Jon and Rach's Big Trip

An End Has a Start

2008-03-01T00:17:00.000-08:00

Tuesday February 26th- Wednesday February 27th

And so it came to be that we were in our last city of the trip with just a couple of nights to go. As we stepped off the train there was a definite feeling of anti-climax in that it felt like we should then be getting on the plane to go home rather than spending time in another city and I think that actually clouded our experience of Moscow. We only had the one full day there and made sure that we walked to Red Square to see St. Basil's Cathedral, such a strange building, and then walked around the outside of the Kremlin and along the river. To be honest though once we'd done this we'd had enough of the rudeness of Moskovites and the cost of the place as well. Moscow is unbelievably expensive and although you hear about all the nouveau riche thanks to the gas and oil you can't quite relate that to Russia, but then you arrive and it's in your face. There are all manner of expensive shopping malls and there are so many big, expensive cars it's silly. 50% of the cars are Ladas and the other 50% are huge BMWs, Mercedes, Porsche and Range Rovers.

I think that given the amount of effort we'd gone to get the visas and then get invited into Russia and then getting the visas registered we'd hoped to be a bit more enthused about being there but sadly we weren't. We can tick Moscow off cities visited but we certainly didn't feel like we'd seen the best of it in our couple of days there.

So when it came to getting to the airport for our flight back to the UK we were more than happy and spent the time in the airport stalking James May of Top Gear fame. I think Rach really wanted to give him her details so he could pass them on to Richard Hammond but I kept her at a safe distance!

Landing back in Heathrow certainly gave us mixed feelings. Glad to be home and have the chance to catch up with friends and family but sad not to be able to carry on seeing the world. The trouble, in a good way, with heading off for these sorts of trips is that it doesn't quell your desires to travel but increases them as you see other places and also speak to people about other places that you should go and see. Instead of your wish list getting shorter it gets much longer. We need to get some money first before we think about doing this again but it certainly isn't out of the question that we will be off on our travels again. A lot of people have said about it being a trip of a lifetime and some aspects of it may be a once in a lifetime opportunity but then we certainly want to be in New Zealand again at some point and Canada.

We took this trip as a chance to have a look at ourselves and try and work out what it was that we wanted from life and to some extents we have worked a few things out but in others we're no clearer now than 6 months ago, I think another holiday is needed for that! I hope that the blog has been a vaguely entertaining read and has helped to give an idea of what we've been up to. It's been fun writing it but that as they say is that. Next stop...work!

Big Trip...Done!

The Day We Caught the Train

2008-02-29T00:16:00.000-08:00

Wednesday February 20th - Monday February 25th

The planning for this stage of the trip has taken months and finally we find ourselves wandering around Beijing Central Station looking for Train 3 to take us to Moscow. A few blank looks and hand signals later and we're being shown along carriage 10 to our room for the next 5 nights. We decided to go posh and have a deluxe soft class cabin, i.e. it sleeps 2 and has a shared sink/shower room. As it turns out it's pretty much the only option if you want to a) have some room (some of the 4-berth cabins had 5 or 6 people in them!) and b) not be in a cabin shrouded in cigarette smoke the whole trip.

Our journey takes us 7865km through Northern China, into and out of Mongolia, through the Siberian plains and into Moscow. As the train passes through each of these countries the restaurant car changes so you get Mongolian in Mongolia, Chinese in China, etc. Sounds good but for the majority of the journey we're in Russia and they're not renowned for their culinary work. We did try it but after paying an extortionate amount for a boiled egg and slice of bread avoided it thereafter. To get around this the advice is to come stocked up with food that needs only hot water as every carriage has a samovar, a small coal-fired urn giving you boiling water when you want it. This meant that we came loaded up with pot noodles of varying flavours. As it turned out they all tasted the same and were nuclear hot. We managed to supplement this with bread from some of the stations and of course chocolate and beer!

As well as a new restaurant car as you cross borders you also have the delights of customs and passport control boarding the train. Travelling west meant these took place at 11 at night or later and you had the joy of a friendly Russian (an oxymoron if ever there was) rummaging through our things or looking in the roof of our cabin. Quite what he expected to find is anyone's guess but my jar of Marmite survived.

So, enough on the logistics, what about the journey itself? It takes 6 days to travel between Beijing and Moscow and during that time you get the chance to see some stunning scenery. Once you leave the smog of urban and industrial Beijing behind you get into agricultural land that in season would be filled with fruit trees and corn. You also run close to the Great Wall at a couple of points and again can appreciate the scale of it as it snakes up and down hills. You soon start to climb from the lowlands of China up to the high plains of Mongolia which sits at around 1500m elevation.

As you pass through Mongolia you go across part of the Gobi Desert and we saw a few Bactrian camels (the two-humped variety). You also see a lot of yurts (or gers), the traditional Mongolian style homes. As you reach the northern parts of Mongolia you start to get into snowy landscapes that stay with us until Moscow.

Siberia is renowned as being a cold, god-forsaken place and as we rush by in the train you can see why. There's not a lot there and what there is looks pretty industrial with the odd exception of some interesting churches. The natural beauty though is stunning and in winter is very picturesque. Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake in the world, is particularly impressive stretching away to the horizon and occupying our view for several hours. Every so often there are groups of people fishing through the ice, although as the lake is pretty heavily polluted I'm not sure what the catch would be like.

The snow remains very thick and even as we cross back into Europe from Asia and the temperatures remain on the fresh side. The lowest we got was -12°C at one station and we didn't hang around to watch the thermometer drop any lower.

Before we know it we're pulling into the Yaroslavsky Station in Moscow, bang on time as well, saying cheerio to people we've met and heading off to our hostel for the final 2 nights of our trip. We've travelled nearly 8000km by train without a hitch, an amazing feat really when you consider the terrain it covers and the weather at this time of year. No frozen points or wrong kind of snow problems here. We've been treated to some stunning scenery and are glad that we decided to do this journey as part of our Big Trip.

Trans-Mongolian 24/7s

Wednesday: Sitting comfortably? Let the train journey begin.
Thursday: Through desert, past camels. Mongolia looks stunning.
Friday: Even under ice Lake Baikal's still impressive.
Saturday: We don't get snow. This is snow!
Sunday: Can't speak Russian? Pointing and smiling works.

Hazy Shade of Winter

2008-02-28T11:14:00.000-08:00

Sunday February 17th - Tuesday February 19th

We've left the warmth of the southern hemisphere well and truly behind now and have hit winter properly. Beijing is pretty nippy when we land in the afternoon although compared to a month ago it's positively tropical at just above freezing. Our hostel picks us up from the airport and we're checked in and out of the door headed for Tiananmen Square. Every night there is a ceremonial flag lowering when the sun sets (and vice versa every morning) and hundreds of people cram around the flagpole in the Square to watch. Most of them are Chinese and you're watched closely by the local boys in blue as the soldiers perform a pretty elaborate ceremony and carry the flag off through the Gate of Heavenly Peace. It's fascinating to watch.

The next morning is a very early start and a very cold one. The temperature's not interested in positive values as we head out to JinShanLing and the start point of our walk along the Great Wall. We're doing a much quieter 10km section that will take us to Simatai. The air may be cold but the sky is clear and for the first two hours you're escorted along by local guides who, after you show no interest in buying books, postcards, t-shirts, head back to the start. There has been some restoration on this section but for the most part it's in a fairly rustic state but still a very impressive structure. It's the scale of it that is the most awe-inspiring as you see it heading up and along ridges and away into the distance.

Our final day in Beijing was spent mainly in the Forbidden City. This is the area that contains numerous temples and palaces that various dynasties in the past have used as their quarters and contains literally millions of antiques and religious artifacts. It's a huge site and only by walking it do you get the chance to appreciate its scale. There is a huge amount of restoration taking place and the palaces that have already been done look stunning.

To round off our Beijing experience we visited the Silk Market on the hunt for some coats that would mean we could get off the train in Siberia without succumbing to hypothermia in 10 seconds. It's an exhausting experience with everyone trying to get you to buy things from their stall. Cries of "Oi lady, you want cushion covers" are commonplace. We manage to get a couple of coats at a vastly reduced price from the original offer but whether or not we haggled well or paid over the odds is unclear. Either way we're not going to freeze.

We've really enjoyed Beijing and it will be interesting to see what the Olympics does for it. I've no doubt the Games will be a huge success for China and they will put on a fantastic show, the government will see to that, but the one thing that could detract from the whole spectacle is the air quality. The smog, even in winter, is clearly visible and will only get worse as summer comes around. If they can sort that they'll be onto a winner.

We packed our bags and stocked up on food ready to board the Trans-Mongolian train that would take us from Beijing all the way to Moscow.

Beijing's 24/7s

Sunday: By thunder it's cold, get the thermals.

Monday: It's not called the Great Wall accidentally.

Tuesday: Oi lady, you want jacket? Best price!

Hot in the City

2008-02-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

Thursday February 14th - Saturday February 16th

The only previous experience we'd had of Singapore was a few hours in Changi Airport so we were looking forward to our 3 days in the city. Our flight from New Zealand arrived in the evening and after getting to our hostel we headed out on the forage for food. Singapore has a lot of hawker markets where you find hundreds of stalls selling all kinds of food and drink for next to nothing and it's good quality. Our hostel was a little out of the main tourist centre so we stood out a mile amongst the locals but didn't once feel unsafe and we helped ourselves to some very good food.

We hit the ground running the next morning. Our first port of call was Sentosa Island. This is where tourists and locals alike go for the beach (albeit manmade and facing the polluted waters of the Straits) and where the rich people (of which we were not included according to the frank tourist officer) have their apartments and boats, etc. We travelled to the island by cable car and you got a good sense of a) the development and land reclamation that is going on in Singapore and b) what a huge industrial port is in the city. We spent a short while looking around the island before the humidity 'forced' us to seek solace in a bar for a drink and some food.

Back on the mainland (or main island) we headed to two distinct areas of Singapore; Chinatown and Little India. Both areas are fascinating and relatively untouched by the huge flashy side of Singapore to the extent that you feel like you could be walking in either of those two countries. We looked around the many markets and temples of each area and enjoyed the sights and smells. The temples in particular were extremely ornate and elaborately decorated and yet fitted in perfectly.

Our final day begin with an early alarm call as we were off to school, cooking school that is. We'd booked ourselves onto a Thai cooking course for the morning and had a whale of a time. Our chef, McDonald, was fluent in Singlish (the Singaporean take on English) and was very funny, as well as extremely talented, as he described the interesting properties of some of the spices he was using and had Rach in tears of laughter at some points. We were shown a couple of dishes and then got to prepare 3 of our own which we then enjoyed for lunch with the others on the course. Really good fun and anyone who visits us now will be treated to some awesome garlic prawns!

There's one thing that is considered a must when visiting Singapore and that's a trip to Raffles Hotel. We duly obliged and were surprised at how good it actually looked and how large it was. We took it all in over a Singapore Sling cocktail in the Bar & Billiards Room, well you have to really don't you?

With that box well and truly ticked we then headed onto the Singapore River for a quick trip in a bumboat. The sun was just going down so we got the best of both worlds seeing the city at dusk and then all lit up for the evening. Back off the boat we headed a short distance and got ourselves a good viewing spot to watch some of the Chingay Parade that celebrates the Lunar New Year. This is a huge event and has numerous colourful floats, dancers, Chinese dragons, etc. For once we'd turned up in a city at the same time as a big event was taking place, not something we'd managed often while away.

We had a great time in Singapore, albeit a short one, and crammed in plenty of things and boarded the plane to Beijing to do it all again.

Singapore 24/7s

Friday: Away from tourists we really stand out

Saturday: Being tall in Asia comes in useful

Relax

2008-02-12T20:52:00.000-08:00

Friday February 8th - Thursday February 14th

And so the final week in New Zealand is upon us. Can't believe that we are now just two weeks from returning to the UK. We're already starting to make contact with respective works sorting things out for when we return but we're not going to wish away the final days. With this having been our final week in NZ we decided that we would do what we had said we would do 23 weeks ago and find a nice place and hole up there for a few days to take it easy. The weather is still great here, the farmers aren't enjoying it as most of NZ is starting to go into drought but for us it's lovely.

With new car key at the ready we headed off from the Coromandel and started to make our way north of Auckland. This was another part of the North Island that we'd not explored before and we'd hoped to be able to make it to the Bay of Islands and spend some time there. When we looked at it though we would be spending a lot of time driving and not a lot of time enjoying the location so we spent a night in a small place called Waipu Cove and ended up staying for 3 nights as it was a very nice place with private beach access. We were able to enjoy strolls up and down the deserted beach, plenty of swims and sunbathes and even caught a beautiful sunrise too (something that we'd not really been able to do before). Only for a short 10-minute spell did the weather turn on us going from hot sun to driving rain to hailstones to muggy rain to sun.

After our relaxing time in Waipu Cove we had to head back to Auckland. We've been staying with a former colleague of mine, Neville and his wife Yvonne. They've made us very welcome and have shown us around a lot of Auckland that we've not seen before. We've been out an area known as Iron Sands because the sand is black. This is very close to the Manakau Heads where the Tasman Sea enters the estuaries and harbours around Auckland. We've also been able to get to Waiheke Island, one of the many islands close to Auckland in the Hauraki Gulf. We spent a very pleasant day having lunch in a winery and a quick trip to the beach. We've rounded our time off in Auckland and NZ with a very nice meal in the Sky Tower in the revolving restaurant.

We fly to Singapore on the 14th and then it's 3 nights there before a flight to Beijing. They're in the middle of one of their coldest winters ever so we'll have a chilly 3 nights there before boarding the Trans-Mongolian train on the 20th to take us through China, Mongolia (where they're just had an overnight temperature of -46°c recorded) and into Russia arriving in Moscow on the 25th. We've got 2 nights there before we return to the UK on the 27th. The likelihood is that the final blog entries won't be added until we get back so we'll make sure there are some good photos to add when we do update.

The week's 24/7s:

Friday: Sun, sea and sand. Feels like holidays

Saturday: New Zealand is like two different countries

Sunday: Hot sun to hail in thirty seconds

Monday: All you can eat? With my reputation?

Tuesday: No more car keys to worry about

Wednesday: It's all about the eating...and drinking!

Thursday: 6431km, two islands, that's New Zealand...done!

The Riverflow

2008-02-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

Friday February 1st - Thursday February 7th

It's been a week of two halves really with the first part being pretty active and the second part being pretty relaxed. There's been drama and high emotion so brace yourselves for the next five minutes.

