1000 Miles Later...

So it's been about two weeks since we last blogged and we have a lot to tell you.

Firstly the yellow-eyed penguin we saw near Oamaru did not quite quench our thirst for penguin spotting so when we got to the Otago Peninsula outside Dunedin we decided to head up the road to Penguin Place for a guided tour of one of the larger penguin colonies on mainland New Zealand.We got the chance to see quite a few adults feeding their chicks which was very special, as well as a few fighting fur seals and a lonely looking sea lion. The following day we drove to the far point of the peninsula where we had lunch in a cafe and watched royal albatross gliding in the breeze.

We gradually drifted south, stopping here and there, until we entered a beautiful part of New Zealand known as the Catlins Coast. This dramatic area of coastline is made up of huge cliffs that are broken up by long sandy beaches. The dirt track down to one of these beaches gave us our first taste of distress (it certainly won't be the last) as when we prepared to drive back up the track, having slept the night on the beach, we discovered one of our tyres was completely flat. After a bit of grumbling we changed the tyre and off we went to find a garage to buy a new one. After an hour waiting outside the garage and a pleasant chat with a German guy, who was also having car trouble, we continued on our way along the coast. One place that we found especially nice was Nugget Point, a band of rock that juts out into the ocean with steep sides 100 feet high. When you walk to the lighthouse at the end and look down at the rocks below they are littered with Fur Seals and their pups.

A few days later and after a little more driving we arrived at Curio Bay, a cluster of pretty holiday homes and a campsite near the sea. All around the campsite were boards with information on them about dolphins, penguins and what to do when faced with a sea lion, needless to say we were excited. We picked a spot for the van nearest the beach and checked out the area, while doing so we bumped into Mike and Hattie, a couple from Yorkshire who we first met a few days earlier during the flat tyre fiasco, we spent the next few days with them chatting and relaxing in the sun. What was supposed to be merely a one night stay turned into four. On day one we saw dolphins, and by the second day we had seen sea lions and penguins too. On day three we swam out to sea past the breaking waves and were greeted by a pod of Hector Dolphins, the smallest and rarest dolphins, which swam with us, under and around us for over half an hour, sometimes within arms reach. It was a wonderful moment that was brought to a crashing end when both Lauren and I were plunged under water by a set of huge thundering waves. Even the swallowed sea water and the salt in our eyes couldn't keep us from smiling for the rest of the day (Best of all it didn't cost a penny!). Our smiles were widened further that day when we watched two women get chased off their towels whilst sunbathing by a boisterous sea lion!

We were sad to leave the Catlins area however the journey had to continue and we had other places to explore, Mike and Hattie were heading in the same direction so we decided to spend the next few days together. After leaving Curio Bay we travelled to Invercargill to stock up on some much needed supplies (mostly beer and suncream) and do a spot of sight-seeing. We visited the Queen's Park botanical gardens home to an impressive aviary full of native birds. Then to the museum which housed some great artefacts from the early settlers, as well as a natural history section and a homage to Bert Munro (and his "Fastest Indian"). With the sight-seeing done we drove south to Bluff, one of the southern most points of the country, we had a nice walk and did a spot of fishing to christen the rod I had recently acquired. After staying the night in Bluff we drove on towards the town of Riverton and Colac Bay however a strong southerly wind had begun to blow. Wind, rain and cold was the order of the next two days, we would come back another day to see the area. It was here we parted ways with our new companions Mike and Hattie, we exchanged details and said we would meet up further down the road.

