Valpo is a port city set out on an array of hills. It's most striking feature is the graffiti everywhere (well, that and the dog poop). It all goes together to create a laid back feel and you can see how the town got its bohemian reputation. We decided to take a taxi from the bus station to the hostel. After a bit of a mix up with the taxi driver he pulled to a halt after three minutes in front of the lift that brings you up into the Cerro Bellavista hill. The taxi man had understood ... read more
Street art 2
Valparaiso
Street dogs in Valparaiso




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