After our Tongariro Crossing adventure and Rach's parachute jump we continued the active theme by doing a 3-day canoe trip down the Whanganui River. This journey is part of a 5-day one you can do that is one of New Zealand's 9 Great Walks. You walk nowhere but 8 Great Walks and 1 Canoe Journey isn't as snappy a title. The 3-day trip takes you 88km downstream during which time you have to navigate your way through numerous rapids, most of which are only Grade I (slightly lumpy water) but on the final day you encounter a Grade II one (potential for capsizing in an open canoe).

Our first day of the journey was the longest at 38km and with a low flowrate in the river thanks to very low rainfall it was pretty hard going, "canoeing through treacle" was what Rachel likened it to. For the 2 nights we were camping and made the most of not having to carry our food by taking 'proper food' with us. For the first time as well we even treated ourselves to some wine as we had plenty of barrels to fill.

The second day was similar to the first with great scenery as you canoe down river gorges with the occasional wild goat for company. It was only 28km on this day but we did get out of the canoe and walk to the Bridge to Nowhere. As the name suggests this is a bridge that goes nowhere. Built in the 1930s it's a pretty comprehensive concrete structure that was supposed to provide access to new settlers and help them make money from the land. In the end they didn't fancy it and went elsewhere leaving this huge bridge in the middle of the forest. It does attract plenty of tourists now though and the majority arrive by jet boat which means that the poor old canoeists have to hang on when these things come shooting by. Luckily we were at the end of the main tourist season so we only saw a couple.

The third day is the shortest at a mere 22km but it does have this large (for an open canoe) Grade II rapid. We'd been told the best way to approach it and felt pretty confident until we came to it behind a family group of 5 canoes and a kayak. The kayak made it through easily enough but of the 5 canoes 3 capsized, one after the rapids as it had too much water onboard and was unstable. We didn't have much choice, we had to go through it. The rapid itself was OK, pretty lumpy and big waves but not too bad but we took on a huge amount of water and my slight frame in the back it meant we became very unstable. A couple of wobbles and we thought we were going for a swim but we made it to the pebbly beach and bailed out. Another couple behind us manged to sink their canoe, he was very pleased with himself, she wasn't and had a face like thunder, very funny. We made it to the end with no more dramas and looked back on a very enjoyable 3 days.

From the canoeing we dorve to the west coast and a little town called Raglan. Famed for its surf beaches Rach was keen to get to the sea and get on a body board. We spent 2 nights here in a tipi set back in the bush, a very tranquil spot and different from what we'd stayed in before. It also had some of the most vicious mosquitoes we'd come across too. The beaches were pretty good here but it was the surf that was most impressive. The waves were huge and after a brief play I ran away to watch from a safe distance as Rach continued to get thrown around. A good spot and nice to relax for a couple of days.

From Raglan we crossed the North Island and went to the Coromandel Peninsula. This coastline is very picturesque with plenty of coves, bays and sandy beaches. I'd hoped to get out to White Island, an active volcano, but the wind was too strong so the trip was cancelled. Something for the next time. We spent a night at a campsite in a place called Hahei. From here we went to Cathedral Cove, a beautiful beach and huge arch eroded by the sea. We spent slightly longer than planned in Hahei as there was a small misplacement of some car keys on the beach. 3 hours of searching by hand, foot and rake failed to turn them up and so a few phonecalls to the local garage, several hours and a wad of cash later we had a new key. I won't say who's fault it was that the keys were lost, only that Rach is now the designated responsible adult of the two of us.

We've now got a week left in New Zealand which we're probably going to use to relax and enjoy before we begin the busy trip home.

The week's 24/7s:

Friday: Night swimming finishes us off, nearly completely.

Saturday: It'll be a relaxing journey we said!

Sunday: One more wave and we'd be swimming

Monday: Mosquito nets don't put off determined mosquitoes

Tuesday: Wind doth blow and I can't go

Wednesday: Where are the keys? In the sand!

Thursday: Heads screwed on? Good, can't forget those.

Newborn

2008-01-30T22:45:00.000-08:00

Monday January 21st - Thursday January 31st

It's a bumper edition of the blog this week but only in terms of days covered rather than content. It's been a strange ten days or so with a lot of time spent driving around without actually achieving much. We've changed that in the last couple of days but I'll keep you hanging on for now!

We just want to pass on congratulations again to Rachel's brother Jonathan who has just become a dad for the first time with his partner Thais giving birth to a little baby boy in Rio de Janeiro. We may have to wait a little while to see them but all the best from the new auntie and uncle!

So, exactly how have we spent our time this week? The main aim of our time in Wellington was to arrange our Russian and Mongolian visas for the final leg of our journey. Getting the Russian visa would be our main issue we thought and as we arrived at the embassy with its steel gates and a security guard talking to you in Russian through the intercom we didn't have any reason to suspect otherwise. Entering the embassy we were in a pretty soulless space with a humourless lady looking after us. Still she was happy anough to take our cash and told us to return on Monday. We duly did this, saying please and thank you in as polite a British accent as we could muster, we'd even dressed smartly, and there waiting for us were our passports with visas inside, hurrah! The Mongolian ones in contrast were a piece of cake. We arrived at the consular general's house, let ourselves in the front gate and met him in his lounge. After a brief chat and a check of our application forms he called in his wife, who had to interrupt her cleaning schedule and between them they said they could do the visas in an hour, the cleaning could wait. Sure enough after we'd pottered off for a spot of lunch we returned to find the visas all done. We've now got all 3 visas and some tickets waiting for us in an office in Beijing so we will be on the Trans-Mongolian train in 4 weeks time.

In between the bureaucratic work of the week we headed up the east coast of the North Island and took in Napier, site of a huge earthquake in the 1930s and as a result has some fantastic art deco buildings. We also stopped at Gisborne, site of an earthquake measuring 6.6 about 6 weeks ago that we'd felt more than 300 miles away in Picton on the South Island. Following the success of our stay in the jailhouse in Christchurch we tried it again in Napier in a much more rustic jail. Not used since the early 90s and previously home to not only criminals but the criminally insane. Some of the cells are rumoured to be haunted but the only sounds at night we heard were 'crazy' German backpackers.

We did manage to do some walking as well in the largets National Park on the North Island, although we did have the unusual sensation of walking in the rain, it had to happen some time. This was a walk from Lake Waikaremoana to Lake Waikereiti, a 20km hike through dense forest. It was good to stretch the legs after a few days in Wellington.

Yesterday however we stretched our legs and all manner of other things besides when we did the Tongariro Crossing. This walk is regarded as the best one-day walk in New Zealand and for good reason. We started it bright and breezy at 7.30 with around 20km ahead of us and a climb of around 750m. To make the walk more interesting we were also going to go for the ascent of Mount Ngauruhoe, another 650m up in a distance of 1000m. Yep it would be steep. To add to the challenge it all had to be done in 8 hours to ensure there was a seat on a bus to take you back to the hostel. By 9.00 we'd already yomped along at a good pace and with the sun rising but hidden behind said mountain had made good progress. This left us in a buouyant mood as we tackled Ngauruhoe. The guide times for this part of the climb are 90 minutes up and 30 minutes down. On the way up you are literally scrambling your way up on rocks, scree and anything else you can get your hands on. It's a very difficult climb but once at the top the views are fantastic and you can see for tens of miles. We'd been blessed with another good day so took our time to appreciate the views. Downhill is a completely different affair as you do a kind of downhill scree slide/bump/fall/ungainly descent (in my case!). It's great fun and takes away the memory of the climb nicely, although the bruises and cuts I sustained may take a little longer to go. Strangely Rach was much more controlled and made it down in one piece.

The remainder of the crossing had to be taken at something of a pace as we'd taken 2.5 hours to do the Ngauruhoe climb but we still had time to appreciate the scenery we were passing. The views of Red Crater, Emerald Lakes and Blue Lake are fantastic and you have to remind yourself that you're walking across volcanoes. In the case of Tongariro it's not had any activity for 2000 years, but in Ngauruhoe's case it's around 30. You see plenty of steaming vents and smell the sulphur. It's a fantastic walk and even the huge numbers of people you have to navigate through don't deter too much from it.

Following on from that high Rach decided to take things even higher today when she took it upon herself to jump out of an aeroplane at 12,000 feet. Sadly I couldn't join her as they have strict weight guidelines and I was 5kg too heavy (and a big girl's blouse but the weight rule sounds better!). A few delays in the take-off times kept her nerves jangling nicely but when her time came she got into her fetching jumpsuit (apparently a fragrant smell of sweaty man) and boarded what can only be described as a packed aircraft. 15 minutes later she was jumping headfirst towards Lake Taupo strapped to a chap called Mikey and 45 seconds later she had a parachute above her head. I was watching from below and it looked good from where I was standing (on terra firma) and when she made a perfect landing she was full of smiles and still wobbly legs. Nice one Mrs Cawte!

We're heading off on a 3-day canoeing trip tomorrow before heading on north. Just 14 more days in New Zealand left now so making the most of that.

The 24/7s:

Monday 21st: Overcast conditions but still possible to burn

Tuesday: Enter! You want Russian visa? Many dollars

Wednesday: Despite peak season always room for tents

Thursday: Maybe Marmite does stop sandflies biting you

Friday: New Zealand lamb? Rude not to really.

Saturday: Goodbye flip-flops, you served me well

Sunday: Will Russians let two honest Brits in?

Monday 28th: We shall travel on the Trans-Mongolian

Tuesday: It's now Auntie Rachel and Uncle Jon

Wednesday: The Tongariro Crossing with added volcanicity...done!

Thursday: Did she fall or was she pushed?

No Rain

2008-01-19T16:29:00.000-08:00

Monday January 14th - Sunday January 20th

If we'd been told before we arrived in New Zealand that in the five weeks we'd spend on the South Island there would be maybe 3 or 4 days where it rained we'd have laughed. Our two previous trips had taught us that it always rains here and in the south-west it's guaranteed. As it is we still can't believe how lucky we've been with the weather.

This last week has been a prime example. The majority of it has been spent walking the Abel Tasman Coast Track. It was due to rain on the first day and it did...for about 10 minutes while we were on the bus to the start. On the last night a weather front came over and threatened a huge storm...which didn't arrive and the next day was glorious sunshine again. We know this luck can't hold and even if the remainder of our time in New Zealand is wet we really can't complain.

So, the nitty gritty of the week then. We started it where we finished the last one, in Nelson at The Bug backpackers. If ever you're in Nelson stay at this place as it's really well run, has great facilities and is exactly what a backpackers should be. On Tuesday we started the Coast Track in Abel Tasman National Park, another of New Zealand's Great Walks. This one is a relatively easy walk at 51km in length and we intended to spend 4 days ambling it and relaxing on beaches, etc. Although it is a coastal walk it does cut inland at various points and there are a few short uphill sections to negotiate through manuka tree forests. There are also a couple of estuaries to cross that require some thought so as to get to them at low tide otherwise you have to wait for hours for the water to drop. Given our previous jobs it would have been a tad embarrassing to get tide times wrong and we successfully crossed both, although at the larger of the two at Awaroa we managed to find the deepest point to cross rather than the nice shallow part. Common sense still not a strong point for some!

The relative easiness of the walk lulled us into a false sense of security and we decided to carry some more interesting food with us so that we could have better meals in the evenings. So we took with us fresh fruit and veg and pasta sauces rather than relying on the rehydrated meals of recent walks. When we slung our rucksacks onto our backs at the start of the walk in Marahau we were seriously questioning this idea. We reckon the packs were each weighing in at roughly 20kg and nice though the food was each night I think Rach is not keen on doing it again and is probably about 3 inches shorter than when she started the walk.

All 3 of the campsites we stayed on were at the back of beaches so we could have a refreshing dip at the end of the day and then get a sunrise view first thing in the morning. We also had prime spots for sandfly invasions and both came away looking like pin cushions despite coating ourselves in DEET each night. I think the New Zealand sandflies have a thirst for the stuff myself as they seemed to thrive on it.

The Park is very popular for kayakers, sometimes groups of 10 would descend on a nice quiet beach, and we were insanely jealous of them as they bowled into the campsites each night bringing with them all manner of food and drink that they didn't need to carry on their backs. At one site though we were in the right place at the right time to receive some cheesecake from a group that couldn't finish all their food. Always said how great kayakers are!

We certainly enjoyed the walk and it was different again from the other three we've done on the South Island although it was by far the busiest one too with daytrippers galore. We've made the most of the good weather we've had and have walked over 240km in our five weeks and hopefully we can add to that on the North Island, which is where we are now. We're going to be here in Wellington for a couple of days as we try and persuade the Russian authorities that we're not going to be any trouble for them and see if they give us a visa. A few smiles and some cold, hard cash will probably do the trick!

The week's 24/7s

Monday: Rucksacks get heavier each walk we do

Tuesday: Surely our rucksacks shouldn't be this heavy

Wednesday: Fall asleep to sound of breaking waves

Thursday: After two good meals it's rehydrated again

Friday: More than fifty sandfly bites between us

Saturday: Five great weeks down south, heading north

Sunday: Lazy start, even lazier day, it's Sunday

White Wedding

2008-01-13T12:01:00.000-08:00

Tuesday January 8th - Sunday January 13th

A pretty relaxing week for us for a change. A chance to just do some touristy type things and also attend a wedding. By the end of it we're both feeling a lot better after recovering from our walks and colds. Rach did get my man flu, she preferred to think of it as lady's ailment, but it left her feeling a bit worse for wear for most of the week.

From Tuatapere in the south-west we decided to drive all the way around the coast back to Christchurch as we'd not seen any of this part of New Zealand on our previous trips. The weather has been spectacularly good all week. We understand that it's a little wet and cold back home so won't overdo the descriptions of blue skies, warm sun, blue seas, golden sand beaches etc.

There are a lot of interesting sights around the south coast. You can walk to the southerly most point of the South Island, Slope Point. A wind-battered, god-forsaken bit of coastline where the trees all grow at 45°. From there you can go to somewhere where the trees are horizontal. The petrified forest, not a really frightened patch of trees, but a prehistoric forest that has now become rock and is visible in the shoreline. Very strange looking at trees but touching them and feeling rock.

We passed through a lot of one-horse towns as there aren't many people living in this neck of the woods. The only major towns are Invercargill and Dunedin and with the latter being Student Central it was pretty quiet too at this time of year. It's meant finding places to stay has been pretty easy as well despite the summer holiday season. We'll find it busier in the North Island in a week or so I'm sure.