Our first checkpoint is Laurens Auntie and Uncle who live about 40k north of Invercargill in a beautiful home on a nice plot of land with panoramic views of  farmland, forest and mountains. We arrived on the 15th of December with 1700k on the odometer. In the short time we have been here we have already done so much, a return visit to Riverton to do some fishing (which turned into dolphin watching as an enormous pod of Dusky Dolphins jumped and flipped their way into the harbour), we have seen Clifden suspension bridge, been caving in a labyrinth of limestone caves, been shooting with one of Laurens cousins (couldn't find anything to shoot so shot a bucket!) and are going floundering and fishing with the cousins, George and Peter, tomorrow. We finally have a proper bed in the van, Laurens Uncle Brian gathered up some materials and set to work (I think he did it for his own enjoyment as much as our benefit). It was great fun drilling holes and screwing panels of wood into the van, and in the end we have a great looking bed with heaps of storage underneath ("Thanks Brian!").

Having been on the road for nearly a month it is a really welcome change of pace to be in a fixed location for an indefinite amount of time, and the home-cooked food and warm beds are going to make it very hard when it comes time to leave. For Christmas we are spending it with our wonderful hosts at their beach house, so when we next blog we should have some interesting stories of learning to surf, snorkeling and hopefully more dolphins!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

x x x x x x x x

Penguin on the Otago Peninsula

One of the Beaches in the Catlins

That Blob is a Hector Dolphin Fin

Haha!

Drying Clothes Shipwrecked Style





Curio Bay

Building a Bed with Brian, George and Gunner (the dog)

Caving

Lauren Dolphin Spotting

Fishing at Riverton

Dusky Dolphins

Dusky Dolphins



Bluff



Beach, Beach, Penguin, Beach!

Hello

We have travelled quite a distance since we last spoke to you, about 700 km to be precise, and we have seen lots of things along the way.

Maggi is now a fully fledged camper van, complete with bed, curtains, cooking facilities and carpet and provides a very cosy nights sleep. She does however have a few flaws, she rattles like mad when you go above 80kmph, and when you go up hill the fuel gauge reads full and when you go down reads empty. 

So far we have camped on beaches and nature reserves, as well as a nice holiday park here and there (Lauren needs her nice warm showers). A few days ago we parked up by a beach south of Oamaru and sat on the beach for hours soaking up the sun, all of a sudden fifty feet away a little penguin popped out of the sea and marched up the beach beside us, this was very exciting especially as the beach down the road was charging $25 each to see them. We lay there for several more hours hoping to see more  penguins, but a sea lion cruising the coastline kept the rest of the colony away. Lauren spent the rest of that day roaming the beach collecting all manner of shells while I relaxed in the sun. We now have an impressive collection of Paua Shells which shimmer a fantastic green and purple and (Lauren hopes) will one day make some great jewellery.

The last few days we have been driving down the east coast taking in the views of the Pacific and enjoying the beautiful long beaches, along with the great weather, on our way towards the very south of the country. Yesterday we visited the famous Moeraki Boulders which are every bit as strange and fascinating as they look in photos. Tomorrow we head off towards the city of Dunedin to treat ourselves to some civilisation as well as some food that isn't fish and chips. Along with a drive around the scenic Otago Peninsula with another chance to see a some marine wildlife and a spot of snorkelling.

Having a really great time and wish you could all be here to enjoy it with us. Speak to you again soon.

Moeraki Boulders

Campbells Bay, Kakanui

Penguin at Oamaru

Collecting Paua Shells

Meet Maggi our not so new but cute camper!

So we are in New Zealand now and have spent the first days wondering around Christchurch car shopping. On Saturday we stumbled across a bright, white, little van sat on its own in the corner of a car yard. 'That's the one'! We asked how much and bartered a while and settled on a price, which we think was a bargain. The van needed a few bits doing to it so we couldn't pick it up till Monday, this gave us two days to see what was left of Christchurch after the earthquakes.

We wondered a few blocks down from our hostel and got to a street lined with storage containers (the kind you find on a cargo ship), as we strolled further down the street we realised this was the new shopping  high street of Christchurch because the old town square is off limits and partly destroyed. We found a great place with loads of sale surf wear and we managed to pick up a couple of wetsuits for a great price. Robin's face lit up like Christmas had come early. We are now equipped to swim in the Pacific ocean without losing the feeling of our extremities.