We've seen some interesting wildlife this week as well seeing yellow-eyed penguins and also Royal Albatrosses. The albatrosses are huge birds with a 3m wingspan and seeing them flying around the headland where we were was an impressive sight. They were also in the process of nesting as well which was interesting to learn about.

Rounding off our drive up the coast we had a look at the Moeraki Boulders, the near-spherical lumps of rock that have been eroded from the cliffs at the back of the beach where they lie. Inside they have a kind of honeycomb structure which can be seen where some appear to have hatched open.

And so, after a 4-week tour of the South Island, we ended up back in Christchurch for the last time on this trip. Will it be the last time ever or could we back before too long? Our reason for being back this time was to attend the wedding of our friends Dave and Tara. I went to university with Dave and it was great to be able to be here for their big day. And it was another lovely day too, with the venue just outside the city and the ceremony taking place under a huge willow tree, offering grateful shade from the 30°+ heat outside. The rest of the day took place in a Mediterranean style setting with a large courtyard and then big open room. The bride and groom looked fantastic, the bride more so obviously, and the day was a great occasion. It was also a final chance to dress up smartly on this trip. Back to the shorts and t-shirts for us now.

We're now in Nelson getting ourselves ready for another walk. This time it's the Abel Tasman Coast Track which we're going to do over 4 days this week and should be a lot easier than our last one and have plenty of opportunities for relaxing on the beach, so long as there's not too many sandflies to eat us.

The week's 24/7s:

Tuesday: As man flu goes, lady's ailment begins

Wednesday: Atishoo, atishoo we've all got colds now

Thursday: Police cars everywhere, kept well below speedlimit

Friday: A mistimed sneeze and it's downhill driving

Saturday: A nice day for a white wedding

Sunday: Hot and stuffy but bus is cheap

Lucky You

2008-01-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

Monday December 24th 2007 - Monday January 7th 2008

Around the festive period all credible publications put out double editions so as to give their staff some time off. Not wishing to miss out on this the blog has gone down this route so here is your bumper festive edition of Jon and Rach's Big Trip.

Christmas itself was spent at Straw Lodge in the wineries region, the place we'd stayed on honeymoon 2 years ago. Once again it was fantastic and we ate and drank very well indeed. Christmas away from home is strange but it's such a lovely place that you can't help but enjoy yourself.

Sadly we had to move on from the luxury of Straw Lodge and Boxing Day saw us spend a night in the cells. Not due to a heavy right foot on New Zealand roads (wouldn't be the first time of course!) but a hostel in Christchurch that occupies what was a bona fide prison until just 8 years ago. Really interesting place and the quietest hostel rooms you'll ever find!

Over the next couple of days we stayed at Lake Tekapo and Lake Wanaka. En route from Tekapo we got great views of Mount Cook (see photo below). As the weather was pretty good we took the opportunity to do a couple of warm-up walks ahead of starting the Milford Track and climbed Mounts John and Iron. Actually only I climbed Mount Iron as Rach was busy throwing herself down a river in the name of whitewater sledging.

And so we came to the day before New Year's Eve and the start of the Milford Track that we'd booked 5 months ago. In the Fiordland area of New Zealand they don't measure rainfall in millimetres or centimetres but in metres. As a result we were prepared to get wet, very wet. As we got the boat to our start point of the walk it didn't look like we'd be disappointed either as it was bucketing it down and thunder was rumbling around. The first day's walk though is only an hour long so a wet slosh to our first hut seemed OK. For the next 3 days however we had fantastic weather and had to be more careful of sunburn than flooding rivers. We were amazingly lucky.

Day 2 of the walk takes you through forest to the base of a climb to Mackinnon's Pass at roughly 1100m. As the weather can change in an instant here if it's good when you reach your hut for the night they recommend climbing up to the pass for the views in case you can't see anything when you do it for real the next day. With a couple of hours to kill up we went and as promised the views were spectacular. You get a real sense of the scale of the area and the huge, sheer mountains that you're walking below. We also spotted a pretty unstable looking glacier high up on a ridge. More on that in a minute. It was one of the most sober New Year's Eves we'll have, and earliest, as we were tucked up in bed by 930.

Day 3 of the walk takes you up and over the pass and the weather was still grand. The views from the top are still great and from the toilet are pretty good too (see Rach's effort in the first of the photos below!). As we were coming down the other side the glacier we'd seen the day before let a piece go and we had a great view of the resulting landslide/avalanche. Those on the track ahead of us may have had other thoughts. The other highlight of the day was a walk from the track to Sutherland Falls. At 580m these are the highest falls in New Zealand and are an awesome sight and sound. The water falling onto the rocks below sounds like a fighter jet screaming above you and you feel the spray before you really see the falls. We'd been told we could walk behind the falls so we put on a waterproof jacket and headed in. Within 5 seconds we were drenched and being battered by the spray. It was cold and pretty painful, but fantastic nonetheless. A squelchy walk to our final hut ended the first day of 2008.

The final day of the walk takes you along rivers and lakes to the boat pickup point from where you get a 20-minute mini-cruise in Milford Sound as you head back to port. As we got into bed that night the heavens opened and it rained continually through the night. Someone somewhere was looking out for us.

Even the huge downpour was a good thing as we were headed out on a more organised cruise the next day and this meant that there were hundreds of temporary waterfalls pouring down and out of the mountains in Milford Sound. It was an awesome sight and in some cases there were water risers as the wind was blowing the water back up the hillside. As has been our luck so far by the time we got our bus back to Te Anau the sun was out and we had great views not only of Milford Sound but also of the 2-hour journey up and over the mountains. The journey is pretty tough going on the coaches going back and forth and a couple of hours after we'd gone through a Kiwi Experience bus burst into flames. No casualties but just makes you think.

After doing a good 4-day walk the best thing to do is to get yourself on another one. We gave ourselves a couple of night's rest before setting out on the 3-day Hump Ridge Track. This is described as a challenging walk and for good reason. You start the first day walking along the beach and when you arrive at your first hut for the night you're at 900m+. The majority of this climb is done in the final 5km too, which with full rucksacks is a killer. I don't think either of us have done such a climb and the air was bristling with various expletives as we scrambled our way up. On the plus side the weather again was excellent so when you pop out of the forest at the top of the ridge the views of Fiordland to the north and the ocean to the south are incredible. On the down side I'd been struck down with a serious bout of man flu so naturally was at death's door. I soldiered bravely on though.

The second day takes you from 900m+ back down to the beach. Normal, sane people would just ask why? After yesterday's efforts today just kills the knees and even the final 8km walk along an old, flat sawmill tramway is hard work. The sawmill was set up at Port Craig, where we stayed in a hut overnight, in the 1920s. In an inspired move they set it up here in one of the more remote areas of a pretty remote country and within 6 years it had closed: due to a lack of timber. Genius! The weather is still cracking and so a dip in the sea is the reward for the day's efforts at a beautiful sandy beach.

Our final day sees the end of our luck with the weather. It's chucking it down as we set out on the final 17km of the walk and although it stops and turns to brief showers the paths are muddy and flooded. It's turned a tad colder too so we make as good a pace as our bodies will let us to get us back to the car. By the time we finish we are both physically shattered and in need of some TLC, or at least a couple of days off from walking. Neither of the two previous walks have been this tough but it's been a good walk all the same.

We're now relaxing in a small town called Tuatapere before heading on around the coast tomorrow and headed for Christchurch again at the weekend for a wedding before once again going into the wilds on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track next week.

Happy New Year everyone, we hope that 2008 is a good one for you. Jon and RachXX

The festive 24/7s:

Christmas Eve: Making the most of some home comforts
Christmas Day: Good weather and great food. Happy Christmas!
Boxing Day: The safest night's sleep we'll ever have
Thursday 27th: Picked a good night for camping out
Friday 28th: Will this weather hold for Milford Sound?
Saturday 29th: Weather's still holding...until tomorrow that is
Sunday 30th: So the weather didn't hold. Got wet!
New Year's Eve: The knees aren't looking forward to descending
New Year's Day: Sutherland Falls. Best power shower you'll have
January 2nd: One hour of rain, unheard of luck
January 3rd: Hmm, where do we go from here?
January 4th: Are we fit enough for another big tramp?
January 5th: Not with bad bout of man flu
January 6th: Bodies are physically shattered. Good walk though
January 7th: Burn baby burn, legs are on fire!

Walking on Sunshine

2007-12-23T13:28:00.000-08:00

Sunday December 16th - Sunday December 23rd

And finally we arrive in New Zealand. The weather's good when we land and it feels great to be back in our favourite country. This first week has involved either water or walking. Within 3 hours of being picked up from Christchurch airport by an old uni mate Dave we were all, including his soon to be wife Tara, out on the water in kayaks. The aim was to paddle across a relatively short stretch of water to Quail Island for a spot of lunch. The plan though didn't take into account my ineptitude a) on water and b) in a kayak. So, after reaching halfway and already having capsized twice, we headed back to the safety of shore and had a beachside picnic. All very pleasant and the others were very good about my uselessness (well to my face they were!)

The second water experience was a little more full-on although not quite as expected. We made our way west to Murchison where we would head off on a whitewater rafting trip. We met up with our friend Jamie and his new girlfriend Lizzie and over a beer the night before wondered whether the rain that was falling would cause problems for the next day. The rafting was going to be along the grade 5 rated (5 being the most likely to cause you to swim) Karamea River. We drove (well were driven) the 3 hours to our helicopter rendezvous (oh this was a heli-rafting trip by the way!) through torrential rain and were greeted with the bad news that the river had risen too much and was flowing way too quickly (up from 25 cubic m/sec to 500 cubic m/sec) for us to be able to raft it safely. Sadly the 5-minute joyride in the helicopter and raft down a tamer Buller River didn't make up for the disappointment but a 40% refund and a good meal in the evening certainly helped.

The second half of the week has been taken up by walking, and quite a lot. We've just finished the 71km Queen Charlotte Track after 3 days of walking. The bonus with this walk was the water taxi that dropped us at the start also transferred our big rucksacks between campsites each day so we 'only' had to walk with our smaller rucksacks.

So it was that we arrived at Ship Cove over 200 years since Captain Cook had made the same journey and raised the British flag. Admittedly he had slightly less Gore-Tex and a little more rum than we did but the similarities in the journey were eerie! The first day was to be a 27.5km slog to Camp Bay, our campsite for the night. The weather was a little cloudy but still warm and the forecast was for it to improve. We'd actually changed our plans from doing it as a 4-day walk to try and get the good weather. We made great progress and passed by Resolution Bay and Endeavour Inlet all the while getting great views of the Marlborough Sounds. All along the route there are lodges and resorts for the more discerning walker and we did wonder at one point why we weren't in one of those. Since the track is well used there are opportunities for small traders to make some pocket money and we took advantage of one of those that was selling homemade honey. Anything to try and improve the porridge in the morning. We set up camp that night at the appropriately named Camp Bay.

Day 2 of the walk was described as the most arduous of the track and they weren't kidding. We started climbing as soon as we set out but once up on the ridgeline we got spectacular views of the Sounds. From one lookout we took the video clip (which will appear below when we find a quick enough internet connection) which hopefully does some justice to what we saw. Although the day's distance covered was less at 24.5km the uphill sections meant that by the time we descended from Torea Saddle to our overnight stop at Cowshed Bay we were shattered. Rach took advantage of our beachfront site and cleansed off a couple of days worth of sunscreen while I cooled off some throbbing feet.

The walk so far had taken us through some fairly dense green forest with beech trees and ferns before it headed onto the ridge and heathland. On one side you get views of blue waters and steep tree covered hills and on the other you could be looking at the Lake District, albeit on a rare day when it's sunny, with rolling green countryside leading down to lakes. Our third and final day took us the final distance to our water taxi rendezvous at Anakiwa. There was no mention of the early morning slog uphill in the description but that's what we had and it was all we could do to stagger our way down the final descents reaching the end aching all over but really pleased with ourselves and having seen some spectacular scenery.

We now head back towards Blenheim and our Christmas accommodation in Straw Lodge.

Merry Christmas everyone from Jon and Rachel.

The week's 24/7s

Monday: Heading for the west where it rains

Tuesday: Rain falls, river rises. Cancelled, no surprises

Wednesday: Heading north where it's also now raining

Thursday: When we try we relax really well

Friday: Rehydrated food tastes great after long walk

Saturday: In this weather the Sounds look fantastic

Sunday: Gravity's no friend of pain. Cake is!

Rock Lobster

2007-12-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

Monday December 10th - Saturday December 15th

Well this was our final week in Australia. Where the other 8 have gone to is anyone's guess. The week started with celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary with a day on the beach and a nice meal out in the evening. In fact eating good meals was a theme of the week which means that next week's needs to be exercise.While we've been in Perth we've met quite a few members of Rachel's aunt Kay's family and any we hadn't already met were ticked off with a big family gathering for a pre-Christmas meal. This included freshly cooked hams and chickens along with Christmas puddings all washed down with plenty of champagne and wine. The following day we all went round to Kay's chap (Barry)'s place and pretty much did it all again with the only addition being crayfish (or rock lobster depending on your inclination). These had been 'caught' by us the day before on a trip out with another of Kay's contacts. We probably can't claim to have caught them 100% as it required some scuba diving so Noel, the guy we went out with, did the hard work while we relaxed on the boat or swam in the sea. Eating fresh crayfish was fantastic though.

We've managed to squeeze some sport in this week too, much to Rach's relief! Tuesday saw a Twenty20 cricket international between Australia and New Zealand at the WACA. Barry came up trumps here with tickets for us although the circumstances were slightly unnerving. Sadly Barry's father passed away in August but due to him being a retired OAP he was paying peanuts for his season ticket so his family have kept it on so I went in as the late Robert Main with Rach as his guest! The game was good with the Aussies winning pretty easily.

We're both ready now to head to New Zealand and get back out in the fresh air and stretch our legs again. We've not really had much chance for that in the last couple of weeks although Rach managed to get out onto the water this week for a kayak and I had a quick bike ride. Perth has been an interesting experience not least for the fact of seeing how a city that is so far from any other major city, even in Australia, operates. You could nearly be in another country on the west coast and in some ways I think people think they are with Western Australia operating very differently in many ways to the eastern states. We've enjoyed Australia and had some fantastic experiences but it's time to move on.

The week's 24/7s
Monday: Two years. Who said it wouldn't last?
Tuesday: Wouldn't be seen dead at the cricket.
Wednesday: Christmas pudding, presents and hot weather. Lovely!
Thursday: Christmas pudding two nights in a row.
Friday: I think we're ready for New Zealand.
Saturday: 5098km, 4 states, 3 timezones. Australia...done!

End of a Century

2007-12-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

Monday December 3rd - Sunday December 9th

The passing of 100 days is usually a key point in any event; the first 100 days for a new Prime Minister, how'd he do? The first 100 days of a war, are we fighting the right people? The first 100 days of Big Trip, is bread and water a nutritious enough meal for the next 80 days? Sunday marked the 100th day away. During this time we've passed through 6 Canadian provinces, 4 Australian states, taken 6 flights and passed through numerous timezones, all the while having a fantastic time. All of this has meant that time has passed pretty quickly and with us now making plans for the final stages of the trip the remaining 80 days will undoubtedly fly by too. Best make the most of them then.

News on the end of the trip is good, we have tickets for the Trans-Mongolian train from Beijing to Moscow and as of this week we can also legally enter China thanks to a very swift service from the Consulate here in Perth issuing our visas. Just the Russian and Mongolian ones to go but the Russian one may prove to be tricky.

We've had a pretty relaxing week all told. Thanks to an excellent public transport network here in Perth we've been able to get around really easily, and cheaply, although no matter how good a system is if you can't read a timetable properly you'll come unstuck. This we found out while waiting for a bus only to realise that we'd checked the times for Saturday services. It was Tuesday.

We headed south out of Perth for a day in the port of Fremantle, or Freo if you struggle with words of more than 2 syllables. This appears to be one of the few places we've been where they are preserving their old buildings, or at least the facades, rather than knock them down. It gives the place a really nice feel with plenty of Victorian architecture on show. They've also got the Round House there. This is a building dating back well into the 1800s that was the first jail in Fremantle. It's still in pretty good condition given its age and position on the seafront. Just behind this is the time gun. At 1pm every day a cannon is fired, as it has been for over 150 years, so that captains can rate their chronometers. Nowadays it's probably used more as a signal that it's time to head to the pub for a lunchtime drink but again the preserving of tradition here goes against a lot of what we've seen so far.

Sympathy time now, get the small violins ready. The weather this week has not been great. Temperatures have struggled to reach the mid 20s (!) and by the afternoons any warmth there's been has disappeared with the Fremantle Doctor blowing it's way in. Normally this is a very pleasant breeze but when it howls in as it has this week you have to think twice about going to the beach! We've persevered though and struggled down to the beach a couple of times to have a dip in the Indian Ocean. We also had one long walk along the coast (in the rain mind!) to stretch our legs.

One thing the weather didn't hamper was our trip to Margaret River. This is the main wine region of southern Western Australia and we spent a happy couple of days sampling the local fayre. We also visited the southwesterlymost point of Australia while here too, Cape Leeuwin. This is the point at which the Southern and Indian Oceans meet.

One more week left in Australia and then we're on to country number 3 and New Zealand. We're going to make the most of being in a comfortable house as it'll be pretty much the last chance for a couple of months give or take a day or two here and there around Christmas. We got the tent out this week to check it was all OK and give it a spring clean before it's next use in anger.

The weeks 24/7s:

Monday: Chinese visa? You don't wait long time
Tuesday: Public transport that's designed for the public
Wednesday: Cold and windy, and this is summer?
Thursday: Nearly cold enough to need some trousers
Friday: You can never taste too much wine
Saturday: At last blue skies and warm sun
Sunday: Still not convinced we're insured to drive

Four Seasons In One Day

2007-12-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

Monday November 26th - Sunday December 2nd

It's been a busy old week really, a lucrative one and also a potentially lethal one. If that doesn't build up suspense I don't know what will.

We started the week in Sydney, spent the middle part in Melbourne and ended up on the west coast in Perth. To be honest it's been a bit of a whirlwind tour and I think we would have liked to have spent a couple more days in Melbourne to have a good look around as it's probably been our favourite place so far in Australia.

The journey down from Sydney to Melbourne was going to be something of a road trip as we were relocating a campervan for Britz. For the princely sum of $5 a day we had a pretty much brand new van, kitted out with all your mod cons such as fridge, microwave, hob, etc and stocked with cutlery and crockery too. Wehn we saw the vans we could have had we were pretty smug about having siuch a nice shiny new one. Until that evening that is. We made good progress down the east coast and following a suggestion from Colin planned to go via the Snowy Mountains to Melbourne rather than just all the way down the coast. We parked up at a campsite at Tathra Beach and for the first time on the trip asked for a site with power. We plugged the van in and went and cooked ourselves some dinner. When we came back to the van Rach noticed some liquid on the floor and thinking it was a water bottle that had leaked happily swung the rucksacks and things out of the way to stop them getting any wetter. It was only when she felt her arm burning and I noticed that the strap on her daysack was melting that we realised it was something a little more sinister than water. Turns out it was battery acid and it was making a break for freedom all the way down the van. Looking at the battery that powers all the mod cons you could see the current arcing across the battery at which point we figured unplugging ourselves from the mains would be a good idea. Luckily the guy who ran the site was very helpful and a couple of hours later he'd taken the battery out and given us the tools to give the van a good washout so that we could sleep in it without fear of getting acid on us or fumes in us. This kind of put a dampener on the road trip and also meant we were without any power in the van once the engine was off so we decided to just push on down the coast, a pretty dull drive to be honest, and make it to Melbourne to get rid of the death trap.

On reaching Melbourne, the home of four seasons in one day (it was springlike today), we'd been expecting to have to argue to get some money back for the rucksacks that had been damaged and the trouble we'd had, but I'd already agreed a value with the guy in Sydney so hoped that had fed through. By the time we left the place we'd actually made $60 including all the petrol and of course have no intention of replacing the rucksacks so we were pretty happy with things. We head into the centre of Melbourne to go and ask the tourist info for maps and the like and are given a leaflet with things on in the week. Turns out that there's a cricket match on at the MCG, only a state one-day game but still, and if you go by public transport you get in free. Rach was also keen to see Brett Lee bowling in the flesh to appreciate how fast he really was! Holding a $3 train ticket as we were it seemed rude not to so half an hour later we're strolling into one of the best cricket grounds in the world for nothing and watching some cricket. The day was working out very well indeed. To round it off we headed back into town and went to Queen Victoria Market as it was the first night for their weekly night markets in the summer season. Spent a good couple of hours wandering around looking at all the stalls and taking in the smells from well over fifty different origins of cooking.

Our only full day in Melbourne was spent riding the free tourist shuttles to see the main sights and then taking a walk through some of the parks and gardens, of which there appeared to be hundreds of in town. They also have a very striking Shrine of Remembrance as well that you can have a look around and it puts the UK to shame in terms of what we have in comparison.

Too quickly we're checking out of our hostel in St Kilda, a vibrant beach suburb of Melbourne, and rounding off our week of financial prudence in good style. We get $20 refunded for the room keys despite the fact we hadn't paid for them when we checked in. Neither of us question this until we're well out of earshot of course.

Our final destination for the week is Perth and a 2-week stay with Rach's aunt Kay. For the first time in the trip we're met at the airport and it's great to have a friendly face waiting for you and to know that you don't need to battle with public transport with your bags. Kay's house is massive and the chances of us wanting to go back to camping after staying here are looking slim. We may have to pitch the tent in the garden to get back into the habit of it.

The week's 24/7s:

Monday: Not sure battery acid should be there

Tuesday: Don't think Britz will see us again

Wednesday: Free van, free cricket, we're loving Melbourne

Thursday: Tram, bus, tram, walk, tram, food, bed!

Friday: A fabulous base for the next fortnight

Saturday: With military precision our week is planned

Sunday: You can never take it too easy

Destiny

2007-11-23T19:30:00.001-08:00

Monday November 19th - Sunday November 25th

After three weeks of travelling and camping down the east coast with our faithful little Yaris it's been a real treat to have a week in one place and also 7 nights of comfortable sleeping. We've enjoyed a great week in Sydney and have been looked after very well by Colin and Julie. Nearly time to be on the road again though.

We've made the most of our time in the unofficial capital of Australia and have been able to get out and about to explore some of the area as well as taking in some culture.

The usual sights in Sydney have been 'ticked off' with a look around the Opera House and a walk across the Harbour Bridge (the free option). The weather has been great for the main part of the week so we got views of the harbour at its best and also had a good couple of ferry trips to and from Manly. We did a little walk around North Head in Manly to stretch our legs and also try and get our fitness levels up a bit in readiness for all the walking we've got planned in New Zealand. To that end we've also surprised ourselves by going for three runs this week, albeit a little slower than was previously possible, but it's the effort that counts.

Our culture fix for the week saw us take in a performance at the Opera House, a ballet no less. The ballet was titled Destiny and from what we could gather it was two interpretations of the same piece, one in each half of the performance. We were given a crib sheet at the start to help us understand what was going on and in the main we kept up but it did need a bit of discussion afterwards to fill in the gaps. The sound of the orchestra in the venue was excellent and we managed to get some really good seats even though I think the lady at the box office thought we were more suited to the final of Australian Idol that is taking place there on Sunday.

We managed to get a good length walk in this week in the form of the coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi beaches. The skies were blue and the sun was out but there was also a gale force wind blowing, which in combination with the sand it was picking up meant that by the time we got to Bondi Beach the right-hand sides of our faces had been exfoliated to within an inch of their lives. It's a pretty good walk though and I don't think you'll see Bondi quite as empty as when we were there. Anyone trying to have lunch on the beach really would have been eating sand-wiches. On summer weekends they can get around 40,000 people on the beach, I think there were about 40 when we were there.

Wildlife news for the week...we've actually seen some galahs, not flaming I may add but we've now seen a couple of the birds that look like cockatoos but have a reddish pink front to them. We also saw the hundreds of bats that inhabit the Botanical Gardens in Sydney. They are in one area of the gardens and at a distance look like huge fruits hanging from the tree. When you get closer though you can see that they are brown bats cocooned in their leathery wings. With them, the cockatoos and the lorikeets the skies are filled in that part of the gardens. Makes for a great sight though.

We've certainly enjoyed Sydney, perhaps maybe more than we thought we might (certainly more than I thought). We're now getting ready to pick up a little campervan to drive to Melbourne and then after a couple of days there fly to Perth.

Out to Get You

2007-11-19T02:33:00.000-08:00

Sunday November 11th - Sunday November 18th

One of the things about getting off the beaten track a bit is that you get to see all manner of wildlife that you wouldn't see by following hoardes of tourists around, including the tsunamis of Japanese that you see at all major attractions. The flipside to that is that there are more than a few things off the beaten track that want a piece of you. Let's start with Lamington National Park. We decided to have a crack at the West Canungra Creek Trail, a 14km track that drops about 500m in elevation before criss-crossing said creek 6 or 7 times and then bringing you back up the 500m again. We'd read all the warning signs saying that what goes down must come back up (referring to the walk rather than last night's dinner) and that when the creek is in flood it's best not to go near it. What it forgot to mention was that once you get to the wetter part of the rainforest you will be plagued by...leeches. We had to get into a routine of every 10-15 minutes having a leech check to remove them from shoes, trousers, t-shirts, arms, legs you name it. The majority of them were pretty small but there were some bigguns too that weren't took keen to let go of you. Much as I like a bit of attention that was too much. The walk itself though was excellent, leeches aside, and it set us up for a pretty good week.

We left Queensland behind this week as well and headed into New South Wales jumping forward an hour as we did so as Queensland haven't adopted daylight savings. Apparently it's because the locals would get too confused so you end up with the evenings in the height of summer being pitch black well before 7.

We did follow the tourist path at a couple of points along the way this week including a quick trip in to Byron Bay. We didn't really have a huge amount of time to explore many walks but we did go and have a look at the lighthouse and walk out to the easterlymost point in Australia.

Our next encounter with the great Aussie wildlife happened in Pacific Palms, just south of Forster-Tuncurry. We found a great little campsite that was just set back from the beach. After picking our site we decided to have a quick look at the beach. Ignoring the black lizard on our right we made our way around the corner on the sandy path to come face to face with...a brown snake. Now we had a feeling they were ones that shouldn't be messed with, this one was around 4 foot long, so we made like the Knights Who Say Nee and chickened out and ran away. We later asked the people who ran the campsite and they confirmed that if you're going to get bitten by a snake, make sure it's not the brown ones. They're pretty much the only ones that will try and have a go at you. Later on that night we were watching a possum in the trees when it came down to investigate us a little further and decided to check out how Rach's toes tasted. Nothing too hard but a nibble nonetheless. Lucky for it that it didn't go for my feet, poor thing wouldn't have stood a chance! At this campsite as well they have the Green Cathedral, not a huge building painted green but a clearing in the forest that is used for weddings and services. A really great spot that would be a very special place to get married, with a lake just behind it and the sunlight coming through the trees.

We've managed to fit in some wine tasting this week as well, visiting the Hunter Valley. Here we were plagued by flies and ants so found ourselves having to spend more time tasting the wine, shame!

We rounded the week off with a trip to the Blue Mountains and then the sea. These aren't mountains that have formed in the usual way of the earth rising up but instead the earth has been eroded down leaving mountains behind. This means that if you're going to do any walks you have to drop hundreds of metres first and then climb back up them at the end. Still, we managed a couple of good walks in the Jamison and Grose Valleys and got some great views over the mountains, made blue by the haze of eucalypt oil that comes from all the eucalyptus trees. Parts of the Grose Valley are recovering from a huge bushfire but the regrowth has already started and it's fascinating to see how the forest recovers after something like that.

Our final night before heading to Sydney was spent literally camped on the edge of Coledale Beach where we could sit and watch, for about the third or fourth time this week, pods of dolphins swimming by and enjoy the sunrise. After last week being a little strange and disjointed this week was excellent and we're now looking forward to a week of a bit of relaxing and exploring the sights of Sydney.

Dancing in the Street

2007-11-19T02:05:00.000-08:00

Tuesday November 6th - Saturday November 10th

After the great weekend we'd had sailing around the Whitsundays and the equally good night out at the end of it I think we were both a little drained and it took us a couple of days to get ourselves back up to speed. The long drives that we had each day along what the Rough Guide describes as a "famously unexciting stretch of the Bruce Highway" didn't lend themselves to fun and frolics either.