The council have recently built a path through the main city square so you can see the real damage that the earthquake caused. It was so sad to see such a beautiful city in ruins. Having been here a few years ago with my family it was hard to picture the city how it once was.

On Monday we went for a lovely walk through the botanical gardens which was very peaceful and picturesque, it felt very strange to experience hayfever in late November! We then hired a rowing boat and Robin rowed me down the river Avon whilst I put my feet up and enjoyed the sunshine.

The adventure starts tomorrow when we slowly make our way down to the Southernmost point in New Zealand. We may not have access to internet quite as often as we have done so far but we will be in touch when ever we can.

Maggi the Camper

Cathedral Square

The Avon River

Back From The Mountains

OK so we are a bit premature with our return from the Blue Mountains, but the weather didn't really agree with our camping plans. Nevertheless we got a few great days of hiking under our belts and saw some fantastic views along with some great wildlife.

We arrived in Katoomba, one of the main towns in the Blue Mountains National Park, and it felt like we were in North Wales. Drizzle, Mist, and more Drizzle. We checked into a hostel and waited to see if it would pass. Which it did, but not for two days. In those two days we donned our waterproofs and braved the rain to get our bearings and hopefully see some of the sights but we were lucky to see 50 feet in front of us.

The sun finally came out and the temperature soared. We were raring to get going and make the most of the weather. We walked for miles and miles each day going here and there, getting lost then finding the way again, stumbling across spectacular waterfalls and clifftop lookouts with views of the forested valleys below us. Each day the tracks we took got smaller and steeper and we saw less people, it was great to be able to experience and enjoy things that so few others get to see. The downside to this however is that the further from civilisation you go, the closer to the creepy-crawlies you get. We had a few moments between us, and have lost count of the amount of times we had to check each other for spiders after walking into cobwebs.

We have come to the conclusion that Koala Bears and Kangaroos are mythical creatures created to lure tourists into the country, we didn't see a single one! We were thinking the same for the deadly snakes until I almost stepped on one. Some locals told us it was an Eastern Brown Snake, which we later learnt is the 2nd most venomous snake in the world!

Due to our change of plans in the mountains we have brought our flights to New Zealand forward to the 25th of November. We are going to enjoy our last few days in Australia by seeing a little more of Sydney and the surrounding area, and make sure Koalas and Kangaroos exist by going to the zoo!

If not before, we will speak to you next from New Zealand!!

G'day Mate (Hello for the non-australian speakers)

Arrived at Sydney Airport some time Sunday morning and jumped straight on a train and then a ferry which took us to Manly, a nice beachside town across the harbour from Sydney. Dumped our belongings at an apartment where Ollie, a family friend, is putting us up for a few days. Despite the Jet-lag we soldiered on and attempted to make the most of the full day we had to sample Manly.

Monday
After a good nights sleep we hopped back on the half hour ferry to Sydney, where you pass between the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and get a great view of the Sydney skyline. We had decided to start easy and wander through the Botanical Gardens, which turned out to mean several hours walking...oh and it got up to 40 degrees! Lauren became obsessed with cockatoos and we spent about a hour sat on the grass as she attempted to stroke one by tempting it with grass. She was almost successful but the grass must not have been satisfactory, we did manage to get bitten by ants though. We had lost ourselves in the gardens for the majority of the day, enjoying the varied wildlife including flying-foxes (fruit bats) which filled the trees and began to fly around as the sun began to get low in the sky. We walked out of the gardens to the foot of the Opera House and took the obligatory tourist snaps. After walking around to the back of the building there is a fantastic view of the Harbour Bridge and after more happy snapping we moved on to grab a bite to eat and a cold drink before boarding the ferry back to Manly. We relaxed into the evening by swimming in the pool at the apartment complex and prepared for the next day.