Still, at the end of the day we're thousands of miles away from it all and driving through Australia so we soon got ourselves sorted out and headed for the National Parks again to do some walking. We headed to the Glasshouse Mountains just north of Brisbane and climbed a couple of them (there's 13 in all). We thought the one called Death Mountain was probably left well alone so went for Beerburrum (Rainbow Mountain) and Ngungun (Black Mountain) instead. The first one was supposed to be an easy climb so after 25 minutes of climbing almost vertically we collapsed at the top and got great views out over the other mountains and away in the distance Brisbane. We were the only ones on the mountains and the rushes of fresh air and stretching our legs had done us wonders so we headed off to Brisbane in good spirits.

The good vibes obviously paid off as we had a great day in Brisbane. Managing to avoid the temptation of going to the cricket (again Rach's idea!) we headed into the city centre and spent a happy couple of hours looking around before making for the South Bank area for Friday evening drinks and a nice meal followed by a stroll along the river. On our way back through town we stumbled across a small gathering of people that steadily grew as salsa music blasted out and what was described as only one of two free outdoor salsa lessons in the world started up. Before long there were around 50 people involved, including Rach (I had to take some photos!) and they salsaed their way around the pavement for a good 40 minutes.

We decided that as we'd had such a good day in Brisbane that we would push on further south and headed once again for the National Parks, this time Lamington and the Green Mountains. We got out and about and had a good walk and also strolled along the treetop walkway that included a climb up a tree, around 30m, to a platform that gave you a view over the canopy of the rainforest. Fantastic views and thankfully there was only a gentle breeze so the tree was only gently swaying.

We Are Sailing

2007-11-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

Monday October 29th - Monday November 5th

This week has really been all about The Whitsundays sailing trip that we've just completed. Three days spent aboard a 67ft racing trimaran, Avatar, sailing around some of the 74 Whitsunday Islands. We've had a fantastic trip and made some good friends from the people that were with us onboard. As with places like Cairns there are so many tours to choose from that you're always a little worried that you might have made the wrong choice but there was no problems with ours from the moment we got onboard on Saturday morning.

The weather was set fair, well actually it was great. Blue skies and flat calm seas greeted us as we pottered slowly along getting to know the other guys onboard, half of which were German, with some other Brits, an Italian, a Pole and an American making up a good mix of people. Being a trimaran there was plenty of room on the boat to relax in the sunshine on the deck or on one of the two huge nets that were strung between the hulls of the boat. I've always wanted to just relax on one of those and now I've done it twice in 3 weeks.

The Whitsundays were another of Captain Cook's discoveries, on a Sunday hence the name, and consist of islands that range from a small rock to Whitsunday Island itself which is 11000ha in size. You can go ashore and camp on some of the islands but we'd gone for the luxury option, well a mattress down a hole in one of the outside hulls. I think even an estate agent would have struggled to describe it as anything other than bijou. At least we could have the hatch open at night and look up at the stars though.

The Great Barrier Reef does extend as far down as here but it is a bit further offshore than the islands. However, there is still good snorkelling to be had amongst coral around the islands (you get a greater diversity of coral here because of cooler waters) and we were able to have a few snorkels around Whitsunday Island and Black Island. On the final day I decided to relax onboard while Rach went snorkelling off Langford Reef and had the chance to follow some turtles around, which was pretty amazing. You get a good glimpse of them on the surface as well when they lazily come up for some air before going back down under the water.

As well as the snorkelling and general relaxing we also got ashore to go and spend some time on Whitehaven Beach. This is one of the most well-known beaches in the world (if you're into that sort of thing) as the sand consists of 99% silica making it the purest sand anywhere. When you walk on it it's like walking on flour it's so fine and soft. It's also very white. We spent a good bit of time on the beach here and in the water playing volleyball, although we struggled to look good, not only because of a lack of skill but because of needing to wear stinger suits. These are basically all in one lycra suits that protect you from the jellyfish that are now in the waters meaning that we're out of luck for sea swimming on the east coast from now on.

On the way back in to Airlie Beach yesterday the wind picked up enough for us to be able to sail which was a great way to end the trip, just hearing the sound of the water rushing past and the screams from people as waves crash over and through the nets soaking them as they catch some rays. It was a great trip and made even more enjoyable by the group of people onboard who we then went out for an end of trip drink with last night, which led to a couple more drinks, etc, etc. Not feeling too worse for wear this morning and we've just had some breakfast with 3 of them who were in the same hostel as us. We're both still rocking gently from side to side though hopefully as an after effect of the sailing rather than a sign that we're losing our marbles.

We have seen a lot of other things this week too as we made our way from Cairns. We visited the Tablelands again and looked at the huge fig trees that have put down hundreds of roots from the branches of other trees to create what look like huge sculptures. We also had a look at Millaa Millaa Falls, the waterfall made famous by the Timotei advert from some years back.

We've been camping all the way down so far and that's meant being able to see some more wildlife. We've had encounters with bush turkeys, kookaburras, bettongs (rat kangaroos), kangaroos and in one campsite 3 possums.

We got across to Magnetic Island as well, but only for the day, but still had the chance to find a really quiet idyllic beach that only had us and a strange naked man in a straw hat on. We sensibly based ourselves at the opposite end of the beach out of his way.

So all in all it's been a good week, not so much driving so far (there's still well over 2000km to go before we reach Sydney) but plenty of sights and wildlife seen and the scenery has been pretty spectacular. We're now going to push on south and see what we find on the way.

Down Under

2007-10-28T04:41:00.000-07:00

Monday October 22nd - Sunday October 28th

Our second week in Australia and this week has been all about the 3 Rs: rainforests, reefs and roasting hot temperatures.

Cairns, or Ceaaaaaans as the locals like to pronounce it, is in the tropics and has on its doorstep areas of wet tropics that are designated as World Heritage Areas. We've visited a few this week including Behana Gorge, Crystal Cascades and Lake Placid. The first two of these involve walks up a river valley to waterfalls at their heads. At Behana the waterfall had helped to create a great swimming hole that was much needed after a hot slog up to it.

The bonuses of these swimming holes, of which there were more at Crystal Cascades, is that a) they're very refreshing b) they're fresh water and c) they don't have anything in them that can eat you. The front page of the Cairns Post this week carried a photo of a crocodile that had been caught by a fisherman in a creek in town and then a couple of days later another was spotted at a local beach meaning it had to be closed. Add to that the fact that in a week or so it's 'Stinger Season', i.e. jellyfish-tastic and the beaches aren't such an exciting proposition.

We also went up to Kuranda this week, there are pretty much 3 ways of getting there; by tourist train, by a 7km long cable car or by your own transport. Luckily Zoe has been kind enough to drive us around while we've been here so we took that option. Kuranda is at the top of a winding mountain road which passes through more rainforest. It's very strange to think that it's rainforest that you're driving through when you normally associate that with places like Brazil or Borneo and access is really difficult, while here we are driving easily through it.

The main thing that Cairns is probably renowned for is its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef, if you're going to do a trip out to it here is probably the best place to go from...so we did. Zoe and Mark's friends Mark and Dawn own a company, Reef Daytripper for anyone looking for a good reef trip in Cairns!, and were able to get us onboard for a trip out to Upolu Reef this week. What a fantastic day. A lazy cruise out to the reef itself onboard the catamaran and then the chance to snorkel (my preferred option) or dive (Rach's choice de jour). We got to see all manner of fish and wildlife and of course the amazing coral reef itself.

We headed out to the reef again on Sunday, this time to Fitzroy Island. Zoe and Mark's boat was used to good effect once again, although it took a battering from the waves on the way back and after a swim (and yes that did include me!) and snorkel at Fitzroy we circled the island before heading to Turtle Bay. This is a great little spot that can really only be accessed by the water and has a fantastic golden sand beach and clear blue waters, hopefully the video below does it justice.

This isn't the only great beach we've had a chance to visit this week either. We've also spent a good amount of time at Kewarra. Another golden sandy beach fringed with palm trees that, like a lot of the places we've been to, has been very quiet.

Saturday was Rach's birthday and so it was time to indulge in one of her passions, animals. The destination was the Tropical Zoo and it was a great day out. Rach got to hold a koala, which I think was a bit of a trip highlight, we got to feed kangaroos, watch crocs from a safe distance and really get close to the other animals including another of Rach's favourites, the red panda.

So to the final R, the roasting hot temperatures. In the last couple of days the humidity has really picked up and we're now getting into the 30s easily, usually by mid-morning. It's not the heat that's the real problem, although in fairness we are both melting, it's the UV rating. In the UK there's panic when it reaches 6 or 7 and everyone thinks they're going to end up crispier than a bit of nicely cooked bacon, here the rating is currently at 15. According to the weather guys that's in the extremely extreme range. It means that you only have to think about going out into the sun to start burning so we're getting into the slip, slop, slap routine, which is actually a real pain but the alternative is not really worth thinking about. I know at this point there will be a lot of small violins being played for us but we've got to try for sympathy! We're heading south from here next week which should mean cooler temperatures at this time of year but they're having some crazy weather there and it's nearly 40° in Melbourne so camping will be a bit toastier than we've been used to.

All in all it's been a very good week but we're now ready to head off out into the countryside again and start exploring some other parts of this huge country. Zoe and Mark have looked after us really well, but it's time to leave them to some peace and quiet now.

Australia

2007-10-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

Monday October 15th - Sunday October 21st

A change of tack with the blog for Australia, we'll do some weekly updates rather than the daily ones as we're planning on taking things a lot easier for the next couple of months and I'm sure you don't want to hear how each day we get up late, relax on the beach/in the pool/under a palm tree (delete as appropriate) so we'll try and keep things interesting and stick in some more pictures.

In actual fact the days above should really not include Monday as we kind of lost that in flight. We had a brief stopover in Honolulu, airport seemed nice, and then off again on the remainder of the flights to Cairns. As you fly in to Cairns you get great views out over the Barrier Reef as the airport is right on the coast. For these first two weeks we're staying with Zoe and Mark in their very nice house a few miles out of the town centre. They've recently made a very welcome addition to the place as well, a huge swimming pool (well it's bigger than the whole of our back garden so it's huge to us!). You'll be sad to hear though that the first week's weather has not quite been what was promised to us, it's been warm and humid but pretty overcast and breezy with frequent showers. We have thawed out though after our cold Canadian experiences and the novelty of only needing shorts and a t-shirt won't wear off soon.

We've slipped into the relaxing mentality quite nicely and have enjoyed pottering around the local area seeing some of the sights. We spent a day up in Port Douglas, a kind of smaller, more upmarket version of Cairns, and enjoyed the views from the coast road on the way there. The road hugs the coastline pretty tightly for the majority of the way so you get some good photo opportunities.

Zoe and Mark, as well as having a big house and a pool, also own a motor boat and so we headed out to Lake Tinaroo to try out some waterskiing. Tinaroo is up in the tablelands region and that means that only way to get to it is via a winding mountain road, we went up through the Gillies Range. Since we are only at 16°S latitude here we're in the tropics so heading up to the tablelands you go through rainforest before coming out into a landscape that looks something like home with rolling green hills. We got ourselves set up at the lake and both Rach and I had a go at waterskiing. Now Rach is definitely the watersports fanatic of the two of us and was up on the end of the rope skiing away quite nicely. I on the other hand am not what you would call a water baby and as this was my first attempt at waterskiing used the training bar at the side of the boat with limited success. A quick masterclass lesson at lunchtime from Rach and I had some more success afterwards before wiping out quite spectacularly. We also had a good swing around in a ring behind the boat too, but the only skill that requires is to hang on for dear life! All great fun though.

The week was rounded off with a very early start (well for us anyway) at 5am to watch the rugby World Cup final. Shame about the result but amazing that we actually got to the final and means we now have bragging rights over both the Aussies and the Kiwis for the coming months. They could still be in mourning in New Zealand when we get there!

Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

2007-10-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 13th

A check of the thermometer at 7.30 when we get up shows that our bodies are telling us the truth and it's cold. We're at 0 degrees and we waste no time in getting sorted out and packed up ready to head back to Vancouver. With it being our last night in Canada we decide to treat ourselves and book an exquisite, boutique hotel in town. Now, fair enough, we haven't paid exquisite, boutique prices but you'd still expect to have some kind of quality. Sadly there's none, so the only recommendation for the Howard Johnson hotel in Vancouver we can make is to not go there.

We weren't going to let the poor hotel ruin our last day though so we headed off and explored some other areas of town including Davie VIllage and the waterfront. We've got great weather again so the stroll around town is very pleasant and the temperature is pretty much perfect. We're passing the time until the main feature of the night, which is an ice hockey match. We go with a couple of other people from the youth hostel and get a quick introduction into what we should be looking for and how the game works. The reputation of hockey games for fighting is pretty strong so we were hoping for some fisticuffs at some point and we had to wait for all of...5 seconds. Literally from the face-off (check out my grasp of terminology) there was a fight. Apparently it was leftovers from the previous day when the Vancouver Canucks played the Edmonton Oilers for the first match in the series. The game is pretty brutal but as with the baseball is governed more by the TV channels than the umpires. When the game had inexplicably stopped for a third time we asked what was going on and were told that it was an advert break. It was really good fun though and there's no doubting the North American's ability to put on a show. The fans are funny too with insults being traded as if they were in high school, the strongest one being, "Edmonton Sucks!" That told them. In the end Vancouver won 4-1 and we'd had a great night out.

24/7: Despite hotel's best efforts a good day

Sunday October 14th

So here it is, our final day in Canada. The last 6 weeks has absolutely flown by and we've seen and enjoyed so much that it doesn't feel like we've been here that long. On the other hand when we look back at photos from the start of the trip it seems like a lifetime ago we were in Halifax.

Our flight isn't until the evening so we decide to head back to our favourite part of Vancouver (once we'd found it) Granville Island. Enjoy the market again and buy a few supplies for the flight(s). Before we know it it's time to head to the airport and endure the nonsense that is American customs. We have to stopover in Honolulu so have to fill out American visa waivers and customs forms, etc. We also get funnelled into a separate part of the terminal and for a moment think that we've missed the chance to enjoy the Air Canada lounge that Andy had given us passes for. Thankfully we find the door to the promised land and have a good 90 minutes prior to the flight relaxing with some glasses of wine and free food. Well it's rude not to isn't it? Then that's it, time's up and we're boarding the flight. We can't recommend Canada highly enough and in particular the more out of the way places. Highlights have definitely been Algonquin Park and the walking in the Rockies, but we've surprised ourselves and enjoyed Toronto and Vancouver too, which for non-city people was a surprise. There's still plenty of things we'd like to do here so will be back at some point in the future. For now though the next stop is Australia...

24/7: 6634km, 6 provinces, 4 timezones. Canada...done!

Making the Most of

2007-10-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Wednesday October 10th

We'd hoped to spend a few days on Vancouver Island to round off our time in Canada, but sadly there were both high wind and rain warnings out for the areas we wanted to go to so rather than hang around in the city, nice though it was, we decide to head east to a place called Harrison Hot Springs. You'll never guess what the main draw here is. That's right, a beautiful lake, oh and some hot springs.

Before we head out of Vancouver though we're determined to find the real part of Granville Island that we'd been looking for yesterday and succeed. It's tucked underneath the bridge that you drive over and contains a great public market that has amazing amount of fresh fruit, veg, fish and meat. There's also some great places to eat and other studios and workshops that you can look around so we spend a happy couple of hours taking it all in before heading to a place just north of the city called Capilano Dam. Again this is on the salmon spawning route so what they've done here is construct a salmon ladder and you can watch all the salmon trying to jump their way up. We also see a couple of bald eagles as well flying around which is pretty impressive.

Harrison is another pretty unassuming place on the outside that gets better as you look around. We pitch our tent in an RV park on the edge of town. The lady at the park does look a little surprised when we ask for a tent site, she's even more amazed when we see her the next morning and ask for another night. It's not raining though and we've got a good pitch so why not.

24/7: Three more days of open country Canada

Thursday October 11th

We investigate the lake a little more this morning by having a stroll around and discover the source of the hot springs. The water reaches the surface at 70 degrees here so unsurprisingly its cordoned off but you still get the stench of sulphur and can also feel some of the warmer runoff in a pool next to it. After warming our hands in there we go and hunt for conkers and find loads, well quite a few and then Rach finds a big stick which helps her out a little more to persuade some from the trees. Luckily I wasn't the end of that kind of persuasion!

There's a main hotel complex in the town that you can enjoy hot pools and the like in, but for the greater unwashed you can go to the public pool that is also heated by the hot springs. Spend a very pleasant couple of hours dipping in and out of the warm water before we spend the night with the locals in the pub playing some pool and enjoying some really good food, again!

24/7: Perfect symmetry: sleep, eat, relax, eat, sleep

Friday October 12th

We begin to head back towards Vancouver after a lazy start to the day. We're pretty close to the American border at this point and a quick look at the map shows that there is actually a road, 0 Avenue, that runs right along it. Curious to see if there are rednecks patrolling the border with pitchforks and banjoes we head down. It turns out to be a very non-descript road that has a ditch separating the two countries. There's no way of driving across but if you were so inclined you could just stroll across, or if you had a 4x4 drive, into the USA. Decide to avoid the offroad option and drive along the bottom of Canada to a place called White Rock. Turn up at an RV site and get ourselves a campsite for the night. It's only when we ask why the gate to the field is shut that the lady realises that they're actually closed for tents but she's still happy to take our money and let us stay, so gracious! Anyone would have thought camping out in freezing temperatures was strange.

We head to the coast and have a good stroll along Crescent Beach to a wdillife sanctuary at Blackie Spit. With the migration for birds in full swing there were a lot of different species enjoying a rest and a drink before continuing their journey to warmer climes, much as we will do in a couple of days time.

24/7: Bright sun, blue sky, red sunset, curry!

Parklife

2007-10-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

Monday October 8th

We follow the Sea to Sky Highway all the way to Vancouver to drop off the car and check ourselves into a hostel for a couple of nights. The journey is slightly more fraught than it should have been thanks to the slight miscalculation on the amount of fuel needed for the journey, trying to be too thrifty for the sake of £2 apparently not the done thing. The road, as the name suggests is pretty spectacular as it hugs the mountainside for most of its route taking you back to the sea from Whistler or into the mountains the other way. The weather's cleared up too so we get some great views out across the water.

It's Thanksgiving Day today so town is pretty busy and as the sun's out we take the opportunity to hire a couple of bikes and go for a ride around Stanley Park. The park is on a headland of the coast right in Vancouver. We spend a very pleasant couple of hours cycling around looking at not only the flora and fauna but also some of the sculptures and features in the park, including the totem poles that represent some of the native roots of Canada. There are some huge sequoia trees in the park, where some have fallen you really get a sense of the size of these things, the fact that the trunk is a good few feet wider than I am tall means you don't want to be close by when it's coming down. To round off our good afternoon we find a great shop selling cakes, well you have to balance the exercise out don't you, and enjoy those sat in the sunshine looking out on English Bay. The evening's food is just as good as we discover a Belgian restaurant that does us some fantastic food, and of course, beers. Only afterwards do we find out it's been voted in the top 10 restaurants in North America, and top 50 worldwide.

24/7: Sun, cycling and good food. Pretty perfect

Tuesday October 9th

Decide to investigate Vancouver a bit more today and start by catching the SeaBus across to North Vancouver. Find a good quayside market to look around and enjoy the sights and smells of this before heading back to the main city and heading south to Granville Island. We find out later that we actually manage to miss the main part of the island, it's very easily done (!), and instead end up in a coffee shop accidentally enjoying huge cinnamon buns and tea. Note to self, must exercise to avoid excess baggage charges at airport!

We haven't spent that much time just sitting around and reading papers and books so it was nice to be able to do that with the world passing by outside. Could quite easily get used to it too. Vancouver seems like a pretty good place too, not as big as Toronto maybe but still just as easy to get around and pretty friendly too, apart from one particularly dodgy area near the Chinatown part of town.

24/7: Too full for dessert, completely new territory

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

2007-10-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 6th

After a night sleeping on grass for a change and a cracking breakfast in a German bakery we're full of beans and ready to go. Whistler is our next stop and we head on south. The weather though doesn't quite feel the same as we do and by the time we get to Whistler it's a pretty grey day. Nonetheless the tent gets pitched again just out of town and we go in search of things to do. Whistler is the outdoor capital of Canada in many ways as there are so many things to do no matter what the season. It's going to be playing a big part in the 2010 Winter Olympics when they go to Vancouver but at this time of year it's more biking and the like. However, when its teaming with rain and there's a good deal at the local internet cafe the warmer, drier option becomes instantly more attractive. Whistler is pretty packed as its Thanksgiving weekend in Canada but the majority of people have opted for indoor activities. Maybe the rain will disappear tomorrow...

24/7: Our luck with the weather ends spectacularly

Sunday October 7th

...then again maybe it won't! When you go to sleep in a tent with it raining the sound you don't want to hear in the morning is the continuing drops of rain on the canvas. Sadly that's what we had. This has been the first really bad spell of weather we've had in just over 5 weeks so we can't complain, well we can but I think it will fall on pretty deaf ears. Neither of us are up for doing much so we pack up the tent and head out of Whistler. I'm sure it is a great place, and its reputation suggests it is, but I don't think we saw it in its best light, struggled to see it at all really, so we head on south. We make our way towards Vancouver but stop the night in a place called Squamish. As with a lot of the towns we've been to in Canada it doesn't look like much when you arrive but when you start looking around it you find all sorts of interesting things. The river that runs through it, the Squamish, is a salmon spawning route so if you are lucky you can see them swimming their way back upstream and as they're easy prey you'll then see bald eagles on the lookout for a bit of food. Thanks to the rain of the last couple of days the river was flowing very fast and wisely the wildlife had obviously holed up somewhere. It was still an interesting walk along the banks. We also discovered a beach, accessed down a back road and through an industrial wasteland, that gave great views out into Howe Sound. Very fjord-esque and hopefully similar to the sights we'll see in New Zealand. All the better as well for finding it when you least expected to. Tomorrow we head to Vancouver.

24/7: Just one more week left in Canada

The Long and Winding Road (part I)

2007-10-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

Wednesday October 3rd

Well the tent has officially seen it all now. We awake at 8am to temperatures of -4°C (see how much fun you can have with a cheap thermometer!) and gently falling snow. We pack up the tent and head into Jasper in search of something warm and wet. Whilst making tea on the stove is eminently possible we would have had to melt our water (ice) first and one could have died of thirst and/or hypothermia whilst waiting! Once defrosted and hydrated (and fed, of course) we head off on an 11 mile walk to Saturday Night Lake. This was a low level walk so not much snow but still cold so we made it there and back in record time, including a lunch stop at the lake. On the way back I (Rach) detour off the path to take a look at a beaver dam but see no furry creatures - not sure what you could tempt them out with and anyway, it's illegal to feed creatures in the National Park, it certainly is if all you've got left are Chips Ahoy cookies and bananas!

From Jasper we head west and into British Columbia gaining an hour as we did so. We took a brief look at Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies at 3954m, although sadly its summit was in cloud today. Tonight is being spent in a surprisingly good motel (for the money!), with takeaway Chinese in front of the first TV we have seen in over a month - bliss.

24/7: Walks, lakes, snow, wildlife, mountains. Goodbye Rockies.

Thursday October 4th

After a busy 10 days in the Rockies it seems strange not to have any real plans for the next week or so. We leave the motel and head south. Our mood today seems to reflect the grey skies and for the first time we're not quite sure what to do with ourselves. We pitch our tent near Clearwater which is the entrance to the Wells Gray Provincial Park, supposed to be as spectacular and as wild as the Rockies. After a quick trip to tourist info we head into the park and stop at the first set of waterfalls. As we walk to the viewing area we can hear the water but still can't see it, and for good reason - the enormously deep, and unexpected gorge, that the water has carved out is full of cloud. All very damp and eerie, we were almost expecting Pterodactyls to come swooping through. We continue up the road a little and encounter cloud like pea soup and decide to come back tomorrow. A short trip to the supermarket results in proper spag bol for dinner, amazing what you can do on a camping stove! Fingers crossed for a relatively mild night.

24/7: Feeling warm and cosy is so cliched.

Friday October 5th

The mild night started off fresh and was indeed a positively balmy 2°C at 8am. After pancakes for breakfast (on the campstove) without the Bangra music in the background we set off in the general direction of Whistler. We start off with another trip to the provincial park but are disappointed when the clouds are even lower than yesterday - we have to leave some things for next time. By the time we stop for lunch the scenery is arid brown hills and the temperature is in double figures. We're in a town called Kamloops which is considered to be the northern extent of the Mojave desert. An hour or so further on we're in different landscape again, this time agricultural land, the first we've seen in Western Canada. By the time we reach our overnight stop in Lillooet we've driven along the spectacular canyon created by the Fraser River, not a bad range of scenery for one day. Lillooet seems a strange place, with a surprising amount of facilities for a small town, and the first place we've really seen Native Canadians.

24/7: We feel warmer, can that be right?

Walking in a Winter Wonderland (part II)

2007-10-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

Monday October 1st

The start of our second month away and to mark the occasion we move on from Banff National Park into Jasper National Park. We head back onto the Icefields Parkway from our campsite and before long we're at the Columbia Icefield. This is the largest of the icefields along the road and home to the largest glacier too, the Athabasca. We'd hoped to take a guided walk onto the glacier itself but continuing the theme of the trip we were a day too late. It was pretty breezy outside so we took it as a good omen and on the recommendation of the info chap at the icefield made tracks to Mount Edith Cavell further north.

En route to see Edith we stopped at the Sunwapta Falls, a classic tale of the struggle between water and rock and the ensuing battles that have raged since time began...well the info boards went something like that, made us chuckle anyway. The falls were pretty impressive even though the river levels aren't anywhere near as high as they can be as it's the end of summer.

So to Edith Cavell and the three glaciers that surround the mountain, Angel, Ghost and Cavell. The mountain is named after a British nurse who helped out soldiers from both sides in World War I and was then executed for her troubles, nice. It was a short walk to a good viewpoint to see all three glaciers and again we were in a good amount of snow, so much so that there were opportunities for some impromptu sledging - well what else are waterproof trouser meant for?! The Cavell glacier is retreating leaving behind a lake with icebergs floating in it (the lake itself was frozen too). Once we've sledged our way back to the car we make for the end of the Parkway and into Jasper.

24/7: Elks in rutting season, stay well clear.

Tuesday October 2nd

The bonus of having a good amount of time to see this side of Canada is that we can switch plans easily. The weather in Jasper today looked pretty poor, well it was chucking it down to be precise, so we headed east to Miette Hot Springs. The weather here was much better and we decided to attempt what was described in the Rough Guide as a short, sharp walk. This walk was only around 5km in length each way but gained over 700m in height. We started off in wet forest and rapidly climbed through slushy sub-alpine areas to very snowy alpine areas. A final scramble to the summit at 2200m rewarded us with amazing 360° views of all the surrounding summits. However, it was a bit parky and so we paused for a quick photoshoot before descending to warmer climes.

These warmer climes were actually very much warmer climes as part of our cunning plan was to do the walk and then relax the bodies in the hot springs. The hottest of the pools is at 40° and when it is snowing there's nothing quite like it. We soaked ourselves for a good hour until we resembled prunes and decided it might be time to get out.

On the way back down from the springs Rach spotted a black bear on the far side of the valley. As it pottered along foraging for berries we took the opportunity to admire from a safe distance.

24/7: Cold summit, hot pool, black bear, perfect!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland (part I)

2007-10-06T15:50:00.000-07:00

Friday September 28th

Start the day off in spectacular fashion by inflicting serious, and very painful, damage to myself. The modelling contracts with both TK Maxx and Primark have been put on hold as a result of door hook to face injury. In fact it wasn't as bad as I've hammed it up (quite a bit!) but it was painful nonetheless. Anything for a bit of sympathy.

(Rach decides it's time to take over and tell the story as it really was!)

So, after that drama it was time to head north from Radium. We made it as far as Golden before needing refuelling, ourselves that is, not the car. In the rain we come across a real gem of a cafe, hidden in a bookshop. We rest here a while and whilst eating chose some new literary works from an excellent selection of second hand books. Our lunch over, we head east and on into Yoho National Park. It's still wet and cold so we head to the tourist info in Field for some help finding drier accommodation for the night and walks in the area. We're pointed in the direction of the Fireweed hostel and book ourselves in for the night. One look at the feather duvets and open log fire and the credit card is back out and we're now staying for two nights. The place is total luxury after many nights of camping in freezing conditions (that's not to say that it hasn't been fun!) and as we relax into the sofas with a beer we wonder if we will ever be able to go back to sleeping under canvas!

24/7 (the last 24 hours in 7 words): Can we take this hostel with us?