Tuesday
We woke a little earlier today as we had planned a coastal walk to the headland outside Manly. We walked along beaches and sea cliffs where we saw Humpback Whales swimming offshore, and through forest and scrubland where we found an array of Lizards that scamper away as soon as you get close. The views were fantastic across the harbour towards Sydney and also out into the big, blue Pacific. We made our way back towards the town and stopped for a swim in the sea, with the crabs and the jellyfish. In the evening we went for a pizza and a beer on the wharf at the bustling waterfront, with the idea of seeing the penguins, that call the harbour home, clamber out of the sea up onto the beach....we waited for hours...they were a no show.

Venturing off to the Blue Mountains tomorrow where the real adventure begins. 3 weeks of hiking and camping! Can't wait! We might not have internet access so this may be our last blog for a few days but we'll update you as and when we can.

Cheerio!

Coastal walk near Manly

Harbour Bridge

This is as close as we got...

Thailand (part two)

Because central Bangkok is off limits with flooding we made the most of the suburb Lat Krabang where our hotel is. It's about 45 minutes drive from Bangkok.

After exploring some partly flooded streets we came across a beautiful nature reserve that made you forget you were surrounded by thousands of people in a busy market town.

We got about 5 minutes into the park and noticed what looked like a crocodile in the lake swimming our way. On closer inspection it was a huge water monitor lizard about 4 feet long (Lauren freaked out but I was incredibly brave). We were surrounded and lost count after we hit double figures. The place was crawling with wildlife...literally (bad cliché i know). There were chipmunks, turtles and tropical birds too.

After a few hours of enjoying the beasts and bugs we strolled back towards the hotel, risking life and limb as we dodged taxis and mopeds to cross the roads, while trying not to splash each other with dirty flood water (it turns out flip flops are not the best footwear for this scenario).

Back at the hotel we enjoyed a dip in the pool as the sun sank, and now we are going out to get some grub!

Here are a few pics...

P.S. Ray Mears here is telling you porkies, it was in fact me that was the brave one and Robin that was the wuss and ran away from the cute lizard, just thought I would make that clear ;) Ignore the frizzy hair, its the humidity ;) 

Next time we will speak to you will be after our 10 hour flight to Sydney...

I've Never Seen Such A Big Bed!

After 6 hours on the plane and ages and ages going through passport control we got out of the airport and into our hotel.

Rooftop Spa...Restaurant...Swimming Pool and 32 degrees C

What more could anyone ask for?

We'll post more after some exploration tomorrow.

Night

Day Two in Dubai

Today we went for a walk along Dubai Creek where Robin got a harassed by a man with a pashmina. This man insisted that we should buy this 'genuine' cashmere pashmina and then continued to wrap it around Robins head. 

We then went for a nice drink in a waterfront cafe where we were joined by one of the locals 'featured in the picture below'. 

Today's temperature was 27 degrees (bear in mind this is winter).

The next time we will speak to you will be from Bangkok!

Dubai!

The story so far...

Landed in Dubai at 7am, already really hot.

Got in a taxi, drove around for a while before the driver admitted he didn't know where he was going. Stopped and asked locals where the hotel was (unsuccessfully). Ended up directing the driver ourselves with our pocket map :)

Slept for a while in our apartment.

Bought a food shop for about a fiver.

Good first day!

Goodnight!

ITS CHRISTMAS!!!

Santa Claus came early to Linton this year and gave gifts of miniature toilet rolls and fold up shoes (which are awesome according to Lauren)

Jokes told, songs sang, games played.....and then the arguing ensued (aaah Christmas!)

Thank you Mr Claus, be seeing you again in December!

Passports Check!

2 Days to go, best get packing!

Question....How to cram what you need for 7 months into a rucksack?

First blog post

Lauren relaxing before the big trip. Only 4 days left!!!

EXCITED!!!!

So for those who don't know, we are going on an extended break from cold, wintry England to the toasty southern hemisphere.

This blog will be our way of taking you guys with us. So follow us and see what we're up too.

See you next June!