Saturday September 29th

Today we plan to head to a lake that was recommended to us by a random Canadian lady we met a few days ago at Lake Minnewanka. Lake O'Hara is just up the road from the hostel but they control the number of people visiting it so we're up well before dawn to see if we can get on the bus as stand-by passengers. The recent wet and cold spell meant that lots of people had cancelled (you normally have to book months in advance) so we were in luck and were soon bumping up the track in a yellow school bus. We arrive at the lake some 40 minutes later and disembark into a winter wonderland - rain falling at lower elevations has fallen as at least a foot of snow here and as we were the first arrivals of the day we start off our walk round the lake in pristine snow. It's stunning but we can't help but wonder if our trainers will be up to the job! As we slowly potter on, pausing to look at animal tracks (and hypothesise on their makers) we're caught up by 6 well kitted out Canadians and allow them to overtake us and clear a trail ahead of us (just good honest English politeness!). Further round the lake they start making their way up the mountain on the track we had planned to do but initially but wouldn't had been able to do with our current footwear. We feel obliged to follow and for the rest of the day they find themselves with two very cheerful English hangers on, who quite clearly hadn't banked on there being this much snow ("Are they really wearing sneakers?!") We climb the mountain, first through forest and then across a rocky valley (covered by 2-3 feet of snow) to Lake Opabin. The scenery is spectacular, made better by its covering of snow.

On the way down we meet more friendly Canadians so we stop to chat and leave with their trail mix, cookies and brownies (given to us willingly although 2 less hungry looking people you're not likely to meet!). Back down at Lake O'Hara we head to the Lodge - the only accommodation at the lake and the place to be at 3pm for High Tea! Full of tea and cake we get back on the bus and head back to the hostel via the Spiral Tunnels (one for you train buffs) where the railway takes a 360° loop within the mountain so that it can climb/descend safely. If timed right you can see the head of the train emerging from the mountain as the tail end is disappearing. Dinner and more beers in the hostel and we sleep like logs.

24/7: Snow, great views, free food, tea, cake!

Sunday September 30th

The opposite of yesterday morning and it's a slow start but we're still out of the hostel before 11 bound for Lake Louise. For such a small place it's heaving with people and we're more than slightly dismayed after the peace and beauty of yesterday. The scenery is stunning so long as you're looking up the lake and not at the monstrosity that is The Chateau - a huge hotel right on the shoreline. We escape the crowds and walk a trail that takes us up 500 metres to Little Beehive via Mirror Lake. From here we get more fantastic views and a bit of peace and quiet! We head on to Lake Agnes and then back to the car.

The only campsite open in Lake Louise is uninspiring and closing tomorrow so we decide to make a start up the Icefields Parkway, the road that will eventually lead us to Jasper. The Parkway is a high mountain road that takes you through amazing mountain scenery complete with lots of snow and glacier after glacier. It's often placed within the top 5 drives in the world for its scenery. We stop and look at the Cowsfoot and Peyto Glaciers at Bow Summit before heading to our campsite where we're the only people staying. The day ends with hot chocolate round a campfire.

24/7: Lake O'Hara, Lake Louise, Sublime to ridiculous.

Cry Wolf

2007-10-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

Wednesday September 26th

So, it was time to head into bear country proper and hope that our complete lack of preparation would not stand against us. After a faff and some lunch in Banff we got ourselves to the start point of the walk, a walk which, according to the information provided had no elevation gain. 25 minutes later and about 150m higher than when we started we'd decided to completely ignore any information that we'd been provided. The maps and signs for the walks here are pretty sketchy with distances having a +/- 5km accuracy. Keeping Lake Minnewanka (pron. Wonka as in Willy!) on our right we climbed on and the walk soon levelled out before descending towards the shoreline once more. Around 3km before our campsite we walked past an area that had been cordoned off because of bear activity, perhaps this was a real threat after all. We reached our campsite for the evening alongside the lake, the campsite was in one area, the food preparation in another and the food storage in a third location. This took the form of a series of cables that you used to haul the food up out of the reach of the bears, and more cruelly me! The wind coming off the lake was bitterly cold and I think we worked out the wind chill temperature was around -8°. We settled ourselves into the tent early and hoped we'd wake up in a bear-free zone...

24/7: It'd be warmer sitting in a freezer

Thursday September 27th

Not sure if it was the cold or the howling of wolves that woke us first, but either way we were fully awake as the howls rang around us. Fortunately there were no encounters with them, but it's an interesting feeling knowing that you're in the middle of nowhere with no-one nearby. A quick word on the facilities here compared with Algonquin. As the picture will show they are fairly luxurious with privacy and some space!

The wind doesn't get up until after we've had breakfast on the beach and we get some spectacular views across the lake. We head back to the start of the walk and notice some evidence of wild beasts but no actual sightings. We decide to head on from Banff and check out another national park, Kootenay. This involves an overnight stay in the snappily titled Radium Hot Springs. No prizes for guessing what the big draw to this place is. We're dipping our toes into British Columbia here but not enough to gain an hour yet. We find, shock of shocks, a really nice RV park to camp the night in, it's also a good deal warmer too.

24/7: What a difference a hot shower makes

Cold As Ice

2007-09-26T09:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday September 25th

And it was a cold night, Rach was dressed in all clothes to hand and was still frozen, as was my toothpaste again!

To start the day we went and did the touristy thing of going up the Banff Gondola, a cable car that stretches its way up the side of Sulphur Mountain to a summit at 2255m. The day wasn't so clear but we still had great views between the clouds of the Bow Valley below us and the countless peaks around us. We also had an opportunity to throw a slightly icy snowball. After enjoying the views at the top and also a couple of hot teas (you can take Rach and Jon out of England...) we descended back down (again in the cable car, we're on holiday!) and headed into town to book ourselves up for some back country camping that we will be embarking on tomorrow. This may be the last post you see on this blog as we've been warned that there is the possibility of encounters with bears, wolves, wolverines (badgers with attitude!), coyotes and also psychotic long-horned sheep. If they don't get us then the parasites in the water will and if that doesn't do the job then the temperature should finish us off nicely. Anyway, should be a good trip!

In the afternoon we took a good walk on the C-Level Cirque to the east face of Cascade Mountain, again in snow but a good climb and great views from the lookout at the top of the walk.

On our way back to base we came across a couple of herds of elk, showing themselves off nicely for the spectators.

24/7: Very fresh last night, fresher still tonight

Run to the Hills

2007-09-26T09:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 22nd

So, off to the airport and today was really all about travelling to Calgary. No major dramas apart from the captain having to reboot the aircraft on the runway, something to do with indicators. I think it scared a few people as he had to come on and apologise later with the reassuring words that as we were on the ground he had to do it but if we were in the air he wouldn't have bothered! We're staying in the glitzy Econo Lodge for a couple of nights, keeping Rach in the manner she wants to become accustomed to, and then we're heading west once more. The main difference we've noticed so far is the temperature, from 28° yesterday to 8° today, think we're going to need more thermals.

24/7: Goodbye east side and hello west side

Sunday September 23rd

The day dawns grey, wet and 3°. Enjoy the continental breakfast in the Econo Lodge (not sure which continent it was inspired by) and then hit Calgary...to discover it's shut. Nothing appears to open until 12 and even then only a few places do, mainly the big malls. Not what we'd expected. There is a nice area called Prince's Island that has been landscaped and has walks around it but other than that we can't really find positive things to say about the place. It's a pretty new city and has grown at an alarming rate and I think that has something to do with it. Basically we're looking forward to heading off into the Rockies tomorrow.

24/7: Calgary on a Sunday? Wouldn't recommend it

Monday September 24th

Blue sky and sunshine greet us this morning as we prepare to pick up a new hire car and head to the mountains. Given our experience in Calgary yesterday we weren't expecting Alamo to have a car for us and so it turned out meaning we've got a higher spec one instead, a nice red Pontiac. After stocking up on supplies we were ready to head off to the Rockies with Banff the first destination. On the way out of town we sated Rach's unquenchable thirst for sports with a quick look at the Winter Olympic site and then we were admiring the views before us as we headed towards Banff. The drive is pretty spectacular with the Rockies staring at you the whole way. There'd been a snowfall a couple of days before so we had snowy peaks against a clear blue sky, pretty perfect really. We find ourselves a campsite and set up with the prospect of freezing temperatures overnight.

24/7: Goodbye Calgary and hello snow-capped mountains

Downtown

2007-09-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

Wednesday September 19th

Up at the crack of dawn to make the journey into Toronto to drop off the beloved Focus. We'd been told that the 60km should be possible in about 90 minutes even accounting for traffic so an hour later when we'd managed 20 it was up to Rach to navigate us around the back streets to get us to the car hire place in time. And she did it, with 3 minutes to spare.

After that excitement (!) we hopped on the subway and after a hot yomp from the nearest station arrived at our accommodation for the next couple of nights, the relative luxury of the Global Village backpackers right in the heart of downtown Toronto. We'd wondered why there were random people directing traffic at intersections as we'd walked in and as we got to the hostel found out why. A large area of downtown was in the middle of a power cut. The afternoon was spent getting our bearings before the big event of the day, the Toronto Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox baseball game. We had pretty good seats and the evening was very entertaining. Not so much for the game, complete load of nonsense if you ask me, didn't get exciting until the last 20 minutes and it's not the most energetic of games, but the extra entertainment that they lay on to create an atmosphere is very funny. We had the ball being delivered by FedEx at the start, some random woman throwing the first pitch, shots of the crowd in between each innings which led to some gurning man being the star of the show, and to top it all off a race between 3 grown men in chilli suits in a free-for-all fight/race with different sections of the crowd supporting different chillis. Our guy got slammed into the advertising hoardings and looked pretty dazed. It was 3 hours quality entertainment with some game going on in the background, Toronto won 6-1 by the way.

24/7: It's basically rounders with time for adverts

Thursday September 20th

A good lie-in to recharge the batteries and then off into the big smoke. A beautiful day ahead and we were bound for the CN Tower to do the touristy thing. We got great views from the top as there was very little haze or smog today so Lake Ontario looked grand. On a clear day they reckon you can see Niagara from the top although you'd need telescopic vision I think. Once back on terra firma we did our usual thing of just going for a slow wander and ending up walking miles. We looked around the various districts of downtown and came to the conclusion that despite not being city people in the slightest we actually like Toronto. I think we must have walked a good 8-10 miles again in the day but you do get to see the city for what it is by doing that. The day was rounded off nicely with a fantastic steak dinner and some beers, lovely!

24/7: We will slow down at some point

Friday September 21st

To round off our time in Toronto, and our time on the east side of Canada, we headed for the old town area of the city. There's a distillery site that they've used as a focal point for some actual regeneration, rather than the knock it down and rebuild that seems to happen everywhere else, and it's a pretty cool place. There's restaurants, bars, galleries and workshops and you could happily wander around them all. We also had a look at the waterfront and the gardens there. With the temperatures still in the high 20s it was very pleasant walking through the trees and taking it a bit slower. This is definitely somewhere that we could happily settle if the opportunity arose, it feels very safe and despite its size very easy to get around.

24/7: When I'm hungry I am completely useless!!

Go Wild In the Country

2007-09-20T12:47:00.001-07:00

Friday September 14th

The end of another week away and a cracking morning to boot. All the more reason to spend it an outdoors store on our way out of Montreal. The plan, once out of the store, is to head to the outskirts of Algonquin Park. It's a fair old drive and already we're now into our fourth province, Ontario, of the trip. The Focus is still holding out as well, always said what a fine car it is! We'd enjoyed our time in the cities but wanted to get back out to the countryside again and get some fresh air.

24/7: Rach in outdoor shop, pig in muck!

Saturday September 15th

Heavy overnight rain had left the poor old tent a bit wet but we were dry as peanuts in there and once packed up we were headed for the Park. We made our way to Opeongo Lake, the largest of the lakes in the park, and there are hundreds, and got ourselves kitted out for some back country camping. The only way to get to these campsites is by canoe or kayak so we got ourselves a sturdy looking canoe for two. It took us a good while to get ourselves packed up as we needed to take everything that we would need for 3 days with us. Once ready we headed out onto the water which was pretty choppy. Being the intrepid types we headed straight across the lake and found the first campsite we could, which turned out to be a fantastically secluded one with great en suite facilities (see photo). The Park is fantastic and so quiet and remote. We spent the afternoon pottering along the shoreline to see if we could spot any local wildlife and by evening the skies had cleared and it was very still with another frost forecast. The toothpaste is wrapped up warm.

24/7: Quiet enough to hear a pin drop

Sunday September 16th

The night's sleep had been a bit fraught out in back country as on several occasions we'd heard wolves howling away. Very cool to hear but a little worrying as you don't know exactly where they are. It was a cold and misty start to the day but slowly the sun burnt through and it was blue skies all the way. It was still a little choppy on the water but with my renowned nautical skills we made good progress and were able to use in anger for the first time the hand-held GPS that was kindly given to me by the guys at infoLogic http://www.infologic.biz/ - thanks Milton and Richard :-). It told us we'd paddled a good 6km and that our chosen campsite for the evening was westerly facing so we were guaranteed the sun setting on us. Once we'd set up camp we went on a wildlife hunt again and this time came across a family of 3 otters playing in the water. Great to see them up close in their natural environment. We passed the night away with a camp fire and star gazing.

24/7: Squirrels really shouldn't be hoarding that rice

Monday September 17th

Nobody likes the Monday morning commute; the feeling of a whole week of work ahead, the rush hour traffic and the colder mornings. Luckily we were in Algonquin Park, in the middle of nowhere, with a canoe to paddle a few hours back to base. Again I had to bail Rach out on the paddle home with my skills (!) as there was a significant wind. We found a lovely sheltered spot for lunch and a

quick swim before heading back to the store to hand everything back, minus the food rope (used to keep food out of the reach of bears) which we'd left tied around a tree. The weather was still glorious so we found ourselves another campsite in the park to spend the night and again watched stars from the beach of a lake.

24/7: Thank goodness Rach knows how to paddle

Tuesday September 18th

Another beautiful morning in Algonquin Park but sadly our last. This really is a beautiful place and it would have been good to have spent a lot longer here but it's time to move on again with Toronto our next destination.

On the way down we decided that it would be a good idea to add another 250km onto the journey to take in Niagara Falls, as you do. They are a spectacular sight and if you look beyond the touristy bits it's a very beautiful sight. We both didn't feel like we were actually there though, a feeling that we've had a lot recently where we still can't quite believe we're away. A very worthwhile detour though. We camped on the outskirts (well 60km away really) of Toronto ready to head in and drop the car off in the morning.

24/7: It's water flowing over rock, but wow!

Suburbia

2007-09-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

Monday September 10th

What a difference a night in a comfortable bed makes. It basically wrote the whole day off as we took a good while to get going. We had a lazy look around Fredericton before relaxing back at Andy & Kath's place again enjoying their fine hospitality.

24/7: We really did nothing at all today

Tuesday September 11th

With our day of doing nothing behind us it was time to pick the pace up again and head onwards. We saw Deryn off on the school bus in the morning and then said our goodbyes and headed west once more. We're enjoyed our time with Andy & Kath and the kids but it was back to camping out for the time being.

We were bound for Quebec City but due to the huge distance from Fredericton we decided to stop just shy of the city and take in another RV park, just can't get enough of them! The sky was looking threatening but there was confidence from at least 50% of us that it would be OK so camp we did only to be caught in a torrential downpour, still at least the tent is good and anyway we're on holiday!

24/7: We'll camp she says, it'll be fine!

Wednesday September 12th

An early start and off we headed into Quebec City and what a lovely place it is. Very European in its styling, unsurprising given its huge French influence. We spent a good while wandering the streets taking in the look and feel of the place. It's so unlike anything else we'd seen and is very un-Canadian. The old part of the city is enclosed by the town walls and contains narrow winding streets and cobbled paths. It celebrates its 400th birthday next year so the whole place is getting a spruce up, which meant it was looking even better. Happened upon a chocolate museum as well that was also giving away some very fine free samples, which it would have been rude to have declined. This is the first major town that we would recommend a visit too certainly. Sadly we had to head onwards in the afternoon with Montreal beckoning, but we'd enjoyed our brief visit.

24/7: Big breakfast, chocolate, baguettes. That's much better

Thursday September 13th

Another day, another city. This time the really big smoke of Montreal. We were booked into a B&B in the centre of town for the night meaning that we could actually go out and enjoy some of the evening entertainment, or just have a few drinks! The B&B was a very strange affair run by a furtive French bloke with a penchant for small red hats. It was a really old townhouse but despite its strangeness, or maybe because of it, it was a really great place and very central. We looked around Old Montreal and the waterfront area again taking in the old architecture on display. One minute you are in shiny skyscraper land, the next old 1800s buildings and the narrow streets seen in Quebec City.

In the afternoon we headed underground to the pedestrian network that is used heavily in the wintertime because the conditions above ground are so cold and snowy. As the weather was actually very good it was strangely quiet but fascinating to see this city below a city. To complete our whistlestop tour of the city Rach nagged and nagged that being a huge sports fan she wanted to see the Olympic stadium, I gave in and agreed and we headed off to have a look. Its a bit of a concrete behemoth but an impressive structure nonetheless. Fascinating too for the fact that the huge tower that you can now go up wasn't completed until 1989, 13 years after the Olympics of 1976. It was completed despite the fact that the project was already way over budget and to this day the city still owes over $1billion for the construction, Londoners take note.

We relaxed a little in the evening and found a good place for some food and some local brews. It rounded off a packed but enjoyable day.

24/7: My French is apparently perfect Quebecois French!

Bring Me Sunshine

2007-09-10T05:58:00.000-07:00

Friday September 7th

Already we're a week into the trip and the time is flying by. Still can't believe we're away for 6 months but getting quite used to the routine of waking up and knowing that there's no work to be done. If only that lottery win would come through soon so that we can become even more accustomed to that feeling.

We woke up in the night to the sound of a huge thunderstorm passing through, being in a tent makes these things sound even more fierce but the tent stood up to all that was thrown at it. We headed off in the morning to a place called Cavendish on PEI where there was a huge sandy beach. By the time we'd strolled along this and back the sun was out in full force and so the first swims of the trip were had, although in fairness mine was more of a splash! As the evening was closing in we found a little eatery place on a dockside that was serving lobster rolls so we had these while watching the sun set, all very pleasant indeed. To round the day off we went and took in a drive-in movie. A much better way of watching films as you sit reclined in your car with the sound coming through your radio. Fairly bizarre but enjoyable.

24/7: Rain, frost, lightning. The tent survives all

Saturday September 8th

The morning dawns and it is a fabulous morning so we decide to walk the very short distance to the beach from the campsite and have tea and muffins on the sand. Sadly today is the last day on PEI and we're heading back onto the mainland. It's a very beautiful place and very quiet.

Back on the mainland we headed for a place called Moncton, famous really for a local phenomenon called Magnetic Hill. Here you can drive to the bottom of what looks like a hill, stick the car in neutral and then effectively roll back uphill. I was quite impressed and so we did it twice although Rach was a tad more cynical about it, think it's her scientific trait!

After this maybe not so impressive natural attraction we went to a much more outstanding one on the Bay of Fundy. Hopewell Rocks are sandstone rock formations that are fashioned by the highest tides in the world. At low tide, as it was when we arrived, you can walk around on the seafloor and investigate the rocks, but when high tide comes in (and we're talking about 10m+ tides) you can kayak around the same rocks. After a good scramble around we left and headed for a campsite in the Fundy National Park.

24/7: Now that's what I call a bun!

Sunday September 9th

The day started with a slightly truncated walk around Matthews Head after my calculations on the time it would take failed to take into account a 3km leg. The walk we did manage though gave us spectacular views of the coastline of the Bay of Fundy and the tide was coming in.

Once ready for the off we were destined for Fredericton. The route took us along the main Trans-Canada highway and once again we were amazed by the complete lack of traffic, the two things that still amaze us are the lack of traffic and the amount of trees. The trees are just starting to turn colour so in a week or so's time the views are going to be fantastic.

The point of heading to Fredericton was to meet up with Andy and Kath, we used to work with Andy, and their two kids Deryn and Thomas. We followed them out to their house out of town and what a house. In about 3 acres of woodland it's a great log cabin and we're going to be spending a couple of days here. A night of catching up over a few beers was a very nice way to end the day.

24/7: Good God Andy, this is some house

Into the Great Wide Open

2007-09-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 1st

The day finally arrived, after weeks/months of planning and packing we were off to Heathrow. A few tearful farewells and the delights of security control later we were off, or not. The plane sat on the runway for an hour before finally we really were off.

We landed in Halifax to sun and blue skies and the knowledge that we would be flying Air Canada all the way to Oz, which may be fairly traumatic. They certainly don't have the strict selection criteria for their cabin staff as some other airlines. Still the wine saw us through!
Our B&B for the first couple of nights looked very comfortable and the fact it had a couple of dogs there meant Rach was more than happy. A quick trip into town for some food and a drink or two and that was it for day one.

24/7: At last, time to relax and enjoy

Sunday September 2nd

Again another bright and sunny day dawned, could get used to this. We decided to take in the streets of Halifax and I think we must have walked pretty much all of them by the end of the day, anything to justify a good curry and some beers! During our walk we came across the Firefit Championships of Canada. This appeared to be some kind of serious It's a Knockout affair with firefighters from all over Canada competing against each other and the clock. It all looked very serious and in the heat pretty shattering, so shattering in fact that we had to sit down and have a beer to watch!

24/7: 10+ miles in flip-flops? Tender feet!

Monday September 3rd

Well, today was my birthday but at least I'm still in my early 30s! Quick thank you for the birthday texts that we received as well. Today we picked up a set of wheels and the irony was not lost on us as we were handed the keys to...a gleaming silver Ford Focus. The differences between this one and the one that was gleefully handed back a couple of weeks ago are pertty large and it isn't too bad, i.e. it goes!

The plan was to head north to the Cape Breton region of Nova Scotia and get settled into the way of camping and being relatively self-sufficient. For that we would need some food and some gas for our little stove. The first was easy as there are stores in abundance but the second was a little trickier. We decided that maybe trying to buy something as specialised as camping gas on Labor Day weekend in Halifax wasn't the best idea and surely they would have plenty of places to buy it in the National Park. 4 hours later and still light on camping gas we arrived at a place called Antigonish. An investigation of the Wal-Mart there brought home the reality that we had a fantastically light stove but that the propane in North America is not compatible for it. Hey-ho then, we now have a twin burner gas stove that does the job nicely and will be with us for the next 5 or so weeks.

The scenery in this part of the world is stunning and much like New Zealand if you see more than a couple of cars in your rear view mirror you're unlucky. It's forests as far as the eye can see and great ocean roads to wind along.

24/7: Camping gas you say? Not round here

Tuesday September 4th

We entered Cape Breton National Park today and headed off on our first decent walk of the trip, the Skyline Trail. The promise of seeing whales, bears and moose meant that not only were you going to get great scenery but also a chance of seeing some of the local wildlife up close, hopefully not too close in the case of the bears. We'd seen no sign of moose at all on the first part of the walk but had enjoyed some spectacular views out over the Gulf of St Lawrence as we walked along a ridge line, but as we started the second half of the walk we turned a corner to find a gaggle (well 4) of people pointing at a bush and taking photos. Sat down under the trees was a moose, quite happy to be the centre of attention. We saw another couple on the remainder of the walk too, which was great.

Our campsite for the evening was in a fantastic location with views out to sea and forests all around, exactly what we'd hoped to be doing.

24/7: 6pm? That must make it mosquito time!

Wednesday September 5th

The sound of rain on canvas is never a good one, especially when you're under it, but luckily it wasn't a huge downpour and we'd been lucky with the weather so far anyway. It did make for a great drive along the coast though with grey skies and rainbows. We did another couple of walks in the National Park before we headed off on the road bound for Prince Edward Island. A long distance to cover so we stopped en route at an RV park to camp the night. What a place, trailers galore and country music playing non-stop in the washrooms. A must for any tourist!

24/7: If only cruise control was auto pilot

Thursday September 6th

The local radio had been saying that a fresh night was in store but we didn't expect it to come true so when we woke at around 6 and found ourselves looking at our own breath we knew it was a tad brisk. The fact that I crunched my way to the washroom meant that we'd had the first frost of the trip and had put our sleeping bags properly to the test. Rach had added some extra layers of warmth but it all seemed to pass muster.

An hour down the road and we were crossing onto Prince Edward Island via the very impressive 9-mile long Confederation Bridge. PEI looks like a very nice place and again the sense of open space and quiet is not lost on us. You get used to the crammed nature of the UK and when you hit somewhere like Canada it brings home exactly how crammed it is.

We pitched the tent at a campsite on the north of the island planning to spend a couple of nights here before heading to Fundy National Park at the weekend.

24/7: Frozen toothpaste, not good for sensitive teeth!

The Final Countdown (T -2 days)

2007-08-30T04:12:00.000-07:00

Arkwright used to stand outside his shop of an evening in Open All Hours (topical reference for the kids there) and muse about it being a "funny old day". Well it's been a bit of a funny old week really. First there were the last days at work for both of us, obviously high emotion on my part at the thought of not needing to worry about emergency telephones on motorways for 6 months. Then came the moving out of the house and saying cheerio to our cats, and now we're surrounded by a mass of Gore-Tex and lightweight polyester and a couple of rucksacks wondering how the hell that's going to last us for our time away.

We've caught up with a lot of people over the past couple of weeks and enjoyed many a good meal and drink and as a result the fitting of all our new fancy kit is now a little tighter and more restrictive than it was when purchased. One of the main questions that has been asked though is "Are you excited?". To be honest we've no idea what we're feeling at the moment. We're both pretty shattered after the hectic run up to now and I don't think the fact that we're now not going to be doing any meaningful work (enter your own "when have you done any meaningful work" jibes here) until March next year and that we've basically got this fantastic opportunity to go and see some more of the world and hopefully find out a bit more about what we want from it has really sunk in. I'm not sure that it will on Saturday when we fly off from Heathrow and arrive in Halifax and I'm not sure it will in the first week either. It might take until the third week when we fly from Toronto and aren't flying home to make us realise that we're away. Don't get us wrong we're looking forward to this more than anything we've done, probably including the wedding, but it's such a strange feeling that it's not hit home yet exactly what we're doing.

So the plan from here is to spend the next day and a half trying to cajole our kit into our rucksacks, tie up a few loose ends and then make our way to lovely Terminal 3 on Saturday morning. We should be landing in Halifax just before 3pm so with any luck we should be in downtown Halifax enjoying a beer no later than 6! My birthday's on Monday when we pick up a car and head off into the wilds of Canada. For those wondering on the age I'm still in my very early thirties and will be 32!

We're going to try and post something on here once a week or 10 days and will put some photos up as well, if the weather is awful though we reserve the right to lie and not show any photos at all. Strap yourself in and here we go...

The final week's 24/7:
Jobless, Homeless, Carless. Bring on the travelling!

The Lakes (T -26 days)

2007-08-05T23:46:00.000-07:00

Beth Orton once sang that she wished she'd never seen the sunshine so she wouldn't mind the rain. I don't think that's exactly how we'd sum up our farewell weekender in the Lakes, more like we wish we never knew that the whole country apart from one small section of the Lakes was bathed in 30° sunshine then we wouldn't mind the fact we were being buffeted by 30mph+ winds and rain. Not quite as snappy a song title granted but much more accurate.

So it was that we along with 13 other hardy souls, 3 kids and 2 dogs set off for a campsite somewhere north of Ambleside. Everyone left their respective parts of the country in glorious weather and all arrived to a campsite that looked like something out of a desperate post-nuclear war fallout documentary. Putting up tents can be a tricky skill to master when it is flat calm and the sun is beaming. When kite flyers decide that it's a bit too blowy for them you know that what should be a straightforward 10-minute job at worst is going to take a whole lot longer.

Everyone retired to the pub on the Friday night safe in the knowledge that they had a dry place to sleep that night.

The next morning dawned grey and miserable and the landscape slightly more barren thanks to the collapse of a couple of tents overnight. Thankfully none of our party had suffered that fate, instead a couple of tents had decided to stay upright but allow water in to create some delightful indoor water features, although I think the soothing qualities of a plunge pool at 4 in the morning are very rarely felt. With the forecast set to stay the same a couple of people decided that enough was enough and headed for the warmth of the south coast, or Newcastle! Those that still had tents that worked and didn't have to worry about small children and dogs decided to stick it out and in the end had a very good walk from Ambleside as apparently the campsite was at the centre of some very small weather system that only affected a 2-mile radius of this part of the Lakes.

What could have been a disastrous weekend was in fact a very good one spent with good friends sharing laughs, conversation, food and drink. The heady mix of fresh air, good exercise and a pint too many of Badger meant that there were a couple of fragile heads on Sunday morning but all gained for a good cause. A good way to start the beginning of the next 6 or so months.

The Weekend's 24/7 (24 hours summed up in 7 words):

Started wet, got worse, got drunk, excellent!